Solo Adventure: Part 16 - Stonehenge

Fuh!! It feels like ages! Gila lama rest dari update pasal Solo Adventure. Memang pemenang Tukang Tangguh paling tegar kalau kau kan, Bie. Ok back to main point! 

Stonehenge was not in my list to go in the first place...yet considering it's already in the day-trip package, bantai jaklah. Alang² sudah sampai Europe, jejaklah kaki. Bukan tau bila lagi boleh pigi, kan? Knowing me, soon after I bought the ticket I browse the internet to get to know more about this prehistoric monument. Biarlah ndak minat ka apa, mesti datang with a little bit of excited anticipation. Ndak mau lah bila sampai sana, tinguk batu batan tu...klik kluk camera, then blah. I was told one hour is given to us to enjoyed Stonehenge. Perlu kot guna sejam tu menikmati scenery & lagi best kalau tau serba sikit beforehand. 

A little bit of intro, Stonehenge is situated around 90 miles west from Central London. Journey from Bath took nearly an hour. Or more?! Sorry gue ketiduran so ndak berapa perasan masa yang berjalan. Stonehenge was built by the Neolithic people about 4.5 thousand years ago! The actual year differ in every handful books about Stonehenge. With the establishment of this structure, it is said that people acted as a community for the first time during Neolithic era. The first structure built were the burial mounds dotting the landscape all over Stonehenge. 

Parking area is situated across the site. Kena limpas designated underground route to reach the site. It took me less than 10 minutes of walking from the parking lot to the site. Ouh before tu lepak kejap while waiting for Mr Omar to get our entrance tickets. Ada turnstile at the entrance gate...and before proceeding to Stonehenge, sila jangan lupa collect audio guide anda ya.

Out from the underground passage, terus jak nampak gambar ni. The original site. Sebelum runtuhan, sebelum vandalism, sebelum segala². Beribu tahun sudah kan, mestilah banyak perubahan to the original structure. Within the circular ditch & bank enclosing the area is where various ceremonies took place. 

View from the main gate before entering the site. Sayup² nampak barisan orang tu kan.

The monument is being roped off by a low barrier, the closest one can get to the stones is about 10 yards. If u wanna walk up to & among the stones, u can always join the Special Access tour. Visits are outside public opening hours. It's a one hour duration visit; with only 26 people allowed onto Stonehenge. Yang ni kalau mau join, sila lah sila book in advance. Selalu orang book months before their trip.

And one who immensely enjoyed sunset would definitely not miss to visit Stonehenge during the Summer Solstice. For this visit, according to Mr Omar...memang kena ikut proper tour. Considered as a sacred place, there will be celebrations & ceremonies held during the solstice.

Note the rope. Pemisah antara aku & batu! Itulah jarak paling dekat aku boleh menghayati monumen batu batan tu semua.

Lucky enough camera boleh zoom. 

From a different view. Yang ni half round sudah aku tawaf.

Last view before leaving the site. Alhamdulillah, weather sangat cerah. Cantik jak pemandangan kiri kanan sepanjang perjalanan aku hari tu. 

The tour ended at Victoria Station. I hopped off the bus & took the underground tube to Green Park (Victoria Line). Pesanan cousin separa terchenta harus ditunai. Classic Hard Rock tshirt kunun! Tiada esok untuk ku as my flight back to Malaysia is at 12p the next day. Lagipun dunia masih terang benderang...although it was already 8p. Jadi apa sangat mau menyinggah.

Nasib lah premis ni super dekat to the underground station. Less than 5 minutes walking. But I took a bit longer sebab aku jalan super lenggang, menghayati lagi view kiri kanan. Alkisah niat mau lepak Hyde Park tapi aku ingat banyak lagi barang belum packing di hostel hence niat dibatalkan. 

Environmental friendly hotel. Unik jak aku tengok. 

Bangga sikit tengok universiti kita ada di tengah kota London sana. I am totally in awe lah!!

Dari HRC, aku ambil tube balik King Cross. Kalau naik double decker alamat memang ntah sampai mana aku sesat. Ndak sempat study bus route dorang prior the trip, jadi harus aku ndak sanggup take the risk. Macam biasa, aku trip tourist. Dalam kedinginan petang, angin super chilling tampar pipi...aku gagahkan kaki berjalan balik hostel. 

Pastu singgah cafe depan hostel, beli pizza super yummy for dinner. Last aku mencekik; blueberry cheese cake dari Windsor to Bath pagi tu ah. Sila imagine perut aku nyanyi keroncong dangdut paling off-tune! Memang pelahap tegar. I requested for extra cheese...double extra to be exact. And maybe muka aku memang menunjukkan kelaparan gaban, the owner charge me zero for the additional cheese! FOC extra cheese bebeh!!! Mau ndak aku senyum lebar. Habis bah terus semua aku baham, malam tu juga! Slice by slice aku telan while packing my stuffs. 2 in 1 kerja aku buat; memang superb lah Bie! Bangga?! 

I spent my last night in London chitchatting with my dorm mates. Two Australian girls arrived late in the evening, 'replacing' the Italian & Canadian girls who checked out that afternoon. And two Korean girls arrived not long after. Berbunga gembira hati aku dengar diorang berbahasa Korea di situ ah! Over! Diorang bawa lepak di cafe hostel...tapi aku kena tidur awal sebab esok harus bangun awal supaya ndak haru ketinggalan flight. Pas chitchat lebih kurang, the four girls left the room. Tinggal lah aku sendiri as the other dorm mates had long sailed to dreamland. 

Perut kenyang, packing done...maka aku pun join belayar. Esoknya balik Malaysia, aduh ndak sangka 2 weeks has it been since I arrived London. 

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