Solo Adventure: Part 2 - Arrival at Heathrow Airport & Coach to Birmingham

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong!

It's been more than a week since I last update this blog. Ever since I left Ernie's home last Mon, I didn't have any medium to update as I promised in the previous entry. Hence I have to wait until I get myself back to Malaysia to start scribbling. 

So yeah, this is my second entry of my recent trip. Too lazy and poyo jet lag segala to write a whole story; I hope captions on those pictures below will do. 

Ok! To those who wish to travel by coach, turn to ur left upon getting out from the arrival hall (apply to Terminal 4, Heathrow Airport only). U will see this sign ahead of u. Coach Station situated at Terminal 1...hence u have to take the FREE transit train to the said terminal.

From Terminal 1, I walked more than a mile dragging all my stuffs along all the way to the coach station. Serius wei ada niat untuk snap the pathways I took & signs I saw tapi lagi serius...adalah super penat & kelam kelibut. Lucky I didn't bought the coach ticket via online, else harus ticket burn sebab sampai station lewat half an hour than I planned. And just so u know, aku bermarathon sebentar masa bertukar terminal tu ya. 

Vending machine yang sangat useful for traveler.

But again, kerana kelam kelibut & kepenatan heret beg...mesin ni dibiar sepi tanpa meneruskan niat pembelian. And sangat bertuah Ernie's hubby; Azwan got one extra simcard. I just need to top up the card & its all ready to use. 

Coach station at Teminal 1, Heathrow Airport where I boarded the bus to Victoria Coach Station. 

It was raining & windy. Sejuk gaban; 11'C ok! Paling best, baju aku adalah senipis alam. Terbaik habis. 

Anyways, aku boleh jak naik coach bus directly to Birmingham from the airport tapi oleh kerana aku adalah traveller yang cheapskate mau mati. And the ticket is quite expensive so I opted to take the bus to Birmingham via Victoria instead. Ticket price adalah berganda mahal kalau direct journey. 

One thing I came to notice while waiting for the coach bus, people there mostly heret beg besar & berbiji². It's like normal thing...macam rutin pun ada. Aku pun jadi ndak heran.

Hujan rahmat in the City of London welcome me that late evening.

Bus service #410 is the coach that took me to Birmingham. 

Bought the coach ticket from the counter as I didn't know how to use the machine, YET. Walked all the way from the counter which is situated next to Gate 1; to Gate 17 where I departed for Birmingham. I took the 0805pm bus. Sangat punctual sistem diorang sebab by 0805pm, bas is ready to leave to its destination.

Sometimes it can be rather confusing on what is displayed on the screen. It wasn't ur destination but slowly I learned that as long as the service # is correct, u will eventually reach ur destination. Regardless 'via' city apa sekali pun.

Another 2 hours & 40 minutes on the road before reaching Ernie's place. I slept all the way to Birmingham. Memang kenyang tidur! Ernie fetched me up at Birmingam/Digbeth Coach Station. Susah payah aku guna public phone to call her...I didn't know what exactly the number to dial because in my phonebook there are just too many numbers. Aku ikut yang aku save, operator tu sound "Not in service". So dengan muka manis bak madu aku jadi friendly menanya orang. Usaha memaniskan muka adalah berjaya. Yang penting; sila rajin bertanya.

Finally arrived Ernie's house nearly midnight. After dinner & shower, I went straight to bed. 4am!! And sunlight is already out! Haruslah aku pun terbangun sekali. Trip jet-lag lah kan perlu.

The window at the room I stayed. Perfect view boleh tengok sunrise every morning. 

Neighborhood where Ernie & her family resided for nearly a year already. 

Second day belum riuh aku mau explore lagi sebab penat masih bersisa. Furthermore I need to overcome my jet-lag before pasang kuda² untuk meneroka. A rest was what I needed the most that day. Alhamdulillah, by evening aku sudah kembali normal. Time teman Ernie hantar si Aariz to his playschool...despite the happy faces I showed everytime the camera clicked, kepala masih weng sebenarnya.

While waiting for our lunch at Ernie's favourite kebab shop.

Posed with Aariz darling. Ahaks, nice pictures adalah perlu; kepala nan weng tu boleh simpan tepi for a while. 

I've learned so many new things from this trip. They somehow shaped the way I see things now. I met quite a number of new friends from the hostels I stayed at. Mostly memang solo traveler juga. Best share tips & experiences from the 'seniors'. Best tanya orang sana whenever I got lost or unsure about something. The people are so friendly & helpful. Yang ganas & rude tu syukur aku ndak terjumpa. Else harus ada NOT so pink experience di situ.

Alhamdulillah for this great opportunity Dear Allah! I treasure every moments I had there. Insha Allah. This trip marks the beginning of more solo adventure in the future. Amin.

eryantierdabdulkarim