Our London Story - Part 3

After three days of exploring London and the Oxford Street, we decided to get out of London. Let Kakak experience England's beautiful countryside and smaller towns like Huddersfield where Ibu used to stay. So, on saturday morning, we took the underground to get to the Coach Station at Fountain Square at the Bukingham Palace Road to go to Bicester Village in Oxfordshire. When we got there, the tickets were sold out! Bicester Village was in our itinerary but Ibu did not buy the tickets on-line thinking that the tickets will be available at the counter, not knowing that they only provide one coach in the morning and one in the afternoon. So, the next option is to take the train.

Off we went to Paddington and took the First Great Western train to Oxford. The journey was approximately an hour and Dini got to see the breathtaking countryside along the way. When we reached Oxford, we were contemplating how we should go to Bicester Village, either by bus, train or taxi and we decided to take the cab since it was the easiest and fastest but of course the most expensive! We were lucky that the cab driver was a muslim guy and he agreed not to just send us to Bicester Village but to fetch us back and along the way, take us to the mosque so we could pray. Alhamdulillah, we were worried thinking where we could perform our prayers that day.

We were surprised to see so many cars and people at Bicester Village, people coming from all over UK to shop for the off season branded stuff. The place was considered quite isolated and quite a distance from Oxford. Ibu bought something for herself and for the family and we decided to leave the place around 3pm after having lunch at one of the Thai restaurant. We called the cab and he dropped us at the Central Oxford Mosque which was at that time under construction. It was a beautiful mosque and we were glad to be given the opportunity to perform our prayer there.






Since it was still early, we decided to go on the city tour which took about an hour. Dini wanted to see one of the best university in the world, the Oxford University. It is like the hop on hop off bus in London where you just pay the driver or sales staff and your ticket is valid all day and you can get on and off at any of the 19 stops on the tour. It was a quick way to discover Oxford if you don't have time. We managed to see the famous Magdalen College, the University Science Area, the City Walls, Sheldonian Theatre, Ashmolean Museum, Martyr's Memorial, Christ Church College, River Cherwell, Carfax Tower, Alice's Shop, Radcliffe Infirmary, Bodleian Library, The High, Broad Street and the University Parks. The tour was worth it!





On our way back to London, we were not so lucky. The train was full and we have no choice but to stand all the way. When we reached London, we straight went to Selfridges to look for Faiz's Supra Shoes but we couldn't find what he wanted, the choice was very limited and did not meet his spec! On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at St Paul's Cathedral for a brief visit. The only landmark that we have yet to explore eventhough it was just two stops away from our hotel via the underground. A place where the wedding of the century took place between Prince Charles and Lady Diana.


The next morning we started early so we don't have to que to get entry into Madame Tussauds. Eventhough we were there at least an hour before it opens, the que was already 1km long. Should have bought the tickets on-line! We spent about two hours taking pictures with the celebrity wax figures!! Ibu took a pix with MJ so she could compare with the pix she took 20 years back! MJ doesn't change a bit although he was practically transformed in real life but Ibu definitely changed a lot!!! They were just too many figures and the que to snap the pix with them was just too long. Who knows one day, somebody from Malaysia will be there...the Bollywood artists are already there, the whole collection of them!

We still have to look for Faiz's Supra and we asked him to googled and he told us of a shop around Covent Garden. So off we went to look for Slam City Skates and we were delighted to see a whole range of Supra shoes there! Faiz must be jumping with joy that we finally found what he wanted. We went around Covent Garden which is similar to our Central Market to pick up last minute souvenirs before we left to Oxford St to the Adidas store to look for Adik's LFC third kit. How unfortunate that the jersey will only be launched within the next two weeks. Pity Adik...




We then went back to the hotel, packed our stuff and while waiting for the airport transfer, walked to Ibu's office to snap some pictures. Then off to Heathrow and say goodbye to London. The whole trip was fun and at the same time tiring, we spent wonderful time together and probably understand each other better. Wish we could stay longer....so, when is our next trip Kakak???