The Intricacies of Arnis: 2017

UK Part 8 (Edinburgh)

A long time ago, the city of Edinburgh was known as “Auld Reekie.” This was back in the days of peat fire smog, overpopulation, and a lack of modern plumbing. Add to this a stagnant Nor Loch (which was polluted with everything from waste to dead bodies), and you probably can figure out where the “Reekie” came from.

Thankfully, Edinburgh has come a long way since then.

It was on this very first trip that I totally fell in love with Edinburgh. The city is filled with history (both its Old and New towns are UNESCO World Heritage Sites), amazing architecture, plenty of Scottish culture, and not one but TWO castles!

If you've never been to “Auld Reekie” before, here are my suggestions for what to do in one day in the city. (And don't worry – they figured out those plumbing issues ages ago.)

Accommodation-wise, we stayed at Grassmarket area, located at the Old Town and it is extremely nearby to Edinburgh Castle. We booked our accommodation via AirBnB and the apartment was lovely.

The first place that we went was Arthur’s Seat, a wilderness right in the heart of the city from where you can get panoramic views of Edinburgh’s stunning skyline and the Firth of Forth in the distance.

The second place that we went was Calton Hill. Edinburgh is surrounded by seven hills, so you don't need to go too far to find a great view out over the city. At the end of Princes Street is Calton Hill. This hilltop park is covered with monuments and statues, including the Greek-inspired National Monument and Dugald Stewart Monument.

The third pit stop was Edinburgh Castle. The Edinburgh Castle is an important landmark. Although it costs 17 GBP to enter, you can spend a good part of the day here, and it's worth it alone just to see the Crown Jewels exhibit. You can also get sweeping views of the city.

The last stop was Edinburgh's most famous attraction by far is The Royal Mile. Though “attraction” isn't really the right word, since the Royal Mile is so much more than just a singular thing to see.

Edin is definitely one of my favourite cities and I will be going back on the regular! Thanks for having me Edinburgh.

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, by sinra

UK Part 7 (Durham)

IF YOU LIKE OXFORD, TRY DURHAM

With ornate collage buildings, gowned academics, dusty bookshops and fleets of bikes, Oxford is just what you’d imagine from a British university city – you can almost feel yourself getting cleverer by association. But Oxford and rival Cambridge aren’t the UK’s only classic university cities. Further north, Durham has a lot of similarities but with a lot less visitors. Like Oxford, it’s a small city that’s packed with history. They’re both set along a river and have cobbled streets, botanic gardens, great museums and a university made up of separate colleges. You can take a self-guided tour of the Durham’s campus (check out University College and St Hild and St Bede for the prettiest buildings), visit the UNESCO World Heritage cathedral and castle, and if you’re there in November you can catch the UK’s biggest festival of lights, Lumiere.

I’ve always wanted to visit Durham, the famous cathedral city in the north of England, ever since I first saw the church out the window of a train on the way to Newcastle. Luckily, my cousins decided to bring us for a day trip to Durham

Us having hot chocolates in Durham

So, I’m finally traveling to Durham, with its historic castle and cathedral on a hilltop peninsula carved out by the River Wear. After the 1 hour car ride from Newcastle, I walk through a pretty market square and a historic cobbled street to get to the church. It’s a foggy day, which lends the air a haunted feeling, and that seems appropriate given the centuries of history surrounding it.

Durham Cathedral dates back to 1093, and is one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the world. As a lover of architectural history, I’m awed by the place. The interior is stunning with its beautiful Romanesque arches and stained glass, and the sounds of the choir—which is practicing for Sunday’s service during my visit—echo off the stone walls, giving the place a welcome warmth.

Back outside, I cross the large square and make my way to the castle, which together with the cathedral forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An hour-long tour takes me through the grounds and interior, where I learn that the building, which was originally commissioned by William the Conquerer in the 11th century for the Earls of Northumberland (but was actually used by the prince bishops of Durham), is now part of Durham University.

As I’m leaving Durham city, I am once again afforded a great view of Durham Cathedral. And even though I’ve now seen it up close and on the inside, I still do a double take. It’s just that amazing.

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, by sinra

UK Part 6 (York)

For any traveler visiting the UK (especially first timers), it's easy to get wrapped up in the lights and glamour of London and overlook other places to visit throughout England. But seriously... How can you not be drawn like a moth to the flame by that city? There's loads of history to be learned, incredible architecture to see, markets to shop in, and different cuisines to try. I had the same exact thoughts until my cousins suggested expanding my horizons and visiting other cities in the UK besides London. That's when I came across this little gem: the city of York.

York, which is located in the northern part of the country, is just a quick 2 hour train ride from London and just 1 hour from Newcastle. This picturesque and historic city is full of fascinating stories and landmarks that date back over 800 years! Just one walk around the city's medieval walls is enough to fall in love with it.

Most fascinating is York’s Viking history. Vikings captured York in the year 867 and reigned until 954, when Viking York — then called Jorvik — was absorbed into England. The Viking Age continued for the next century, albeit without political independence, but the civilization began dwindling after William the Conqueror arrived in 1066.

The York Minster is the largest cathedral in northern Europe. One of the highlights of our time in York was the Evensong service, hearing the fantastic choir.

York is also a great place for shopping, particularly in the Shambles — a super-narrow street chock full of little shops and boutiques!

So many people skip northern England, and it’s a shame because the region has so much to see! York is just another lovely getaway in this fantastic part of the United Kingdom.

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, by sinra

UK Part 5 (Newcastle)

From London, we traveled up north to Newcastle, UK to visit my cousin, Kak Ngah and her family.

We’ve booked train tickets from London (via King Cross Train Station) and we managed to take photos at 9 3/4 platform woohooo

Last tube ride in London-heading to King's Cross station

Posed at the Platform 9 3/4

The historic King's Cross Station

As we arrived at Newcastle Train Station, Kak Ngah and Izmir fetched us and took us to their house at Coxlodge, Newcastle.

It was snowy at that night and freezing cold.

Ice flakes detected at the backyard of Kak Ngah's house

We started our journey quite early exploring Newcastle city.

We actually didnt toured the city much. We shopped some chocolates at Poundland (which is my fav shop) and Primark (haha as usual)

Jamie's restaurant spotted at Newcastle

Kak Ngah also brought us to her university which is Newcastle University whereby she's pursuing her PHD and we took a quick tour at her uni. The uni is located at the city centre which is very convenient.

English majors posed at School of English & Lit & Linguistics

At night, we toured this vibrant bridge at Newcastle and we had nice Indian Halal buffet dinner at Aneesa Restaurant. Overall, the Newcastle trip was pleasant.

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, by sinra

UK Part 4 (London)

Okay, now how to begin this,

Historically, the British Empire first came to Malaya in the late 1700s. In the late 18th century the British East India Company traded with, and partly controlled India. At that time they began looking for a base in Malaya and eventually conquered Malaysia. (source from Google.com)

So, every Malaysians dream to visit England ever since they began studying History at school and my family and I are no exception (pretty cliche). We intended to visit the capital city of England, which is London.

London offers many attractions but since we have limited time to spend (which was 1 full day only) and its Winter time, these are the attractions that we managed to cover within a day.

1) Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 (FREE)

Always been dreaming to visit Heathrow as I often heard it inside Newspapers/ TVs. Little did I know that it has more than 1 terminal..

2)Harrods (FREE)

Shoping paradise for..the rich people only. Not for myself. But I like touring Harrods- it offers so many goods all over the world- in luxury form.

3) Overlooking the London Eye (FREE)

Since all of us are cheapskate travelers, instead of queuing and paying a lump sum of money to be on London eye, we chose a spot that we can take photos of overlooking the London Eye itself.