2nd night in London

The host Peter Merican,serving the steak & lamb while Jon-Neal & Sue wait patiently...

Rossane,Jon-Neal,Sue,Peter,Muk & Rosalind

Nya meh penyamai bisi kaban,bisi mai makai. That's the beauty of having friends & relatives in faraway land...ada belanja makan despite the Credit Crunch felt by most in the UK. Credit Crunch or no Credit Crunch,Iban people are always known to be hospitable & generous and Mr. & Mrs. Peter Merican were no exception. They invited me to their home in Uxbridge which is about a good 45mins away from my hotel,thanks to Watson's fast driving & knowing the road directions in London like he's driving in Miri. Actually, I was so malu to accept their invitation to dinner because of the inconvenience of fetching me & sending me back to the hotel but Rosalind & Watson said they didn't mind doing just that. Well, how could I refuse a good offer?!!

And a good offer indeed it was!!!...The host himself,Peter did the beef steak & lamb while Sue,his wife cooked the other dishes ;yummy mixed vegetables with creamy cheese sauce I had a few extra helpings to this dish. Sue's desserts were also something else..fruit pavlova,coffee meringue with cream & fruits. My...what an evening of good food,wine aplenty & good company. Thank you Peter & Sue. Thank you Watson,Rosalind,Rosanne & Jon-Neal.

Senorita..Senorita...

When you are 'low' on the pounds..I mean,Sterling Pounds not the body weight,Maggi Mee in a Cup tastes like...heaven on earth. Remie Kanang,Kate Kiai & Senorita.

Trafalgar Square where pigeons used to congregate but now,not that many were seen at the Square. A cleaner look than what I used to remember.

Remie & Senorita .

Weather was hot..plenty of sunshine & some young boys couldn't help cooling themselves in the fountain.

Muk,Senorita,Remie,Kate & Susan.

It took me a day to get my sense of bearing right about London..thanks to Senorita whose aunty is Agnes Jetli. She was with us for 2 days showing us around London . We bought the Day Travelcard which costs Sterling Pounds 6.50 (to be used after 9.30am til 4.00am) and we could use the Underground Tube,the double decker buses & red buses in and around London. We hopped in & out of the buses & tubes and stopped where we thought appropriate. It was a good & economical way to see London without too much walking. We went as far as Islington where a cup of cuppucino only costs 1.40 quids & slices of cream cakes were less than half of the prices paid in uptown London. After the refresher course by Senorita,Muk went all over the places & thanks to some last few days of walking at Bulatan Park before I left,the pain on my feet & legs just disappeared. I had no problem going up & down the steps of the various underground stations & walking from my hotel to Harrods or from Kensington Gardens through to Hyde Park was no sweat at all.

Gay Paree...

Under the Eifel Tower

A bird view of Paris

Cheers to a happy holidays on board the boat cruise on River Seine. Food was yummy. Garden snails,grilled salmon & some ice cream dessert. it costs Euro 60/- for the lunch. highly recommend this cruise.

Katherine Kiai & me

Muk

1st night in London...

After a day long London City Tour,I had visitors in the form of Rosalind & Watson. They went to the hotel I was staying in, Holiday Inn Kensington Forum,Cromwell Road & we went for a walk. The sky was still bright even at 9.30pm. We met up with Rosanne & Jon-Neal & we went to a a nearby Burger King. London does not seem to sleep at all. I could not sleep as well even though I was pretty tired because my mind was working out its own plan of what to do through out the extra 5 short days that I had in London. Even in my sleeping mode I worked out the things to do & places to visit.I highly recommend this hotel;it's near to almost all the attractions in London,reachable by the underground Tube. Gloucester Road Stn is just next door to the hotel & most importantly Waitrose supermarket,Tesco & plenty more shops are around the corner. If you care to walk further up,there is Harrods & other chains of shops. The Science Museum is just 5 minutes walk from the hotel.

How much does it cost? The room rate that we paid was RM700/- per room per night. It's almost the same rate as most hotels in S'pore. Enhanced English breakfast is also included. You have to book the room well in advance to get the good rate otherwise if you are a walk-in guest,you might end up paying Sterling Pounds 250/-per night.

...will continue later...time for 2020. Again? No, yesterday I ended up at Seng Guan for the chicken rice.

Three Coins in a Fountain.......

The Italian tour guide,also called Michael. I remember the common name used to be Giovanni or John..now,so many are called Michael.

@The Trevi Fountain....

If you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain,you will come back to Rome..

you throw 2 coins,you will get married....

BUT if you throw 3 coins,you'll get a divorce,so said our Italian Tour Guide.

I remember throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain during my first trip there..so that's why I went back to Rome again. Did I throw another coin this time around? No, I have no wish to go back there again. Why? Cukup lah,2 kali dah pergi sana and further more,touring Italy involves a lot of walking,not just a walk. Darie,a fellow tourist described most walks that we had like walking from Kpg Merikan to Emart at Tudan.(Jauh beribu batu..)

Mamma Mia......here I go again...

Muk at the Vatican City

1st stop at the Vatican City..it was a sunday & a feast day so the Pope celebrated Mass..wish we could get into the Cathedral but no chance at all,the place was packed..PACKED even at the Square but the wide tv screens located at various locations were more than enough for those who came.

Buongiorno!!!!! ( Gd Morning..in Italiano )..so said the coach driver Michael who was with the 23 of us Msian tourists from 31st May til 10th June each morning when we got into the coach to begin our daily tour from one city/country to the next. Michael doesn't speak much English & our tour guide had quite a tough time communicating with him. Oh my,despite the "handsome" exterior (good looking & all that jazz about Italian men),I can assure you their tempers are something else to deal with as shown by the coach driver. It was no wonder he got little tips from us all. On the other hand, I do agree with Dr. Madeline Berma who told me in 2004 before I went on the Mono Italy Tour that Italy was indeed a place to visit because that's where all the good looking men on earth could be found..per square foot. ha..ha..I cannot help agreeing with her.Handsome young men seen modelling their stuff(s) on the Spanish Steps...but no signor or signori can beat this handsome -"young" Iban man waiting for me at Miri Airport last night...apai Jill. Ha..ha..ha..He's already down with flu (ukai virus bai aku),blamed it on being asked to judge the best tuak during the Gawai in Samu. My mum said,"Beli urang ngasoh apai Jill nyadi judge,ukai nemu ngirup..ni nemu bagi tuak ke nyamai". Ha..ha..good one.

Our flight from KL to Bangkok took us about 2hrs & from Bangkok to Rome it was an 11 1/2 hrs flight by Boeing 747. I was not happy with the Thai Airways service provided during our flight there. It was only on our last day with the rest of the other tourists that I learned the plane had some technical problems. No movies were screened & the cabin crew were so not 'smooth as silk' in carrying out their duites. BUT the service on our return flight was SMOOTH AS SILK....good service but I still prefer EMIRATES anytime...good movies on board,lots of nice foods & drinks.

Anyway,Praise God for the safe trip! I'll upload more photos later..time to visit 2020.

hello hello..

ngagai suami tersayangn anak aku jill n nico,mummy sempat ngena free internet service ba departure lounge di bangkok. jam diatu pukuk 1.15 waktu msia tang waktu bangkok dudi sejam. fkightmummy bisi delay. 23 iko bala kami ba tourgroup tu. christine nama tourleader kami. kami mupuk ari klia kira pukul 8.30pm. besai diri airportbangkok..nadai beritabukai. mummy love you. ok