Feruz in Cardiff

hmm... Being in the UK certainly is different from being back in Malaysia... I LOVE the TV shows here.. .but some are just.. plain... I dunno... demeaning? memalukan? kinda stupid?

for example.. there's Family Forensic.. where the family (or one stupid member of the family who tricked his/her family) lets total strangers who are "professionals" in forensic things, and let them go through their personal stuff, and gets a profile of them from their belongings... They go through EVERYTHING... handphones, journals, PC's, just everything! So if the family has a dark secret they'd find out... like the one I watched, the daughter was sms-ing raunchy things to strangers... another one told everyone in the UK that his son's dad was her bestfriends husband.. like hello...tak tau malukah anda? PLUS, she put herself up onto a bisexual pron site or something and EVERYONE knows la kan skarang... Aku rasa mmg certain people tak tau malu kot?

And I realized how BAD it is here pasal pre-marital sex amongst teens.. I mean seriously bad.. I know people always told me.. "alah Malaysia pun sama jugak..." but.. I don't think it's to this extent... Everywhere I walk, ada je nampak girls with a baby in their prams... and sangat nampak macam budak sekolah... memang masalah dunia betul la kat sini...

Tah la..memacam jugak la kat sini... there's always a good/bad side of everything right...

by the way..entry ini menunjukkan I'm kinda bored.. huhuh.. ok lah byeee

This was how the park across the road looked like...






This is how it looks now...pretty onot?

I just felt like writing somehting in my blog today...

Living in Cardiff in these past few months made me realize how much I have back home that I sometimes take for granted, like having my parents around, not having to pay a single cent for your food, having someone take care of the house+cats(which is supposed to be MY duty to take care of MY cats), not paying for my car, not paying for the car fuel, not paying for the bills... etc.

Here, I do have to do part of the job of taking care of the house, take care of the kids, go buy groceries, pay for things I buy (even though it's not exactly my money but it's coming out from my wallet ^^;;) and worse being away from my parents... and my cats... and my friends! I dunno if I can really stand being so far away from all of em longer that I have to...

But..whatever it is.. I am hoping that, when I go back home in June, I'll appreciate things more.. and hopefully be more responsible and always be grateful to what I have...

I actually like living here, minus the fact that I miss everything back home, and think of everything every single second. I can get clothes easily compared to back home... god..why do asians have to be supposedly "petite" sized... =_= ... Last weekend, For once I found me a top that fits me perfectly.. and I swear it was perfect.. coz my niece said I looked nice in it... and didn't complain that it was too tight or anything! Plus, I know my dad would be happy to see me wear something like that coz he's always told me to wear long-sleeved tops and it has to cover my butt! :P thank god it was 50% off... it was £14, and I got it for £7.. ok it's still roughly RM 49, but I still don't get clothes for that price back home. Sorry mak ^^;;

Ok lah.. i think that's enough rants for one day...

byeeeee

Tuesday (18th April);

It was the last day that we get to spend with our guests, before they go back to London, and catch a plane to their next destination: Hungary.

We went to the the Museum of Welsh Life/St. Fagans National History Museum. And yes this is my 2nd time being there. But this time, it was better coz there were less people, and we were enlightened by what Auntie Carol and Uncle David told us about the history and stuff. We even went on a horse-drawn carriage ride!






We went around, and headed for lunch. We stumbled upon an Italian place just outside of Cardiff. The food was excellent and the price were reasonable.

We came home, Auntie Carol came later to send Farah back coz she "kidnapped" Farah for a while to find a globe for the kids,came back an hour later and we said our goodbyes... in tears... heh... I dunno when will be the next time I'll be meeting them again... uncle David was saying abou t wanting to go to the Malaysian leg of the F1 race in Sepang in 2008... We'll just have to wait and see I guess :)

On Monday, which was a Bank holiday here, we went to a place called Big Pit with Auntie Carol and Uncle David, which is an old coal mine situated in Blanaefon. Me and my sis never knew of the existence of this place before Auntie Carol told us about it :P. Best thing of all, it's FREE! So anyway... we had to equip ourselves to go down the mine. We were given a safety helmet each, also a torchlight on the head with it's wet-cell battery, and also this thingamajig thats put on our belt along with the battery... and it weighs like 5 kg O_O. Kesian kat bebudak sebab kene bawak their own kit for an hour or so sendiri. We were made to take off all our watches and leave all the car keys and cellphones or anything that uses a normal dry-cell battery with the people there, coz they say that it the dry-cell battery may cause an exploxion underground.



We had to squeezeee into the lift, and we were brought about.. 300 feet underground. The tourguide briefed us about the pit then we made our way to a door. In the past, the doors are manned by little children aged from 6 to about 10 year old. Our guide made us switch off all our lights and imagine how it would be like for the poor kids who had to work in those days. With all the rats, roaches, bugs crawling at their feet, and the fact that they were bare footed. That was really a scary moment..really... it was pitch black and you can't even see your own hand in front of you even if you tried!

So, we went onwards and he told us about the types of dram and rails they used through out the mine. Women and teenagers used to transport the dram (which was filled with the coals and weighs to about 1 tonne each) in and out of the mines. Can you(ladies) imagine yourself pushing your car for 10 hours a day? I certainly can't...

As we went on, the guide pointed out to us what a dangerous place the mine was. 2 weeks before, a big rock fell through into the mines just as a group of tourists (like us) had turned a corner. Lucky for them no one was hurt. One of the lady with us kinda freaked out when she heard the story :P. Anyway, they had patched the place up and it's safe now (I think...)

We came to a stable area, and we were told about the horses which replaced the women and children transporting the dram. They worked all day, never saw sunlight, and when they were about 10 years old, they were brought up to the surface, for "retirement", which I have a feeling that they kill the horses and ate the meat O_O. Later on, the treatment towards the horses were better, as they were given 2 weeks at the surface to run and enjoy the sun before they were brought back down for work. Later on, the horses were replaced by the rails.We walked some more, and then we went back up to the surface and walked about the other buildings they had there.






Then we headed of to Caerphilly Castle coz both of our guests wanted to see the castle. We had a really hard time trying to find somewhere to eat! It seems that, during bank holidays, even the restaurants and shops are mostly closed... bodoh tak? Malaysia kalau time cuti lagi orang nak bukak kedai, bring in the customers, but noooo.. sini sometimes Sunday pun tanak bukak kedai... =_=

We first went to this Tavern, masuk je we were like... O_O, gelap, busuk bau asap, lantai kotor... and NO ONE MADE ANY EFFORT TO GREET US OR TAKE US TO A TABLE! We even had to take our own menus! We waited for a waiter and when they didn't come, we decided to go somewhere else instead. One of my nephew threw a big tantrum coz he was hungry and tired, but in the end we made a move and because most of the shops are closed, we had to go to Morrison's again, coz that's the only place we know that had food, and was open. I felt really bad for Auntie Carol and Uncle David...

After lunch, we split ways...My sis, the kids and myself made our way home, and Auntie Carol and Uncle David went exploring the castle.

more later!!

Yesterday, went out with Auntie Carol, unfortunately without David coz he was feeling a bit sick...

Auntie Carol came over, and made us pancakes with Maple Syrup from Vermont, for breakfast. Pancakes + Vermont Maple Syrup = L.O.V.E <3!! Since David wasn't with her, Auntie Carol thought it wouldbe better if we just went to Cardiff Castle instead of going out from Cardiff to see other things.

We went for the tour of the inside of the castle, which was GREAT. I was like O_O everytime we went into a new room. It was unbelievable! The architecture, the paintings, the finishing, the walls, the ceiling, the fireplace, etc. were really magnificant. Then we walked around the castle grounds for a while, and then we headed to Bute park which was next to the castle. They were having a flower show, and we thought it was free... It turned out we had to pay £10 per person for entry!!! WTF? cekik darah.. kurang hajar gile... and all you do was shop in the damn so called flower show! *sigh* So we just went home instead, and Auntie Carol tought us how to play the game she bought for my niece. Then we had kuey teow goreng for dinner, and then Auntie Carol went back to her hotel.

and today we went out with them again... that i'll just keep it for tomorrow's entry ;)

bye

Yesterday we went for dinner with Auntie Carol and David @ Bali Restaurant. The food was great, and we had a great time chatting about, coz the last time I've seen her was when I was 11 and the last time my sister met Auntie Carol was 10 years ago!

We're going to go out with them today... waiting for them to arrive at our house at the moment... Auntie Carol is going to make us some pancakes :D she actually brought the batter and maple syrup all the way from Vermont :P

Oh.. my dad called yesterday while we were walking back from dinner... My eldest sister had given birth (by c-section) to a healthy baby boy!!! Easter baby ^_^ weighing 4.1 kg O_O... bapak besar ok :P Can't wait to go home and meet him!

itu je ar.. will be updating later, hopefully with piccies...

ciao
EDIT:

Everybody, meet Umar b. Ferwahn Fairis ^_^






Pictures courtesy of my sis Arifah :D

Update time! Sorry, it's a bit late...

Friday: Packed up and left for London by Megabus @ 12.15 p.m, and reached there at around 3 p.m. Met up with my sisters friend, Kak Nurul and her daughter, and made our way to theplace where we were staying till Sunday. We took the tube from Victoria Station to Edgeware Station, and walked for like 2-3 minutes to get to the place. We actually rented a room for us from this lady we call Umi. Really great location, still in Zone 1, and has loads of halal restaurant to choose from, including a Malaysian restaurant called Mawar. Anyway... we put away our stuff, rested a bit, and went out again to Trafalgar Square, which was under construciton (sial gile... ) the lions were covered up with scaffolding and crap T_T...Plus, I dunno where have all the pigeons gone too... gahhhhh! Then we went to McD coz I was effing hungry and kept snapping back at everyone eheh... then we walked to Picadilly Street,then headed back to our place, and stopped by at the shops to buy things that we can cook and brought with us for lunch..




Saturday: Woke up early coz we had to share a bathroom with the room next door, made breakfast, fried up some burgers and hotdogs to bring with us, and headed out at 9-ish. 1st stop: Buckhingham Palace!! Since it was rather early so we went to check out the Queen's Gallery. I bought some things there for myself and my parents too. Went back infront of the palace to a swarm of other tourist wanting to catch the changing of guards. We waited, and waited and waited for what seems like forever! Like hello aku pakai boots nak berdiri berjam²??? gileee!!! Anyway... When it finally started, we were already tired of being on our feet... So while the thing was still in progress, at about 12 p.m, we were on our way... malas nak tunggu lelama dah!






Next stop was The London Eye... There were loaaaaaaddddsss of people here.. rimas gile! Kak Ju had to queue up for 30 minutes to buy our tickets, and we had to line up for another 30-45 minutes to get on the London Eye!! *sigh* silap hari ah pegi London nie... But I think the view from the London Eye was worth the wait really...



We had lunch at the nearby playground after we got off the eye, then we headed to the Natural History Museum to see some dinosaurs... or it's bones at least :p We got there at about 4.30 pm or so... we didn't get to see evreything in the museum since it closes at 5.45 p.m, then kene halau.. hahahahha.. and we took the tube and headed back home! penat ok... walaupun korang tgk cam sikit je... tapi.. can you imagine, walking with 4 kids, having to keep an eye on them, having to get through throngs of people on the streets *rolls eyes*. If you uys are planning to go to London, don't go during holidays... silelah pegi time off-peak times.. like..winter or something... Anyway... we stopped by the many shops nearby our place to buy dinner... and got home, but I didn't sleep till like 2 a.m... semua gara-gara my sis berborak sama Kak Nurul and I joined in..hahahahha gile muke tak malu :P tapi banyak cerita2 zaman memuda kakak aku yg aku dpt dengar.. hohohohoh...

Sunday: Woke up around 7 a.m, took a shower, lepak-lepak and waited for my sis to get ready, ate breakfast, packed up our stuff, and went out at about 10-ish. Went to Victoria Station, and we lepak-ed there for a while since our bus was at 11.45 a.m, I bought some coffee and some Sushis which were quite good. at 11.30 or so we made our way to the Coach side which was at the other side of the road, to find out that our bus to Cardiff was already ready, and everyone was already boarding... So we said our goodbyes to Kak Nurul and her kid who were going back to Southampton, boarded the bus and we were on our way home. We had a really great driver, and a much better bus than the one that we had to ride to London, way wayyyy better! I slept 90% of the journey... I woke up when we were 40 minutes away from Cardiff :P Penat beb...

So that was our trip to London... I don't like London..seriously... I prefer Cardiff! It's more laid back... London is just too busy and too cramped with people... oh... and seeing allt he pretty people in London did nothing for my self-esteem thankyouverymuch... It's intimidating, and I felt like crap in London... Maybe if I go again I'd feel differently, but.. I dunno... This trip wasn't the best I had here...

The rest of the piccies.. I'll upload on my fotopages when I feel like it ok ^_^

I'm looking forward to this weekend coz Auntie Carol is coming to Cardiff!!! The last time I met her was when I was 11 years old... but she told my sis the last time she saw me was when I was a baby... baby pejadah aku dah besar (literally) masa tu... :P We're going to have dinner with her on Saturday night at Bali Restaurant, which serves Malaysian+Singaporean+Indonesian cuisines... dah gi try with my sis, sedap jugak..and the portions were kinda big too... So... silelah tunggu my next update.. kthxbye

So, yesterday we decided to go to Caerphilly Castle in Caerphilly which is about 30 or so minutes away from Cardiff.

I wasn't really expecting a grand thing really.... I thought most of it was in ruins.. boy was I ever wrong! We got there, parked the car, and walked through a park surrounding the castle to get to it. The 1st view of it was stunning! absolutely stunning!


So we went in, paid the entrance fees, and went up the tower on top of the front gates where they had an exhibition. The stairs were small-ish and steep O_O scary ok... After the exhibition, we decided to go to the TOP of the tower (masa ni aku ada skit takut sebab steep nak mampos and aku takut takleh turun!). The view was like.. WHOAH.. liek.. liek.. omaigod..

Then we went down and proceeded to the inner castle. We saw the great hall and we walked around the inner castle. There was also this leaning, half-gone tower which they say was a result of the time when gun powder was founded... Guess someone bombed the tower or something XD

After checking out the castle, we went to Morrisons across the street for lunch... It was full with old people O_O I really dunno why they like eating there, but there were seriously too many old people and not enough younger people... as usual, we ate fish and chips, with a side dish of peas (yucks!). Then we walked back to the car and was supposedly on our way back.. butttttt, my sis decided to go to Roath Park, since it was a really really nice day, the sun was shining and it wasn't that cold, and she wanted the kids to be outside, rather than just be inside the house playing their PS2. So we went to Roath park, stopped at Lidl to buy some cheap bread to feed the ducks+swans+geese at the park.

Ramai gile la manusia kat situ... I think everyone wanted to be outside coz it's really hard to get a good day like yesterday really. We even got to eat ice cream! walaupun tak sedap... coz it tasted like... plain milk which was turned into ice cream... T_T I thought it was supposed to be vanilla or something!

We were there for quite a while... the kids were having fun with this really long slide, sanggup beratur walaupun orang ramai gile... then we went to another side of the park to feed the remaining of the bread to the ducks and swans and geese and seagulls, and we went home.. penat nak mati!

last but not least...a pic... LMB nyer T-shirt sudah sampai Caerphilly Castleee!! woootttt!




(PS: The rest of the piccies are being uploaded to my FOTOPAGE!!)