Europe Adventure ~ Welcome to UK and 1st stop, Oxford!

I must start this entry by sharing our so called adventure became too adventurous. Why do I say that?

Well, we departed from KLIA at 10am and we chose Qatar Airways. I have checked pricing for many airlines and Qatar was the cheapest. And the fact that I had pleasant experience when I used Qatar before as well as they served halal food gace us the level of comfort. Of course it had to transit in Doha which was a short transit for about an hour so no big issue there.

We arrived at Heathrow at 10pm and to be honest, one thing I hate about traveling abroad is the prejudiced especially to muslim women who are wearing tudung. So, I was quite nervous when we have to go through Immigration check. Alhamdulilah, the man who took care of our counter is a Muslim man who have been to Malaysia. We engaged into a very pleasant conversation and he shared with us how he have been trying to convince his wife to go for holiday, just the 2 of them. Seeing us doing just that motivated him to talk to his wife again.

By the time we got our luggage, it was already 11.30pm. I did not book any hotel cause it'll be waste of money as we will be making our way to Oxford the next morning. It was freezing cold, temperature was about 8 degrees and we were not prepared for it to be that cold. We planned to sleep for few hours at Heathrow bus station and planned to take the 4am bus to Oxford. However, we fast tracked our plan and took the 1.30am bus instead. Never did we think the bus station in Oxford is actually a normal bus stand until we arrived there around 3am.

Yes, it was an ordinary bus stop with no lights and just a roof over our head. We walked towards our hotel thinking to just wait at the lobby. There were few kebab places opened hence we asked for directions. The kebab man was kind enough to walk us to the hotel. And then we realised our hotel reception is closed and will only be open at 6am! It was kind of scary with lots of people who I think are students getting drunk and hanging out right where we were taking shelter. When we thought things could not get any worse, it started to rain! At that point of time, we know we need to get out of here and search for better shelter. We hardly can feel our fingers!

So, we did the best thing we know, we took another bus to London City, specifically Victoria Station. We arrived at Victoria at about 5am and bought coffee. I tell you, that was the best coffee I have tasted considering we were in desperate need of coffee. We stayed there for about 2 hours, freshen up at the toilet and then took another bus to Oxford. The bus fare was not to expensive but it was all worth it. FYI, almost all buses we boarded have Wifi and charging service which you don't get in many other cities in Europe.

We arrvied in Oxford (again!) around 8am and went straight to our hotel to drop our luggage. We stayed at this place called Victoria House and it costs us about 50 pound per night including breakfast and free wifi which is a good deal. However, we wouldn't recommend this hotel for people who need peace and quiet to sleep as the hotel is on top of a night club. Us? We just want cheap place :)

Oxford was as beautiful as how I remembered it. I have time and time again told people I know, Oxford is a place I can imagine myself settling down and raise my kids here. My better half did not get it at that time until he saw Oxford for himself. We walked and walked and walked everywhere. It was so beautiful and the air was so fresh. The buildings were so classic and just amazing. Enjoy the photos.

I still have this dream to stay in Oxford one day, Insyallah. Perhaps, my kids can study here or I can pursue my PhD if after I pass my Masters. Come to Oxford and you know what I mean....

Next stop ! Liverpool! YNWA!!!!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com