Friday, September 7, 2012

Glasgow, my next phase of life.


So, I was all packed up for Glasgow; for KLM student rate I get to bring 2 pieces of luggage with maximum mass of 23kg each but I am travelling with my parents and they didn’t have much to bring, I got extra things into one piece of theirs. Muahahaha. So I was travelling with about 60 kilos of belongings including books, rice cooker and what not. (Things are mostly cheaper in M’sia, so would be great to make full use of the given capacity to get as many belongings to UK.)

Took a Yoyo bus to KLIA, had McD (can’t get McD here as cheap as in M’sia) and self-checked in. And then, I was bored waiting to board, I went on Facebook and saw Angy’s post on my wall. Touching stuff and some of the Ipoh peeps comments and likes too. To many many many more years of friendship, my friends. Cheers!

Flight journey took about 12 hours and transited at Amsterdam; continued on to Glasgow for 1.5 hours. Arrived in Glasgow at 7.30am local time. Pretty good weather; sunny. Got ourselves some SIM cards for contacting each other while my parents are here. Then, followed the University’s airport transfer to the halls; mine’s Cairncross House. Managed to get my luggage up 6 flights of stairs and then off I went for the International Students Orientation Programme and get all the uni stuff done. In the evening, the university organised this social event where we learnt the Ceilidh dance, very interesting stuff.

Tuesday: Nothing much, just walking and city bus tour and getting things done too.

Wednesday: I went to Edinburgh on a Full Day Bus Tour organised for international students for £10. Visited the Royal Yacht Britannia. Would have been there longer and listened attentively to the audio guide if not for the lack of time. Nonetheless, it was an interesting ship, I shall say. Before the trip, I thought it was going to be like a cruise with swimming pool and theatre and all that but it wasn’t. Hah, silly me. It was a ship with bedding rooms for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and the royal family, Her Majesty’s workplace/study room, drawing rooms and dining rooms for guest reception. Then, took a photo at Edinburgh Castle (didn’t go inside since there wasn’t much to see in there) and walked down the Royal Mile. Also, set my feet in The Elephant House; the birthplace of Harry Potter. Woohoo.

Thursday and Friday: Mostly shopping for basic necessities and to get other procedures done. Went looking for some Chinese groceries so that I can cook some oriental food and Chinese herbal soup. Bought from Matthew’s Food Scotland Ltd.

Interesting notes:

Many cute babies and little kiddos everywhere and they talk a lot. Love them.

Many people walk their cute dogs and puppies and these canines are rather well-trained and tame-looking and not wildly barking like some of those in Msia; therefore, I am less worried about them jumping up on me. (The leash was also a factor.)

The main mode of transport in West End or city centre is probably by foot. Factors include few parking slots and walking from west end to city centre or vice versa is alright. Walking in cool weather for even an hour is fine compared to walking for 5 to 10 minutes under the scorching sun in M’sia. (Don’t get me wrong, I love M’sia lots.) The amount of walking I did in only one week here is pretty amazing compared to in Ipoh where mostly I just have to sit in the car and daydream till I reach the destination. No motorcycles, bicycles a good number, cars aplenty on highways and busy roads.

These few days’ weather was great with Wednesday and Thursday having some strong winds and raining. Umbrella is a must-have in Glasgow.


Toodles, readers. Till the next blog post. J

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