Manchester oh manchester

Why are we in Manchester? The first reason is attending charity dinner and Islamic concert by a few popular singers such as Mesut Kurtis and Maher Zain. I did not even know the rest and was half asleep during the concert. I'm so not a concert person, my bedtime could not tolerate the music, so my eyes automatically had nearly shut around 11pm, where Maher Zain was just about to start singing. I know it's strategic to hold the main singer to get the attention from the spectators till the end, but, I think this could not fit in this situation where a lot of small children were at present. Most of parents decided to go back home after Maher Zain's first song. Even if I have a child, I would not let my child to stay up that late.Anyway, the charity dinner was held for syria's medical purposes. And the overall donations obtained was around 300 thousands pounds. Alhamdulillah... May Allah bless everyone of that night.

The artists

And sightseeing becomes the second reason. I haven't been to Manchester purposely for sightseeing. I went once for attending career fair and that was it. So, I found this side opportunity to lay back from my assignments for a while. And.... let's read what I'd done in Manchester.

Manchester? I don't fancy the city that much just because the city is too crowded. Besides, I don't really find anything interesting and extraordinary. Nothing is special except for the live marche de noel or also known as Christmas market. Manchester does not seem to be an old town. I think it has been refurbished into new look to suit the modernization. The buildings I visited mostly are of new architecture.  We could see the bricks confounded are ones that not typically seen in old structures or buildings. Apart from that, the mayor of Manchester has done a great job on providing free shuttle around the city. This ensures good mobility of Machester people to reach their respective destination. But, the routes are limited to the city centre area, so people who live outside the central have to get the bus pass for cheaper transportation option. From what I experienced, a single ticket fare is quite expensive. So, I think it's better to have either monthly or annual pass for easiness. Please ensure that you have the right bus pass because there are a lot of bus operators in Greater Manchester such as Stagecoach, First Great Western, Magic Bus, Finglands and etc. 

University of Manchester

We walked from Rusholme towards the city and stopped by at every scenic place for photography. Along the pedestrian journey, we met a few women which showed interests to talking to tourists like us. There was one which willingly took our picture. She said her team had just erected a green flag to indicate that Withworth Park is safe and has enough facilities to cater the users.  Also, I met an artist who sold her triangle based art collection at the Christmas market in the art gallery. She's french and she likes living in the city. Such preference is because of it's much easier to get everything needed when all are concentrated in an area. True, though it's reachable, I can't breath comfortably in a crowded city. We are just totally opposite in character. But she was nice and friendly. This was even my first time being approached to talk about art appreciation.

The art gallery

On our way to John Ryland library, we had to go through all must see places in the city such as the Lion King Palace Theater, Manchester Town Hall and Albert Square. Apparently, the Christmas market that I mentioned above is located at Albert Square and also in the town hall. There, people got into the Christmas spirit which is considered to be amongst the best in UK by browsing the twinkling market stalls and soaking up the unique yet bustling atmosphere. To those who has small children, you're advised to carry them up at your back as they could suffocate walking on the ground. The pathways were so busy that everyone walked like a train carriage. The pace was as slow as snails and you have to be sneaky to get into a speedup way.

The clock tower at Town Hall

Finally, after all hassles and being lost, we arrived at John Ryland library at almost 3pm. Honestly, I hate going to the old library just for sight seeing. I know the architecture should be appreciated, but I was not attracted and felt like going in when I first saw the building. It was not as awesome as I thought. After that, we head back to Rusholme for dinner. My tummy growled noisily as we got lost to find the right bus stand. We walked towards nowhere direction and finally arrived in The Gay Village. At first, we decided not to go to this place as we did not know the exact location. Yet, we were destined to get there and quite lucky enough to arrive earlier than the peak clubbing time, so we did not see what we supposed to see in such place, if you know what I meant.

Inside John Ryland library

On the next day, we went to Old Trafford. One of the housemates who occupied the house we stayed advised us to get to the city first before going to Old Trafford using Stagecoach bus, but we went in our own way, got into direct First Great Western bus and stopped in the middle of nowhere *actually at Salford Quay*. Haha so we missed the right stop. But never mind, at least we thought we knew our way back *which we were not actually*. Old Trafford stadium is the official host of the famous Manchester United football team, which is now leading the league table. Though it has passed the glorious era, the brand is still known and being talked among football fans. We spent an hour much in the store before going to White City Retail Park.

In front of MU stadium

I can't believe that I actually survey on kitchen machines. I'm so in my adulthood era now. What am I thinking? Haha. I decided to buy airfryer and multi-function kitchen machine for use in my future house which I don't know will exist or not. On our way to go to Lowry Outlet Mall, we spent an hour at Imperial war Museum North. The design structure of the museum is beautiful and the exhibition inside is attractive. My eyes were caught at the souvenirs displayed on the shelf. They were unique, some of them are war time cookery book, ration book, postcards, mend-and-do-it sewing book, and etc. I wished to spend a lot on the souvenirs but I did not.