That is our most dedicated tour guide, Ms Hamimah, the future biotechnologist
Day 1
We departed from Newcastle main train station at 6.49pm. Everyone seemed excited for the trip. Especially Maryam. Sebab? Kiri kanan barang die. Haha. We got into the train and started settling down, letak barang mana yang patut kat atas, kat bawah, kat tepi (exaggerating la pulak). While adjusting the position of our things, aku tanya la sorang kawan aku ni, "ape benda ko bawak weh, smpi x leh nk letak atas?" Then, another friend jawab " ha, kire jadi la surprise kitorg ntok ko ngan Maryam. Tu birthday presents korang." Aku ngan Maryam excited. "Wahh!! comel la korang. Terharu!". "sorry ar aritu x sempat nak celebrate, ni dh abes exam, aku siap masak ntok korg. Jom makan." So, we had our dinner on the train going to Edinburgh. There were a chocolate cake, baked macaroni, and also ribena drinks.
Chocolate cake made by Atikah. Focus at the decoration (if you could see, I know it's blurred). She's awesome at making the icing flowers.
Ribena drinks. Strawberry and blackcurrent.
Gummy and teddy. Birthday presents from Atikah and Aqiedah
We arrived at Edinburgh Waverley train station at 822pm. And of course it was dark already. As soon as we walked out from the train station, we were amazed by the night scene of the city. The scenery was beautiful, especially, Edinburgh castle. The city seemed alive compared to Newcastle which would always be shut at 7pm. We took a bus to Wawa's place, the Pollock Hall. The price of the bus ticket was even cheaper than Newcastle's by 5p. =). Apa yang menarik pasal bas kat Edinburgh ni, you need an exact amount of the ticket fare as they don't provide any change if you put more. Ha, you better collect small change before going to Edinburgh. We arrived at our accommodation place, the Pollock Hall. Pollock Hall ni is actually students plus guests houses. So, mmg nampak sgt lawa la environment die. Nampak mahal. Even we ask the price that they need to pay for student house pon, mmg terbaik la harganya. As expensive as in London.
2nd Day
We planned to wake up early in the morning konon2 nak tgk sunrise la. But, when the alarm went on, I kept snoozing it. Haha. And I finally got up for Subuh prayer and could see the sunrise just for a little while. Juliza said it's more prettier if you view it from Wawa's room as it will come up as from Arthur seat hill. But never mind. We enjoyed Juliza's room point of view too. We started walking to our tour guide, Hamimah's house. We met the other two new friends, Uya and Thi there. We walked all the way to university campus. The buildings are all separated away from each other as they are scattered all over the city. Thanks Allah, at least it is compact in Newcastle, or else I have to walk for a long distance everyday just to attend lectures at separate buildings. We continued the walk to a dog statue. What is its name? Bobby? Ahh, I couldn't remember. But according to Hamimah, the story behind the statue is actually true. Bobby statue represents loyalty. Bobby stayed with his owner till the end of his life. He has been found dead at the grave of his owner. Sad we couldn't take picture at the statue as there was a group of special needs people and their dogs. So, we just stared at it from far, oh, it was actually from the national museum of Edinburgh.
In front of Frankenstein place. (His name sounds familiar but I don't really know his history. Then, after knowing it, I found his story to be ridiculous yet funny.)
We went alongside the big driveway, and walked pass Elephant House, Edinburgh Library and a big church which is famous yet I don't know the name. We were like going in a circle if to be shown on map. We didn't realize that we were heading to the train station again. Oh, it's called Princes street. We saw a big tall monument standing next to the station. At this place, if you managed to get to the top of the monument, you'll be given a certificate. The entry fee costs 3.5 GBP if I'm not mistaken. I said to them sarcastically "yeah, we'll come again some days just to climb up the stairs and get the certificate".
We went up to Carlton Hill. The bird view of Edinburgh city could be seen from the top of the hill. We had a rest there while having sandwiches.
After having fun on top of the hill, we went down walked towards uni mosque to perform Dhur's prayer. As the temperature was quite cold, we spent quite a long time even at abulation area just to get the warmth. After finished praying, we had our lunch at kitchen mosque. Alhamdulillah, our lunch was great and cheaper. I had two chicken drumsticks and rice for only 3GBP. Kenyang giler!! Terbaik ar lunch tu. Dah la sedap, besar, murah lak tu. Nyum nyum. The stomach was full, the journey had not yet finished, so we continued. Next place? Edinburgh Castle! Edinburgh Castle is a top tourist attraction which is a must for every tourist there. Why did I say a must? It's because you can learn a little bit of Edinburgh's history (if you have time, reading those info). Entrance fee, 13.60 GBP.
After visiting Edinburgh Castle, we went for souvenir shopping down the road. Everyone got tired already, so kami pon balik tido la. But, we didn't simply go to bed on that night. We ended up waiting for Aqieda's birthday. 'HAPPY BIG 21ST BIRTHDAY', my 'imaginary friend'.
Day 3
We planned to go a lake in Arthur seat. So, we started walking from Pollock hall at 1030 in the morning around the hill. The weather was so breezy, I felt quite cold at that time. Lucky the heat generated by walking compensated the cold, so I could still bear with it. Along the way, we saw the Scottish Parliament building. The design is quite unique, one of my friends even couldn't believe that it is a parliament. She thought that it wasn't finished yet.
After taking few pictures and jumping, we went to the Holyrood palace. But, we didn't enter the palace as the entrance is quite expensive, so just headed to its gift shop to get warm.
we were then back to continue our journey to our meant destination that morning, the lake. As soon as we arrived there, there were a few swans tried showing off to us, OMG, they even knew how to pose in front of camera, such a sly. HAHA. I think they hadn't had their breakfast that morning because when Atikah tried giving them pieces of pizza, they came like bees burst out from a small hive, coming as a group to us. I felt 'threaten'. Haha, such a sissy, I know. After feeding time, we went to the bus stop cause it was... SHOPPING time for goodness sake!!!! weeeeeeeeeeeeee. so, yeah. We went to Princes Street, entered to each one of sale showing shops. As we went into shops by shops, we were suddenly being approached by a guy who stood in front of topshop. We were like, what happened? So, we read the flyer given. Owhh.. Topshop hasn't paid taxes yet, so they were boycotting the shop. They stood in front of the entrance and gave people flyers about it. Haha. I was like.. hm.... brave action to take. Lucky there were polices near the place. If not, it would be chaotic. Guess what did I buy after all? A donkey soft toy named Eyore, Disney character in Pooh and Friends. " ohhh, it's so fluffy, I wanna die" HAHAHAHA. yeah, I bought Eyore and named it 'gemokgemok', while Atikah bought Minnie Mouse. We bought them for ourselves since there were no ones who wanted to give us ones. Sigh... Atikah was being teased by the salesman because of this. HAHA. (Valentine promotion - extra large soft toy for only 20 GBP. original price - 35 GBP).
As soon as we got all we wanted, we headed back to Pollock Hall to get our stuffs left at Wawa's room. We packed everything and got ready to the train station to catch our train back to Newcastle which has been scheduled at 830pm. It was finally timed. Everyone was saying 'sayonara' to each other, thanking for good treats and friendship. We settled down on the train while waving for a goodbye. Everyone looked tired and even felt asleep. But I couldn't. So I stayed awake. When the conductor came, he teased us. "wahh, they are big boxes, young lady. It's a kind of you giving me such a big present, aren't you?" Haha, we were smiling as he was checking the tickets. We arrived at Newcastle at 930pm and hired a taxi to go back.
That was the end of our trip. And, the next day was the first day of second semester. It's time to get back to real student life. WELCOME BACK, peeps!
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