Hostel: Clink 78, King Cross London

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong.

Ok, tiba² semangat membara mau update entry(ies) regarding the hostel(s) I stayed at during my 2 weeks adventure. As I said in few of my posts before, I stayed at my bestie's place in Saltley, Birmingham for a week. I went to her place the day I landed London.

Weeks before I bought my flight ticket, I was busy browsing for the cheapest hostel in London. Yalah, 1 week memang sudah confirm stay di Birmingham. Another 1 week tu yang buat aku risau bingung otak. Have to calculate all budgets needed as well. I filtered few hostels & specifically search for a female dorm. Memang intended to stay with few other girls in a room. Memang ndak mau stay hotel; sebab budget traveler kan konsep solo adventure aku ni. Aku dapat idea untuk stay di hostel ni pun sebab selalu jadi stalker blog solo travelers. 

And finally, after few weeks of decision making...Clink 78 top my list. Mula tu mau stay Generator Hostel; because the female dorm is super pink vogue habis...but there was no bed available on the date I chose. 

Paling sempoi untuk sampai hostel ni. Either guna superwalkertapaki (10 minutes) or naik double decker. Your pick. Rajin ndak jak. Bus stop memang betul² depan tangga hostel ok. Just take bus no. 63, ring the bell at the second stop from King's Cross station. Gerenti ndak kan sesat. 

Look for bus stand D in front of King's Cross departure hall...and sila rajin tengok no bus yang kau boleh naik from this stop as well. Aku sudah beli Oyster Card di Victoria Station, so aku just flash kad tu at the machine next to the bus driver. Ndak payah beli tiket bas if u have the OC.

Bus stop is situated right in front of the station. Nampak kan background gambar ialah dua tiga biji double decker tu. Memang plan untuk stay area King's Cross Station.

Reason paling kukuh is because early the next morning, I will be taking the Eurostar train to Paris from St. Pancras International; which is situated next to King's Cross station. 

How the hostel looks like from the outside. This picture was probably taken in front of the kebab cafe where I bought my dinner throughout my stay there.

Reception area. 

Upon confirmation of room I had paid the 10% deposit to secure my booking, hence I just need to pay the remaining balance during the check-in. Ouh, passport is needed as well. Bukti pengenalpastian jak kot. Great service they have here! Super friendly, super helpful, super efficient. Senang cerita, aku memang tiada problem masa checking in as well checking out. 

I made the searching to booking to paying deposit for the hostel; at HostelBookers website. Senang kerja. Mau tau pasal hostel tu, sila rajin baca reviews from previous guests. Apart from that, paling aku pentingkan is of course the location. Siap google live view ok. Kunun mau dapat feel poyo! 

Furnished & decorated with super elegant architecture. Daebak!

Room keypass. Menarik tertarik? This hostel is a youth hostel set in a 200-year old courthouse building. Hence explain the image on the pass. Handcuffs gitu.

For those who comes prior the check-in time, u can always leave ur belongings in the luggage room located at the basement, near the cafeteria. No worries, the room memang berkunci. One need a pass to enter. Pas tinggal barang dalam tu, bolehlah continue berjalan² round the city.

I bought my day-trip ticket to Windsor, Bath & Stonehenge from the Travel Shop. 

No lift available to access the deluxe girls' dorm. Sila usaha sikit untuk menapak & naik tangga. Alah bukan jauh pun.

Stayed in this oh so girly decorated room for a night only...thus memang ndak sempat beramas mesra sama dormates lain pun. Sampai dari jalan² tawaf London pun sudah malam. Only few were still awake, I managed to have a little chit chat with a Scottish & Japanese ladies while doing my packing. Excited jumpa yang sekapal sama aku. Travel solo. I went off to bed soon after I finished my packing, gue lagi cape' dong!

My first bed on my first time staying at a hostel in my first time travelling alone! Fuh!!! Pengalaman. I paid £22 per night for this private dorm. Toilets & showers are private as well. The dorm is located separately from the other rooms in the hostel. Special sikit kedudukan dia kunun. 

Because of the hostel's strategic location I decided to stay here once again; after returning from Amsterdam. Aku lambat book sebab sebelum tu sibuk mau cari hostel lain kunun; ended up the deluxe girls' dorm adalah fully booked. So I have to settled with the girls' dorm located on the same floor with the mixed dorms. Not a big problem, as long as bukan sebilik with boys. I got the bed for £18 per night. Stayed there for 4 nights. 

On  my second time there, masih dapat katil yang di tingkat atas. The first bunk bed upon entering the room. Just like my first time. Whatever lah, janji selesa. Tilam pun super empuk. Sebab katil atas, jadi aku solat duduk jak. Memang superb habislah kalau aku still solat macam biasa kan.

And hooray! The girls have their own toilet & shower...so as the boys. Oh yeah!

Siapa malas tunggu lift boleh menapak naik tangga. This is one of the staircase located in front of the dorm. Love the colors combination. 

I took my free breakfast during my second stay. Didn't take my breakfast on my first stay as I had to leave the hostel at 3am to catch my early 5am train. 

Only basic meal is provided by the hostel. So sila jangan ada hati demand lebih². Ok lah kan, hot drinks...toasts...breads...cereals. Selamat tinggal sementara to heavy breakfast; nasi lemak, fried mee etc etc! Walau hakikat sebenar, aku makan terlebih. Toasts 3-4 kepings, cereal 2 bowls. I drank the coffee, the tea too, and the juice as well. Memang perut kerbau! 

Yours Truly in the courtroom that was turned into an internet room. Di hostel ni ndak da free wifi ya. If u want to use the internet service, sila beli kad top up at the reception area. If I'm not mistaken, its £2 for every 15 minutes of usage. Because I only wanted to check-in my flight back to Malaysia, I reloaded the card with £5. Balance tu aku trip lah kunun surfed fb, update status...pastu trip pelancong bingai siap checked-in location bagai. Serius gaya bikin panas!

 

Kalau dari King's Cross station, memang super senang mau sampai hostel tu. Hop on the double decker jak. But from the hostel to the station, aku memang guna khidmat superwalkertapaki. Alkisah, ndak jumpa bus stop. Ala, it's barely a 10 minutes walk. Kalau beg berat gajah, memang berbakul jugalah sumpah seranah. Tapi best berjalan awal pagi, I have the chance to embrace the morning breeze. Paling penting, dapat cuci mata secara live. Tetttttttttt.

Overall, memang puas hati. Lokasi pun strategik. King's Cross lebih kurang macam KL Sentral. All the lines for the underground tube are connected here. On my last day, I took the tube to Heathrow Terminal 4. Adalah lebih kurang an hour of journey. Malas sudah aku fikir mau hop on hop off coach...Oyster Card still ada balance, so I thought taking the tube is of great idea. Ndak payah exchange train bagai. Memang direct journey to the airport. 

Will continue about the hostel I stayed in Paris later. Insya Allah. Kerajinan membara kunun sekarang ni. Till then! 

eryantierdabdulkarim

Solo Adventure: Part 17 - Heathrow Airport & KLIA

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong!

*jumping with joy!*

Finally...my last entry under the solo adventure label! Hooo yeah! It took me nearly 4 months to get them all posted. And oh, post-mortem entry for the solo trip will be up soon. Insya Allah. Serve me right! Gatal kan berjanji setia mau buat different entry pasal hostels I stayed throughout the trip...sekarang silakan embrace kemanisan janji² kau tu Bie!

Right, save the bebelan already! Straight to the point-lah kan. Pictures with captions. Susah kalau orang trip busy memanjang ni. Kunun tiada idea mau scribble, tapi huraian for each picture berjela². Memang P to the Yo!

On the 25^th morning, I woke up extra early. Just to be safe, in order to avoid kelam kelibut hormone from arising. Did a last minute checking on my stuffs before checking out. I don't remember taking the free breakfast at the cafe...suddenly blank sebab sedih kot masa tu. Last day di bumi Eropah, alkisahnya. 

Senyum lebar sampai telinga jugalah bila nampak signboard ni. Bangga gue. Produk Malaysia ku terchenta ni! Tiba² kan semangat jitu di situ. I checked in the evening before at the hostel, hence upon arriving the airport that morning...I just need to drop-off my things at the counter to get my boarding pass. 

My AkademiFantasy luggage...and the most treasured backpack! Sangat berjasa. Insya Allah, ini sudah jadi hak milik kekal gue. Makaseh ya Adik Pulau ku! *flying kiss to Mabul*

Walau kau ndak da cakap pun mau kasi back pack ni. Yet, since kau sudah tinggalkan di rumah...kira halal lah kasi sama kakak ah. Sian bah kakak ndak da budget mau beli backpack. You have more than enough for someone who lives in an island, so sila berhati mulia sedekah yang satu ni. Merci!

Both bags exceeded the allocated weigh by 3kg! But the counter lady didn't charge me at all. I was looking at her, waiting for the amount of denda. Sudah letak bag tags bagai, she looked at me...while smiling & said "All ready Miss Karim. Please be at the boarding area an hour before the departure. Have a safe flight". Aku pun terkesima di situ sampai lupa ambil gambar kakak manis. Dan² kan kakak manis. But yeah, bersyukur ndak payah melayangkan duit to pay the fine. 

Taadaaaa! Dream came true...and officially ended the moment I held the boarding pass. I secured myself a super great seat. Thanks to the mobile check in service, I was able to pick my seat. Of courselah aku pilih aisle seat kan. Senang keluar masuk lavatory. Senang duduk bangun untuk stretching. Ndak mau berangan duduk tepi window sebab akan sungguh kasihan orang sebelah aku terpaksa balik² bangun for me to pass through. Sila tahu, si Err kaki lavatory! Mau enjoyed view awan super cantik...boleh jak kot aku berjalan sampai hujung kapal. Area sana super luas boleh menangis darah layan blues sendiri² tengok sunrise/sunset. 

Lepas drop luggages, buang masa round Heathrow Airport. Hari tu masa sampai, aku over kelam kelibut. First time kan jalan sendiri di tempat orang. Lagipun masa tu belum get used to their transportation system. Mana mau naik coach to Victoria Station...pastu hop on another coach to Birmingham pula. Risau ok ndak sampai tempat yang dituju. Tu yang keluar dari arrival hall, terus cari coach station. Ndak sempat mau snap sana snap sini. Let alone, tawaf airport. 

Outside the airport. Downside of selca. I didn't get to capture the whole words. Dapat yang 'London' tu kira ok lah. Muka aku selambak di situ; memang ndak boleh blah.

Siapa mau hantar mail or postcard last minute...can do so from the airport as well. The left box is where u purchase the stamp. And the right box is where u place ur mail/postcard. Convenient indeed. Pastu nampak pula initial super hebat di situ...ER! 

The airport authority is extremely strict with this! Sepanjang laluan to the departure gate memang akan ditanya BANYAK KALI. Aku ada rasa macam masuk pasar ikan jap, except time tu diorang jual plastic bag instead of fish. Tettt.

Miss BibiErr inside the departure hall. Opted to wear the tudung express. Senang wudhu nanti. Kalau guna tudung berlilit bagai, ada karang aku terlilit dalam lavatory. Fuh! Tuuuuuu dia, mentang² naik flight terus ndak sudah kau guna the word toilet ah, Bie! 

Because I haven't take any breakfast...aku pun trip melepak di Costa. Berhambur cafe ni di sana, so before balik apakata buang tabiat. Starbucks, Coffee Bean, McDonalds...ndak kunun dipandang. I had light kudapan only because aku super pintar...turned out duit aku semua dalam luggage yang sudah check-in. Ada few pounds in my pocket, selamat cukup bikin bayar. Lucky I didn't order much, ada kan kuyak di situ mencari duit nan ado. And nasib juga ndak didenda exceed luggage. Perangai, super hancur. 

Wooooooooooooow! Walau sedih mau tinggal bumi Eropah *bluek*, aku tetap excited terlebih adrenaline upon seeing this plane at the parking bay. 

Saja duduk dekat² tingkap, menunjukkan ketidaksabaran untuk pulang. Walhal baru away for 2 weeks kot.

The first meal served on board. Lunch cum dinner. Sebab baru 2 hours departed from London. Alhamdulillah, flight AK tukar to MAS. Kalau ndak, memang top up extra RM untuk beli meal. With MAS, meals are included. Memang super duper berbaloi. Ada hikmah di sebalik semuanya. 

Ni fasa menghayati sunrise di kala most of the passengers were in their dreamland. Cramp bontot aku duduk terlampau lama...hence I took sometime to walk around. Lepak tepi tingkap near the rear lavatory just to witness this. Subhanallah! Indahmya 'lukisan' Allah. Rugi sikit sebab masa transition from day to night tu, aku adalah lena dibuai mimpi. Ntah lah kenapa super sleepy & tired masa tu. In that 12 hours of flight, I only stay awake for 3 hours.

Second meal was for breakfast. Tiba² kan dihidang breakfast. Padahal dinner pun belum. Ngek. This was served few hours before landing. After breakfast, aku Subuh...then terus sambung zzZZzzZzz. Aku bangun masa leading stewardess tu announce that we will be landing shortly. Tegakkan tempat duduk, pasang seat belt, buka penutup tingkap blah blah blah. 

Keluar dari kapal, kena menapak quite jauh juga to reach the intertrain platform. It hit me upon seeing signboard in Bahasa Melayu. Sob! Gue udah di bumi Malaysia dong. Sila berhenti bermimpi dengan segera. Berpijak di bumi nyata. Sekian.

Settle segala urusan di airport, I took the ERL express to KL Sentral. Adventure di bumi Eropah might have ended, but I still have a week of holiday to spend in Kolumpor. I was supposed to fly to KK few days after my arrival from the UK, but Jay's solemnization & reception held me from going back. I bought my ticket prior Jay's confirmation about her wedding date. Sekali she insisted to replace my ticket. Pengantin sendiri sudah offer untuk belikan new ticket untuk kau, ndak kan masih mau flip hair to the back gaya diva lagi kan. Sudah lah memang masih on leave. Boleh guna the remaining days in Kolumpur bermanja bersama cousin-mousin terchenta. Menghabiskan duit pun ya juga sebab malar melepak di Jalan Tar. Tapiiiiiiiiii aku pun sempat curi masa untuk visit baby Sofiah Si Hidung Mancung!! 

Hmmm...last pic adalah sedikit pengalaman menyebalkan hati. Sudahlah baru balik dari holiday, aura trip pelancong masih teguh. Sampai KL Sentral, disajikan sama cab rupa begini. Macam kapal karam. Perca kain di sana sini. Stains everywhere. Lucky I didn't get to snap the trunk. Lagi macam tempat kucing  baru beranak. Fuh! Ayat.

Memalukan rakyat ok. How can a cab like this dibenarkan masuk KL Sentral to pick up passenger. Nasiblah baik dapat passenger local, kalau tourist yang dapat? Apa cerita? Ini bah first impression diorang sama public transportation kita. Awfulness. It was an old ProtonSaga; maybe sudah berusia berpuluh tahun. Upgrade lah wei cab yang masuk tempat macam tu. Economic hub kot KL Sentral tu! Sampai rumah Angah, straight call & made complaint. Ini bukan kes cerewet ndak sedar diri aku ni Malaysian etc etc...ini kes mahu memajukan negara sendiri dari sektor perlancongan & yang berkaitan. Siapa rasa aku cerewet ndak bertempat, sila kau ganti pakcik driver ni bawa cab tu. And angkut tourist sekali. Baru kau tau erti cerewet. Ok, hemo! 

Sudah habis bebelan yang kunun hanya serangkap dua. Perhaps, I will bebel about the hostels in my next entry, insya Allah. 

eryantierdabdulkarim

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. 

eryantierdabdulkarim