Europe Trip (Part 5) Celebrating birthday at Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Highlands, Scotland (Day 6)

On the 8 April 2011, I was so blessed and grateful coz I was able to celebrate my birthday in the Land of William Wallace. By the way, it was my 18th birthday ye (hahahaha berpuluh2 tahun aku bg discounts tuh! ;p ). Memang lah terasa jugak coz terpaksa celebrate jauh drp family & loved ones tp demi pengalaman baru, peluang ini harus direbut! Peluang takkan dtg byk kali. Lagi pun ini bukan first time celebrate jauh dari family. Sah2 masa study dulu, 2 tahun celebrate di perantauan juga.

Seawal 8am lagi kami dah keluar from hotel coz kena ke Scotline Tours office. Kami terus checked out from hotel pagi tu. Sambil menggalas beg yg besar tu, kami berdua terkedek2 mendaki bukit utk ke agency. Kami terpaksa bwk beg bersama coz flight kami ke London pukul 7am next day. So mlm itu kami akan tido di airport lagi, buat kali kedua. Amazing race kan itinerary kami? Ingat, bagi kami masa itu duit! Oleh itu, masa tidak boleh dibuang! Apatah lagi duit?? ;p

Since semlm nya kami dah sesat, pagi ni kami dah ala2 expert. Sekejap je dah sampai to the destination. So x de lah letih sgt mendaki dgn beg besar kan?  Satu peringatan ye, sini bukan Malaysia, so janji Melayu jgn dipraktikkan di sini. Everything must be on time. Kami pegi satu bus tp x de lah smp 40 orang dlm bus tu. Naik bus kat sini diwajibkan pakai seat belt ye. Pas semua ahli complete, kitaorg pun bertolak ke destinasi bersama Jimmy, the bus driver & tour guide.

The original price of the one-day-tour to the highlands ialah GBP35. Tapi di atas kehebatan PR kami, pakcik omputihs tu setuju bagi kami harga GBP28 saja. Alhamdulillah, syukur rezeki kami murah kali ni. Originally, kitaorg just ambik tour The Taste of Scotland je, x plan nak pegi smp highlands segala.  

Ini lah route perjalanan kitaorg. Next to the map ialah pic Nessie (nnt aku citer abt Nessie)

Jom tgk pic permandangan di sepanjang journey kami ni. Most of the pics ni kitaorg snap dari dlm bus, so mmg x clear sgt lah ye. According to Jimmy, in Scotland we can experience the 4 seasons in one day! Betul jugak cakap dia tu coz aku tgk matahari terik, tp sejuk. Ada snow cap di puncak gunung. Bunga2 elok berkembang mekar kat certain areas.Ada jugak daun2 kering gugur ke bumi. Hebat sungguh ciptaan Allah.

Saujana mata memandang

Snow cap on top of the mountain. 

First stop was kat satu area yg ala2 R&R. Kami sempat le beli sandwich & hot choc utk breakfast. Tempat ni dari luar nmpk kecik je. Tapi sebenarnya it comprises of kedai souvenirs (besar & best ala2 rambang mata nak beli sumer benda), cafe yg boleh tahan besar (tp of course x byk pilihan makanan for the Muslims) & kandang Hamish (first time aku tgk haiwan ni..besarnya!). Tanpa perlu aku explain pjg lebar, of course most of the time aku duk tawaf kat souvenirs shop tu je yg lama ;p )

R&R yg kami berenti for breakfast. Best coz kedai souvenirs & cafe besar!

Nyaman breakfast kat luar ni sambil merenung the highlands

Ini je lah yg menyakinkan utk dimakan

Besar. Ter jakun jap!

Tak sempat pun nk baca explanation psl haiwan ni. Lama sgt aku lepak kat kedai souvenirs!

Perjalanan diteruskan ke Glencoe, the infamous site of the 1692 Massacre for a photo stop.Sebenarnya sepanjang perjalanan ni mcm2 sejarah yg Jimmy cerita tp silap nya aku x take note le plak! Rugi nya tak take note. Skrg tak tahu nak citer apa pasal tmpt2 ni! Maka haruslah aku google sket the history of Glencoe ni ok. 

Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, a massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in Scottish Gaelic Mort Ghlinne Comhann (murder of Glen Coe). The massacre began simultaneously in three settlements along the glen—Invercoe, Inverrigan, and Achnacon—although the killing took place all over the glen as fleeing MacDonalds were pursued. Thirty-eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by the guests who had accepted their hospitality, on the grounds that the MacDonalds had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary. Another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned. (Wikipedia)

For more info, kindly refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe
Jgn tanya aku kenapa ada nama MacDonalds segala dlm ini citer ok! 

The background is "The Three Sisters." Photo taken by Jimmy

The three mountain peaks at this area is called The Three Sisters a.k.a pergunungan tiga saudara. Interesting explanation about the three sisters could be obtained from http://www.glencoescotland.com/p/v/mountains/

The Three  + 1 sisters captured!

Bridge / railway apakah ini? Dah lupa namanya, camana nak search online? :(

Batu bersurat versi Scotland di Glencoe

Next stop was the Commando Memorial at Fort William. This area is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland. Queen Mother yg telah unveiled the memorial in 1952. 

Mula2 aku dah excited sakan dah bila Jimmy ckp nak gi Fort William. Apa lagi kalo tak feeling nak jumpa tugu William Wallace hensem mcm Mel Gibson. Sah2 itu hadiah birthday yg best kan? Tapi hampa coz according to Jimmy, statue William Wallace boleh dilawat if ikut pakej lain. Cesss!!!

 

Commando Memorial ni terletak di kawasan tertinggi. Kabus all over!

The Commando Memorial is a Category A listed monument in Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during World War II. Situated around a mile from Spean Bridge village, it overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland's best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr.

Should you are interested to know more, kindly refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando_Memorial

Kami berhenti lunch di satu kawasan rehat yang aku dah lupa apa namanya. hehehehe..lapar sgt le tuh! Kami share fish & chips saja. Sehabis saja lunch, kami dibawa ke Spean Bridge. Permandangan kat sini sgt cantik dah kita boleh captured the Great Glen. The Great Glen, a natural fault line cutting the Highlands in two, has long been a major communication route. 

Dari sini, kami dibawa ke Urquhart Castle. Dari castle ni boleh naik short cruise to Inverness. Utk naik cruise tu kena byr extra GBP15. Kalau naik cruise tu dpt lah captured scenery yg cantik2. Tapi kitaorg x naik pon. Kitaorg ke Inverness naik bus je. 

 

Kat bawah tu lah Urquhart Castle

Di Inverness kitaorg berhenti lagi. Ada lagi souvenirs shop. So kat sini baru lah aku beli sket souvenirs. Lama lepak sini coz tunggu cruise sampai. So kitaorg pun lepak2 lah tepi tasik tu mencari Nessie (monster) yg dikatakan pernah muncul di Loch Ness! Byk berangan lah org2 ni sumer! Hahahaha..

Ni kira paling berseni lah pic aku snap ni! ;p

 

Menanti Nessie yg tak kunjung tiba

Angin mmg kuat gak time ni. Sejuk!

 Stop terakhir kami adalah di Perthshire sebelum kami pulang ke Edinburgh. Byk sgt plak tempat berhenti. Kali ni kitaorg just lepak2 je lah kat luar. Dah letih.

Overall trip ni mmg sgt berbaloi coz experience nya berbeza. Sepanjang perjalanan balik ke Edinburgh aku mmg tidur je laa coz dah lembik mcm sayur basi. Nasib baik cuaca sejuk, so tak berpeluh & tak busuk le bau badan walaupun tak mandi since pagi. 

Since kami terpaksa terus ke airport, maka bus berhenti kan kami di bus stop kat Edinburgh. Senang je nak dpt bus to the airport. Penatnya mmg x pyh ceritalah kan. Tapi kena kuatkan semangat jugak. Sesampainya kami di airport, terus cari tempat utk lepak. Lama gak le duduk termenung kat kerusi. Yang menariknya, kat airport sini ada prayer room tau. Selesa bilik tu ada aircond. Cuma prayer room ni boleh digunakan oleh pelbagai agama lah. Tak kisah lah janji bersih. 

Pas solat, kami cari pulak port yg lebih sesuai utk baring. Haa sejak2 tgk org sini selamba je tido baring kat airport, aku pun cepat je menyesuaikan diri! Tak fikir apa lagi dah coz penat sgt2. Aku pun tidur sambil berbantalkan beg smplah waktu utk check in! Collapsed abis walaupun tido atas lantai yg sejuk!

* to be continued.