Viva La Vida; Trip To Spain

Ola! Now that I am back on blogger, I will start the chapter of my long-lost travelling tale back in 2012 visiting Spain while I was on spring break during studies in London. Friends flew from Malaysia to visit me in London and we went for a short visit in Manchester so they could see Old Trafford with their own eyes, and left to board a budget flight to Madrid. It was a very short visit to Madrid but we had our memorable Spanish experience during the four-days-three-nights trip.

Why Madrid? Because we came across a promotion ad online and the flight ticket was only £35 per person and we had never been to Spain before. We basically chose the best budget hotel that we could on websites, as we were not into backpacking but still wanted to stay on our tight budget. We love snapping OOTDs, so backpacking was not an option. We found the hotel on RyanAir website too and the deal was quite interesting. So we took the bus to Manchester from London so we could board a cheap flight to Madrid two days after. It was uncomfortable of course, but it was not that bad. After all, the journey only took us less than three hours. It was okay.

So we took the train from Madrid Airport to the city, where our hotel was located. The journey took us in about half an hour from the airport underground and we got to the nearest station, Puerta Del Sol, where our hotel was located just a few steps away! It was quite a relief knowing that our cheap accommodation was so conveniently located at one of the famous attractions. As it was already midnight, we decided to just unpack and go to bed so we could spend the next day exploring the attractions.

We woke up the next morning feeling so hungry and we walked from the hotel looking around without any preferences, and we saw a very cosy cafe just opposite the hotel building with the main sign that we could understand; 2 euros! Lol! We straight away went across the street and looked the big menu displayed outside the cafe with photos of breakfast meals including a hot drink for 2 euros! It was a cosy little cafe with furry white fluffy cushions on the chairs and the price was 2 euros?! We went in and started ordering the main thing we had in mind, churros! We were hungry but since the price was not that bad we figured we could order more later.

The first place we went after breakfast was Plaza Mayor as it was the closest landmark we could see on the map, walking-distance from the cafe. It was early in the morning so it was not crowded, people were cleaning and started arranging chairs at outdoor cafes at the plaza. We were stunned by the architecture of that rectangle-shaped building. We came from an entrance and realised there were nine entrances to the plaza. It was a place for various cultural events at present, so we could not imagine the time when it was once a place for public execution back in history. So we snapped a few photos of the plaza and of course, our outfit of the day before walking out from Plaza Mayor.

*post to be continued

Our evening flight with RyanAin

The famous Plaza Mayor

Morning view of Plaza Mayor
from the entrance

Our room in Madrid

Fresh fruits at Mercado de San Miguel

Cheapest breakfast menu at Taberna;
recommended for backpackers
and budget travellers ;)

Reminds me of Central Park in NY
(well I have only seen the park on TV)

Mercado de San Miguel; The market

Seafood paella; The closest Spanish cuisine
 that we get to fried rice

Ending to A New Beginning

The year has come to its beginning before I could even write about the previous year's ending. It is quite unbelievable how fast time flies leaving all memories to be captured without a single second missed. I am not sure if others feel upset about the year ending, but I don't feel happy either. I had great times and bad times in the whole year but I definitely feel bad that I can't achieve more. I'm a typical thinker, a Scorpion thinker. Well at least I had few chances to use my old passport before it expired and the ran out of pages for the stamps. 2011 has been a tough and exciting year for me. It has turned my travelling interest into a frequent need. It's my unstoppable addiction now that I have resumed it since I stopped quite a while, one or two years ago. I went to a few places to heal my heartbreak from frustrations in life, I found satisfaction again after. Talking about the places, just writing about them reminds me of how amazing the world opens up the understanding of the nature of life through all the senses. Having lunch far on top of the hill facing an active volcano (which is prone to erupt anytime) or just getting stuck to give way for the holy procession in the street of Java island, getting mistaken as one of the escort girls for your Asian look in one of the islands in Andaman Sea, or being treated unfairly for not presenting yourself like a foreigner in a country just less than two hours flight from your home; these have turned myself into someone who appreciates more than life can give. There is nothing I would ever trade for every second that life has offerred. Whatever your resolutions are, whatever you expect from life, live it just like you mean it. Happy New Year.

The White Blanket

Woke up early in the morning with smile each day
Had little breakfast at home or at McDonald's not far away
Got ready with layers of clothes and boots all set up to play
And walked miles then took rides and shot photos along the way

Got really crazy and excited with the shopping spree
As sale and great offers were everywhere
Even though the snow was falling heavily and people stared
'Others could leave the shops if they're cold for all I care!'

Rode on a bus that my brother accidentally missed
Just to get to the place for the stuff he couldn't get over with
Returned home with hands full of stuff and treats
Went to bed early wanting to wake up as early for the routine

Never in life had we paid ridiculous price to smoke high
But it was absolutely amazing to taste all the flavours inside
On an unbelievable freezing cold winter night
But having that eight-pound sheesha could make you fly

Walked in the park holding a cup of coffee
Just sat for hours for there was a lot to see
Watched the birds flying and landed on pretty trees
Even the frozen lake made people happy

We had really unpredictable and hectic days
But we never failed to have fun and jingle all the way
People said when winter comes they wish to stray
But no matter how much fuss it took all I wanted was to stay

('The White Blanket' by Marquise de Ville', March 2010)

I shot the photo on the first day of snow from the window in William Barefoot Drive, Mottingham in London in November 2009. I just can't wait to go back because I miss London.. badly.

Shopping Heaven

Hey people! It feels like a long time since I updated my previous post. I had such a great time shopping and chilling in Bandung! I miss the place and I miss everything in the city, unfortunately I spent all the money I had and our train ticket to Jogja was already bought by my cousin. So we had to rush back to Jogjakarta after three days in the shopping heaven. I am definitely going back to Bandung again!!! Seriously, people..it is a real heaven for shopaholics who look for the best quality with the cheapest price. We stayed in Hotel Anggerik in Jalan Riau-where all the great factory outlets are located along the street. The recommended outlets are The Summit, The Secret, Heritage and For Men. There are more stores but those that I listed here have the best clothings that are much more expensive in Malaysia. They have Abercrombie & Fitch, Zara, MNG, FCUK, Arizona USA, Calvin Klein and more. I bought a knitted thigh-length three-quarter sleeves A&F shirt for Rp89,000 which means RM24.oo! Oh, wait! I bought two!! And the weather in Bandung is so breezy. The temperature in the city is 22-24 degree celcius and local people are really nice and soft-spoken. We had no problem with the food as the majority in the city is Sundanese people. I can't upload the photos now because the connection here is really slow and I'm having a problem with my memory card reader. (I'm using my cousin's laptop in her room). Okay, I'll continue later because we're going to shop for Javanese batik for others in the family. Til then, have a nice day!