Author: arlanadya

I have been reading so many blogs today, whether those wedding blogs or travel blogs. Travel blogs have been one of my addictions. I don’t know why the idea of going abroad always amuse me.

My family is not an extremely rich one, we had vacation sometimes, but hardly going too far. Puncak was our most frequent visit, since there was my dad’s office villa there. So, going abroad by plane was seemed so far.

My first experience of flying in an aeroplane was back in 1994. I remember the exact date, it was June, 5th, 1994. What was so exciting, is not domestic flight, but an international flight.

I flew with Emirates. One of the newest middle-east airline which now is one of the finest and favorites one.

Where to go?Singapore?Malaysia?Australia?No.

We went to England!:D

It felt so awesome for this 10-years-old little girl. We, I, my mother, my sister, and my brother, were going to visit my father who pursued his master degree in one of the best university in the world, University of Manchester.

We visited him during summer, for 2 months (What a great vacation!). I remembered we took night flight, with Jakarta-Singapore-Colombo-Dubai-Manchester route. It was 18 hours flight, with 5 hours transit in Dubai. The flight was great. The foods were all delicious. All the steward and stewardess were very nice. They kept giving us toys, bags, koala dolls, i loved it all. I still keep the bag from my first flight:)

I still remember clearly that we arrived at the airport and my dad had waited for us,then we went to the apartment by that black taxi cab, as in the movie. I couldn’t help smiling along the road from the airport until we arrived in the apartment. It felt as if your heart is going to explode because the excitement.

In our apartment, my dad had prepared gifts for each of us, yes, each of us, including my mother. He prepared me and my sister with a backpack and small bag. It was red backpack and a very cute small bag, which i still keep it until now.

I enjoying my 2 months there a lot. A lot. We stay in an apartment in granby row room 504 (I really have good memory on this). So, what were we doing during those days?

Let me names several.

We were …

going around the city

eating ice cream in many parks

waiting for bus number 81 to Piccadilly Center

going to precinct Centre by walk and counting steps along the pavement (I loved those pavement) to buy postcards.Oh, I sent the postcards to my best friends, (Almh.) Arum and I didn’t remember who another one, and i got the reply when i was still there!It was so cool receiving a letter with your name in the envelope as if we stayed permanently there,hehe.

The very same building as i remember

Picture taken from University of Manchester

going to University of Manchester and the Museum of Manchester, buying some very nice stickers, shopping in debenhams, my sister and I were very keen of Polly Pocket, we’d been visiting toys r’ us almost every time we went there, and finally buy some of it. (I don’t remember how exactly we paid for it,hehe)

doing groceries shopping in either Tesco or Indian Shop. I remembered how i disliked going to that Indian shop because it was so smelly, so i just waited outside, but going there is compulsory, since my dad had bought us the backpack so it can be filled with those groceries stuff:))

In other way, I loved going to Tesco. It’s quite far from the city, but i enjoyed the trip there. We passed those houses with the maroon brickswall and the chimneys, as Enid Blyton books told me. so, no complaining. Beside, Tesco is smells nice, and we had ice cream there:D

Oh, i remembered one thing that we (me and my siblings) always loved doing daily. We went to the park nearby the apartment. It has big bottle statue and we loved climbing it and playing there, and run-racing with the train passed-by in the railway bridge. We just pretended as if we were chasing the train,hehe. What a silly kids.

I found the picture of the park!!Our apartment just two blocks away

During our 2 month there, we also visited other cities. We went to London, by train!So, before King Cross station is famous because of platform 9 3/4 in Harry Potter, I have been there,in Manchester-London trip. We stayed for 3 days in London. We visited Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, etc.

We saw the guard-changing ceremony in Buckingham Palace also, it was so interesting. I keep wondering what Queen Elizabeth doing inside,hehe. I remembered we couldn’t visit tower of London and Madame Tussaud because it was summer holiday, so the queue was so long. Oh!We were riding on the red double-decker also:D

We also went to several cities like Blackburn (here i bought those blue Clark shoes with only 2 pounds, or Rp 7000,- ,at that time currency)! From then, I love Clark shoes, but it’s quite pricey now:(

Sheffield, Bath, Harrogate, and Buxton were another cities we visited. I didn’t remember clearly, but i remembered of having a-lake-side-picnic with the view of mountain and stone house like one in Little House on The Prairie book:)

Actually, we had also our Benelux visa to visit Netherland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, but, unfortunately, i had chicken pox there, so we cancelled the trip:(

There was also my starting point of learning English. From then, i love English subject and so eager learn by my self, from either books or movie.

Wow, what a long post. I think it is the first time i do really writing something here. It’s always heart-warming, memory traveling to the past:)

Manchester was my first love, which leads me to more places, more journeys, and always keep longing to going back there later, someday, Insya Allah. Amin.

so, I’ll see you later;)