Italy trip : Venice |Part 1|

Assalamualaikum...

the long awaited break that I am waiting for after 1 year struggling in the lab that causes me to put on so much stress and broke me into tears once...huhu...just right after my conference in Montreal, Canada which I will post it later, I went to Italy as my short getaway from lab with the blessings from my supervisor :D

we have been planning the trip for months before the actual event...there were supposed to be 4 us but somehow in the very last minute, one of my friend drop out from the trip as her bestfriend is undergoing a major surgery...if it was me, I would do the same...we depart from London Gatwick airport which was my very first time there as I have been taking flights from Heathrow airport all this while...we took Easyjet to Venice at 9.30pm scheduled flight...we got the first seat on the flight which was just infront of the cockpit! wohooaa..

we landed in Marco Polo airport around midnight (add 1 hour from UK's time)...our accommodation is just few minutes away from the airport by water taxi but little that we know, the last departure of the water taxi was at 9.30pm...thankfully there was a shuttle bus that go to Venice for €8...we arrived at Piazzale Roma and get off the bus...we asked around and there are few water taxi services thats still operating that time but since we can't find the ticket booth stand nor the dock, I went to ask a taxi driver if he could get us to our accommodation...to my surprise, he said that we can just walk to our accommodation which will only be around 15 minutes and he even Google map it himself to show the route to us...so we decided to save our money and walk since it's just a straight line with few bridges that we need to cross...

using my other friend data plan, (if you are planning for a vacation in any European country, I would suggest to use Three) with the help of the gps to direct us, finally we manage to find our accommodation building...if you haven't been to Venice, no vehicles can fit into their narrow and small roads...its either you take water taxi or walk! I can't imagine if I was traveling alone and need to pass all those gloomy, dark and silence narrow roads in the middle of the night! you can't really tell what's infront of you since the building is stall and close to each other...if you are not familiar with the place, you might get lost as some of the road has no sign on it...I always make a joke to my bestie if I was destined to study there, I would get lost every single time for months before I can manage to memorise the roads...haha

 

this is how the road in Venice looks like...narrow and sandwiched with tall buildings

once reached our accommodation which my bestie found it thru air bnb, we unlock the front door using the instruction that the owner gave to her thru email...so we took the bags that consist of the key to our room and a Venice map and start searching for my bestie name on the door that has been assigned by the owner...to our surprised, we can't find her name on any door in the house...my other friend somehow realised that there is one door that has my bestie name on it but has been rubbed off and other name is on it, and that person name is on the other door in that house as well...in that moment I know that our room has been taken off by someone else without ours or the owner knowledge...I used the key that were in the bag and opened the door that was supposed to be us and it fits perfectly! there were 4 guys in that room and I try to negotiate with them...since we are too tired and he doesn't want to admit that they changed the room themselves without consulting the owner eventhough I told him that we have the matching key to our room and they have the key to their room which was on the other floor, I gave up and we switched the room anyway...since one of our friend drop out last minute, the room fits us all with 1 double bed and 1 single bed...I asked my bestie to contact the owner the next morning to inform him what happened...

put aside what happened the night before, we woke up bright and early and started our morning stroll around Venice the next day...check out my next update on Venice!

Ciao! ^_^v

Skydiving at UK Parachuting-Beccles Airfield Elloungh, Beccles, Suffolk

Assalamualaikum...

It has been half a year from my last post...its not that I have nothing to share with you guys, but I was so busy with my current status as a PhD student...I have lotsss of things to share but as I have just jumped from an airplane yesterday, I think its worth mentioning as the first post for my comeback...ahaks!

source: Muslim Hands page

this event is conducted by Muslim Hands, a charity NGO in UK...my bestie found this event through their website and persuaded me to join eventhough she knew that I am scared of height...at first I was reluctant to register for this event, but somehow after continuously persuaded me into it, she register my name and pay the fees without my knowledge :p

we register a month before the event and there is not a second of the day before the event that I keep mentioning to my bestie that I am scared and I don't think that I can make it up there...I might pass out or ask the instructor to not jump with me...haha...and this event is actually just right after we came back from our easter break from Italy which I will post all about Italy after this...

since the event is conducted outside of London, Muslim Hands provide transportation from their office at Limehouse to the venue of the event which is at Beccles Airfield in Suffolk...we need to gather at their office at 5am and the journey will start at 5.30am so that we can make it exactly at 8.30am at the site...since from our house to go to Limehouse which is situated at East London is quite far and we need to change quite a few buses to go there past midnight, me and my bestie sleepover at our friend house at Shadwell that will only took us 20minutes by walking or 6 minutes by bus to be at the Muslim Hands office...

exactly at 5.30am, we start our journey by a minibus rented specifically for this event by Muslim Hands...the journey took around 2h30mnts and we reached there around 8.30am...we were brought to the office to hand in the 'Parachuting Student Declaration Form' and 'BPA Medical Form' to the parachuting staff...right after that, we were headed to the next station to hear a briefing if we want to sign up for a video and photograph, captured by the staff as we are not allowed to take any sort of devices during the parachuting even gopro...if we want them to capture the moment, the charge is £99 all inclusive...the fees is quite expensive therefore, we didn't sign up for it...

next, we were headed to the tandem briefing area whereby we were briefed on how to suit up for the skydiving, our leg, hand and body position when we board the plane and landing...after the briefing we just need to wait for our turn as there were only 2 female skydiving instructors available on that day...

 

after almost 3 hours waiting for my turn, which I am the last person to skydive on that day, I was called up to suit up for my turn... 

 

 

all suited up!

then I just need to wait until the plane comes back and fetch us and bring us up in the air...there were 3 of us that has instructors tied to them (tandem) and few single skydivers whose diving alone...total up I think can only accommodate around 15 people in the plane...

the plane has come back! its time!

since there were only 2 female skydivers instructors on that day, I was the last double that board the plane since I need to wait for my female instructors landed to the ground as she was on the air with another participants...(the red arrow is me) waiting to board the plane...

the double board the plane first and accompanied by the single divers...since I was the last double board the plane, I was the first double that leave the plane...it was scary watching the single divers leaving the plane and that was the moment when I was about the tell my instructors to go back...hahaha...but since I am the first double that need to leave the plane, I just follow my instructor lead and leave the plane...I closed my eyes! and when I open my eyes, gosh I was up on the sky with the fullest speed, and I was flying!...its hard to breath and trying to apply the breathing technique that my bestie thought me since her turn was before mine...all I can remember was gasping as much air as I could up there before my instructor open the parachute...it was around 10 seconds before she opened the parachute...and it was sooo cold around -10 degrees

once she opened the parachute, she asked me to remove the goggle, and I refused! haha...but then she insisted me to remove the goggle as that's how you can enjoy the view the best...and she was right! the view was spectacular, gorgeous, beautiful! at 10,000 feet, she let us fly for a while and I can feel that I was up there quite a while as compared to other people...I am lucky! hehe...then I know when my bestie told me that I was the last double that landed since it was my instructor last slot :D

 Alhamdulillah, I manage to combat my fear of and go on with this challenge...I am so thankful to my bestie as she is the one that persuaded me into doing it...if its not because of her, I don't think that I will ever do it in a million years!

therefore I could say: I have jumped 13,000 feet with UK Parachuting

we were given 2 certificates; one from Muslim Hands and one from UK Parachuting...once I landed, we started our journey back to London around 2.30pm...once we reached the minibus, the bus driver told us a bad news, the minibus is out of battery but with a good news that someone is coming over to help him with the jumpstart...once jumpstarted the minibus, the journey was quite smooth and I was half asleep until suddenly the bus stopped again...and the bus driver told us that the bus is totally broken down and he already contacted someone to pick us up and send us back to London...around 6pm, we hop on to another bus and continue our journey back sound and safe and we reached London around 8.30pm...

I would like to give full credit to the organiser especially the leader of this event, whose so calm and so organised in contacting us by phone and email every now and then...thank you again Muslim Hands for this opportunity.

Bye~ ^_^v

p/s: the normal price for skydiving is £200+

Easter Break | Keukenhof Gardens

Assalamualaikum...

its a must if you come to Amsterdam during spring to come and visit Keukenhof for its Tulips! Tulips only bloom during the summer in certain part of the world and Holland is one of the well known country for its Tulip during spring...

our plan for the next morning was to Keukenhof

  

we woke up quite early and took some photos of the beautiful scenery at our accommodation area...Subhanallah...

then we continue our journey to Keukenhof which took only 30 minutes from our accommodation....we reached there around 9.30am

there were only one full row of cars and buses at the car park area...so thankful that there were not so many people when we arrived...haha

the first photo with Tulip ^_^v (my profile pix for the blog as well...hee~)

check out the scenery inside...

its so unfortunate for us because that was not the optimal time for the Tulip to bloom...most of the Tulips were still in budding form when we came -_-"

the optimal time where the tulips will reach full blossom is between late of April to middle of May

since the flowers at the park mostly still in the buddy form, there is one building called Willem-Alexander building where they showcase variety of flowers which of course Tulip were the most abundant :D

  

we then have a quick snack just outside this building with the windmill as the background

finish eating, we went up the windmill...its free!!!

  

the windmill was built on 4th April 1957...the year of Malaysia independence day :D

wefie picture is a must! we conquer the windmill...haha...

we then walk around the park...there is small boat cruise that you can try along the river that opens in May...since its so romantic, we took the picture on the boat! looks like in Venice...haha

and there is lots of decoration using the different kind of lowers...just amazing and so colourful~

and a small petting zoo with sheeps, goats, peacock, chicken and of course piglets!

the park is huge...since we don't have much time since we were rushing to go to another place, we didn't cover the whole park...maybe you need one whole day if you are not rushing and take your own sweet time to cover the whole park...

there are lots of souvenir shops here as well...as we were walking back to our car, we stop buy at a flower shop...they sell numerous different types of flowers either it be the full bloom flowers or the seeds...so me and my bestie go for 2 pots of Tulips seeds with each 5 seeds inside the pot...we bought 2 different colours; white and purple with Euro5...according to the owner of the shop, it will bloom next year during spring but, the flower already full bloom last May during my master graduation! haha...but I was so sad because I didn't take the full bloom Tulips since I was busy with my mom and my bestie family during their visits to London -_-" they were sooo beautiful~  

Bye~^_^v

Easter Break | Amsterdam Trip Part 1

Assalamualaikum...

last Easter Break which falls on the early April me, my bestie and 2 of my friends decided to go to a trip to Netherlands and Belgium for 4D3N...this is the first trip that I have ever planned in advance for almost a month! there should be more than 4 people but somehow 2 of my friends can't make it due to visa reason and another one just can't make it :(

our plan was to go to Brussels first, hire a car and drive to Netherlands and come back to Brussels and exit to London...so we took Eurostar train from St. Pancras to Brussels...my nightmare everytime I went for a trip happens during this time! we didn't make it before the time of boarding...we should be there half-hour before departure for check-in since we need to go thru custom as this is international train, the rules apply same as those with flight...but luckily, one of my friend managed to change the ticket time to a later one...

on the train, we met this Korean uncle named Donggel Li...he suddenly ask me where are we from since I was sitting at the aisle and he was sitting in front of me...starting from that point, he chats with us because he said that 2 hours journey will be so boring and thats so true tho...but since I just came back from San Francisco on the 30th March and we start our trip on the 2nd of April I was still having my jetlag, I doz off in the middle of the chat...when I woke up, we were almost there :D

this is the friendly Korean uncle! ^_^v

at the station itself, we rent a car from Europcar company to go to Brussels which is much more cheaper if you are travelling in a large group...another incident happened here when my bestie didn't bring her previous driving license card...it doesn't mentioned beforehand in the Europcar website that the driving license should be more than one year! arrghh...fortunately that I brought my previous driving license card since 2010...haha...so we just need to change the booking from my bestie's name to mine...Alhamdulillah...

I was already bear in mind that the road will be as apposite as in Malaysia and UK, but the moment I step in the car, I was nervous to start the engine...my leg were shaking! haha...

  

we start the journey smoothly...

  

  

  

  

  

we went thru beautiful houses, churches, lakes, trees that looks like whomping willow trees in Harry Potter :) few animals such as deer, horses and top of that we even went thru a bridge that looks like Penang bridge! lol

  

after such a long journey, we stop a while to eat..we found this since there are chairs and table for us to set up a mini picnic, but once we got out from the car, the wind was blowing crazily...so we end up eating in the car -_-'

we continue our journey until...

  

we found a dead end! we were shocked as there were no other way, it seems like we need to go thru the river...I have been suspicious along the way as we didn't reach the motorway/highway after almost 3 hours...and then this??? 

to convince me that we didn't lost, so I open my GPS using my phone and thats the only way for us to cross over the river and actually this is one of the route as mentioned in the Google Map...

fortunately the ferry ride is cheap...just Euro 2.35...pfftt~~

once we cross the river, I opened back the navi system and then I realised something!!! it was set up as "avoid motorway"arggghhh no wonder...so guys, if you hired a car next time, make sure the first thing you do is check the navigation set up! this might be set up from the previous renter -_-"

then after that we enter highway and straight to our accommodation...we reached our accommodation around 6.30pm...a 3 hours journey become 6 hours~ but I am satisfied because if not due to the faulty set up of the navigation, we wouldnt see the beautiful side of the villages here =D

sneak peak of our accommodation ^_*

will tell you more about this accommodation...highly recommended!!!! thumbs up! >.<

after prayer and freshen up a bit, we decided to go to the city for a while...we park our car at Park and Ride or they call it as P&R which is just 6 minutes away from our accommodation...its so convenient to travel and thats one of their way to avoid tourist cars in the city...I just love the idea :)

just 4 stations away from the P&R to the central station approx around 10 minutes ride by the train

this is Amsterdam Central Station, the centre for metro, interrail and international trains...since me and my bestie haven't change the money yet, so we decided to do it here...we went to one of the exchange money counter inside the station, the staff was so playful and funny to us...but he did helped us when he said that its better if we cash out the money using the ATM machine that situated just around the corner rather than using their service because there will be Euro5 and 3% charge...tq sir! :-*

then we took a train to the "I amsterdam" sign which is the must-visit-place if you come to Amsterdam

we took some photo and then we headed back to our accommodation...need some rest to continue our exploration on the next day~

Bye~^_^v