HELLO AND WELCOME TO MY #PASSPORTREADY BLOG!
Finally, created my first ever bog post, after much contemplation. Reason – needed somewhere to document my travels (and many future travels insya’Allah) . I love travelling!
Also, my photos were in a messy state in my Asus laptop, just there………..rotting. I’ll be blogging about future and past travels , and probably tips on how to save money on an already expensive trip, if time happens to be my best friend lah.
Europe happened a few moons ago ( February 2017). My mama in law(MIL) and I went into detailed planning of the trip a few months prior. An overview 17 days in Europe:
Singapore –> London –> Paris –> Interlaken, Switzerland –> Rome, Italy –> Milan, Italy –> Singapore
(17 days obviously not enough!! But I had to save my leaves for the rest of the year 😥 20 not enough. haha!)
We took a morning SQ flight from Singapore and landed in London Heathrow at night and boy, was it freeeeeezing. I wore uniqlo’s (thin-layered) skinnies thinking “I’ve tried and tested Europe’s weather 4 years ago, so I should be able to withstand any sorta cold”…..but no. Note to self, don’t macam paham (like understand) lah. LOL! And I realized I’m a cheapo when it comes to gloves, cause mine served no purpose. Bought it cause it was cute.
LONDON DAY 1 : WARNER BROS STUDIO TOUR LONDON
Next morning, we left Gresham Hotel (will blog about the accommodations and halal food separately!) early at 7am because we were going to *drum roll*
WARNER BROS STUDIO TOUR LONDON!!!
*I think shah has some unresolved issues with me :(*
Our accommodation was located nearest to Paddington Station, just 4 minutes walk away. And It took about 45 minutes to Watford junction. Getting to Harry Potter studios was a breeze as they have an official shuttle bus right outside Watford which runs every 20 minutes. And it is only 15 minutes drive from Watford station to Harry Potter Studios! Easy peasy.
Can you imagine our excitement when we arrived?!?! 😀
Being big Harry Potter fans,we marveled at every single detail that the studio has to offer! My soul felt so alive!
Travelled by floo powder and ended up in Diagon Alley!
Non-alcoholic butter beer! Too sweet for my taste though. We simply bought it just because.
Overall, it was soooooo magical (if you’re a fan, you’ll feel me!) and worth every penny!!! Nothing much to show here but it’s best to experience it yourself guys!
LONDON DAY 2: BIG BUS TOUR – HOP ON HOP OFF BUS (HOHO)
Again, started out early at 8am! Had a hearty breakfast near our hotel! Sidetrack – I’m really glad we stayed at Gresham Hotel, because there was never a time where we needed to hunt for halal food. All of us were definitely fat and happy during our stay in London. 😀
Anyway, the best way to discover the city if you have a short stay(or if you’re lazy to take their public transport) in London is by HOHO! Ofcourse, if you have a longer stay there, travelling via public transport is better though! It’s cheap and you get to discover hidden gems as you venture out into the city. Did i mention that their transportation system is soooo sooo efficient?!
(Picture taken from TravelCheaper.ie)
Tickets and tour information can be found here!
HOHO have their own app called Big Bus Tour. Download it because it is a life saver as it will help you plan your route and your time. Big Bus tour’s sign is visible at bus stops throughout London. Pretty straight forward.
Honestly, 1 day is not enough to cover the city because you’ll have to take into consideration the waiting time for the HOHO bus each time you get off to go sight see. It starts at 9am and ends pretty early , say 5pm I think? It goes round and round and round the city. If not enough time, then don’t be lazy lah and go via their public transport.
Here are more of what we came across in cold ass London.
Changing of guards outside Buckingham Palace. This lady her face so garang ah.
And the guards reminded me of one of Mr Bean’s episodes…….LOL
(youtube)
It was snowing ah. Not dandruff.
LONDON DAY 3 : THE LONG AWAITED ARSENAL MATCH
This was one of THE most frustrating tickets we have ever purchased.
We decided to purchase Arsenal tickets about a month before our flight. I mean it’s probably okay to purchase last minute because it’s just some home game or whatever and not those big matches, right?
.
.
.
Wrong!
HUGE MISTAKE THERE.
Who knew fans purchased early. DUH! So there weren’t any seats available! The look on Shah’s face was epic. So Poor thing! So desperate times calls for desperate measures – decided to buy on match day, at whatever the cost! I knew they would sell at a 200% profit but whatever, experience is farrrrr more valuable! *At this point, those were just comforting words for us lol! I felt my pockets getting lighter when I calculated my moolahs in my bank account haha!*
Anyway, a few days later, shah decided to check the Arsenal website once more, just for fun (and a source of comfort somehow). And…….
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.
.
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There were 2 available seats! T-W-O guys!
Alhamdulilah!
Grabbed our credit cards and away we book! SUPER STOKED! Our seats were quite far though but it didn’t matter lah! In case ya’ll wanna go, book 6 months in advance please. We got Arsenal tickets here!
Getting to Arsenal is pretty simple from Gresham hotel. Total journey only took us about half an hour via underground trains.
 
Walked TWICE around the stadium in the RAIN in search of Thierry Henry’s statue aka Arsenal’s legend(shah forced me to write this). K. lol.
Our seats were quite far from the field but 2nd half, we upgraded ourselves nearer to the pitch HA HA HA.
HELLO OZIL 🙂
Happy faces! 😀
One of the best experiences ever! Although i’m not an avid soccer fan but the atmosphere….SHIOK.
UP NEXT…..
PS: Currently blogging about my 1 year ago travel in Vancouver. I just HAVE to get this done! Can’t wait to blog about this Canada trip! 🙂 Crazy adventure!
With love,
ME
