Category: Travel

It took only less than two hours from we stepped out from our home in south east London until we arrived at Brighton Railway Station.

Brighton is just one hour away from London Bridge Station. Although it’s more popular and suitable for summer holiday destination since the city is located by the sea, but short visit during weekend in autumn was not a bad idea either.

I always have a specific idea inside my head when choosing a destination. Brighton chosen because of a stunning by a picture from BBC here.

It’s been called the greatest wildlife spectacle in Britain and the winter months are the best time to witness this. Brighton and Eastbourne are well known for their dramatic displays.The picture is called Murmurations.

Murmurations are huge groups of starlings that twist, turn, swoop and swirl across the sky in beautiful shape-shifting clouds. Just before dusk, small groups of starlings from the same area come together above a communal roasting.Then, to Brighton we went. Stayed at budget hotel three minutes from the station, booked a room without breakfast, no other specific itinerary than watching the show at the beach.

The beach is fifteen minutes from the hotel.The first day spent at the highlight of Brighton, The Palace Pier. It’s a fun fair by the sea. Opened in 1899 and has survived two world wars. Home to fairground, restaurants, and deckchairs to enjoy the sea view.

The place is perfect for a sunny bright day, but we happened to have a heavy rainy day during the visit. Cold, wet, with strong wind. No sunset view.Just like the wise words say, “If it rains on your parade, dance in it”, so we did.

The little girl enjoyed few rides in the fun fair, and I had my chance to witness the main show although it wasn’t as planned. Bought a pack of hot donuts and ate it by the sea, still with the strong wind and rain.

We went back to the hotel for short rest then having dinner with the doctor’s friend and her husband who lives in Brighton. Our dinner was classic indian food which I found pretty good.

The next day, we went out early to explore the city. Hove Beach Hut, rows of colorful houses by the beach, to Open Market which that time was still closed because we were quite early. From the market, we accidentally found a playground and let the little girl play for a while.

The Lanes is one of the famous spot in Brighton. Small local shops sell many kind of things from clothes to vintage items. Survived this place without a single purchase and stick to theme of the trip.

As the weather was getting dark, we went back to the hotel to have lunch in a small japanese resto nearby. Japanese food never failed to comfort the tummy in a rainy day.

It’s been a while since the last time we had short nap in between during traveling. We had short nap and woke up when it was almost sunset. Hurrily dressed up and off to the beach by walk to catch the sunset.

This Brighton trip might be the most plain that we have ever had so far. Maybe because it was kind of trip that should be done in one day like Oxford and Cambridge.But, the beach and the funfair for the little girl was worth the budget spent.

Been trying to put some pictures and all failed. Maybe later.

It feels slightly sad and glad knowing that Brighton might be our closing trip in this country. Sad for leaving luxurious things that we could never have in Jakarta yet, so glad to be given so many chances to explore the beauty of this country.

We have had more than we could ask for. And that’s enough. Alhamdulillah.

It’s certainly different vibe between living and being a tourist in this city.

Regular life in London is either dealing with house works and the little girl’s lessons or having short trip mostly between school and market. The uniforms worn are sneakers and shirt with backpack, shopping bag or shopping trolley. Two hours spent by moving from one supermarket to another, choosing which ingredients to buy, standing and thinking hard on the pastry section, the discounted fruits and vegetables, making decision which item to be taken home in When it’s Gone Its Gone section.

Always go home with bags full of stuff.

While being (regular) tourist in the central spent by walking around Leicester Square-Covent Garden-Seven Dials-China Town-Oxford Street-Regent Street then finished at Piccadily Circus. Dressing up wearing blazer, nice blouse, and suede boots. A proper attire to be comfortably going in and out certain stores.

Two hours spent by choosing books on the sale basket, went in and out few book stores, stopping by little shops around the corner, taking the less crowded small alleys, people watching, listening to different languages spoken everywhere, enjoying performance from street musicians while munching some snack brought from home.

Always go home with the slightly lighter bags since the snack and water bottle are gone. Almost no stuff bought, unless it’s something needed.

Just like today, playing tourist in the last batch of lovely summer weather. Moving from one landmark to another by walk without maps. Just turned left or right in any interesting streets seen, until the time was up.

Went home by the nearest tube station and stopped at the interchange station for Jubilee line. Sitting in front of a couple, watched the girl busy cleaning her new spotless white shoes. Turned out it was Alexander Mcqueen. No wonder then.

London underground has never been so comfortable than ever. Space between seats, mask on for everyone. No more sardened in tube madness.

Arrived home tired yet happy. Had a bowl of cereal for lunch, short nap and changed to the usual uniforms. Comfortable shirt and sneakers. Ready for school pick up.

Enjoying the regular life as much as being an occasional tourist in this city, something considered far beyond lucky.

After the first day of Lake District Trip : Penrith-Windermere-Grasmere-Stone Circle, Some expectation has been adjusted for the second day. I clearly said that I didn’t really need so many places to stop by. I just need my picnic by the lake. It would be too dissapointing visiting Lake District without it. A chance to return to such place would be too small in the future.

I had one strong reason about being so annoying about this picnic thing. I was once having this kind of thing during the two months in Manchester back in 1994 with my family. You don’t underestimate how powerful happy childhood memories is. It stays longer more than you could think of as confirmed by Meik Wiking in his book below.

Blur picture, vivid memory : Picnic in Peak District 1994

After being grumpy a whole previous day, in our first stop my wish was granted. We had picnic by the lake in Derwentwater. From the lake, we could see the hill where the sheeps were enjoying their time, munching grass or just lazing around. The wind was pretty strong and it was cloudy at that time.

Done with enjoying the right amount of picnic, we proceeded to the next stop : Lingholm Estate. This is an itinerary arranged for the little girl. Here, we had a tour with alpaca, the cute little creature, a cousin to camel.

Lingholm Estate was a big estate by the lake where people could do trekking or eating in Lingholm Kitchen. We booked a session in 12.45 and since it wasn’t a normal situation, there were only two small groups of people with our own guide. We paid for 2 adults while the little girl paid none. So, we got 2 alpacas to walk around with us.

Popeye and Jahraz were the two Alpacas given to us. Me and Langit went with Popeye. He was a very nice and lazy alpaca who loved stopping and eating grass every few meters. We walked for an hour through the lake, forest and around the estate. It was beautiful.

Ste was our guide that day. Within an hour, everyone who met him would clearly see his huge love for his job. The way he explained about the Alpacas, the way he talked to them, the sparkling eyes and genuine smile were too obvious. When normally we have a dog person or cat person, then Ste is obviously an alpaca person.

He told us that he started as an ordinary guest just like us when he had totally fell in love with these creatures. He visited on March then by June, he had already landed at this job. I always have big respect and admiration to this kind of people. They know what they want, have the courage to pursue it, no matter how far from flashy it looks.

We had lunch in Lingholm kitchen and prayed in the car then continued the trip to Saint Bees.

Saint Bees is a less famous coastal beach in Lake District. We were so lucky that day the weather was so fine. The blue sky and sunshine were available throughout the day.

Not so many people in Saint Bees that day. Most of them were the elders or maybe local people. It wasn’t the beach for swimming but a perfect one to enjoy the sunshine, blue sky, the sound of the wave, and the beautiful hill next to the beach.

Honestly, there were so many times where the heart felt like being pinched watching these beautiful views. Saint Bees was one them.

It was 7 pm when we left Saint Bees and still had one last itinerary.

To the famous Buttermere.

Similar to the last trip to Scotland, the last itinerary was the highlight of the trip. SATNAV, the map tool, directed us through some narrow streets instead of big one. But then, the view out there was so breathtaking.

It was so quiet, peaceful and serene. It felt surreal to see all these beautiful nature and how different it was with the city landscape.

Maybe I was too grumpy about the picnic on the previous day until the next day, I was granted not only one but two picnics by the lake.

The second one in Crummock Water was way more beautiful than one in Derwent Water. The silence, the almost sunset view, the sound of the sparkling water. Such place does really exist in this world. We had our dinner in Crummock Water and Langit had some time throwing stones to the lake.

We still had Buttermere for our very last stop which only few minutes away from Crummock Water. Buttermere is a small village by the lake and often considered as the most beautiful Lake in Lake District. Crummock Water is actually also a part of Buttermere. The stunning view level is obviously higher than the lakes we visited on the first day.

We practically had the whole lake for ourselves in Buttermere. The hands couldnt stop taking picture. More with my favorite time of the day, made everything look more photogenic.

How ungrateful the heart was on the first day and how much it filled with gratitude on the next day.

To be granted a chance to travel safely after five months in this unusual situation, and many more, sometimes, other than being extremely grateful, I am just too scared to receive so much.

May the heart always stays low when life is on high paces and be patient (which is so hard) during the (s)low times.

We arrived at Penrith Railway Station on Friday afternoon around 14.30. Check in was still one and half hour away so we visited Penrith Castle right in front of the station. It’s more of ruined castle and there was nothing much to see. We had quick lunch on the bench before continued walking to our guest house.

I booked a guesthouse 10 minutes walking from the station and it is located near the supermarket since we traveled without kitchen. Our room was a triple bed in the attic. It was nice and clean.

Right after checked in, we went for a walk to see around the city center of Penrith and since it is a small town, we could just walked around for two hours. More, in the current situation, almost all the shops were still closed. The streets were empty and people were rarely seen. We just went home after a short visit to Sainsbury to buy some snacks and water.

As it is another nature trip, we booked a car for the next 2 days. Day one turned out to be one of the grumpy days in my traveling diary. We were ready to go according to the appointment with the car hire person and took a cab to the office. We were a bit early so we waited first. Until 15 minutes, there was no sign it would come so I asked the trip planner to call them. It turned out they would be late because of so many things and the earliest they could arrive was 11 am.

The grumpiness started.

It was 10.20 and we decided to return to the guest house as we left something too. We called the same cab to send us back and asked the driver to pick us once again at 11.10. The car office was only 7 minutes away. Not long after we arrived at our room, the car person called that they had arrived. We practically wasted 10 pounds on cab. The car hire company agreed to give us some compensation about making us waiting for them without a prior notice.

After everything was clear, we’re good to go and I was so ready to execute my most wanted itinerary. But, as the wise words said : bad things never come alone.

The first destination was Ullswater and it was only less than 30 minutes away from Penrith. But, when we arrived there, parking spot were packed. Not only that, the parking along side the road were also full. The city people were spending weekend by swimming, hiking, and camping. Apparently, my picnic plan should wait a little bit longer.

We proceeded to the next stop to Aira Force. Small waterfalls near Ullswater and it said we could have some picnic too. I wasn’t really sure since I had a very specific picture about kind of picnic that I wanted to do and it was certainly not a picnic by the waterfalls. Arrived in Aira Force, turned out another jammed parking spot so we just stuck there for few minutes and continued.

The grumpiness level was rising.

We only had two days in Lake District and had spent more than half of the first day in car.

As we already had a booked boat trip in Windermere and it was impossible to miss it, we had no choice but heading directly there. We arrived an hour early and thankfully, no more parking spot struggle. While waiting for the boat, I saw a perfect picnic spot on the other side of the lake. But again, it was impossible to go there within an hour. I should accepted my picnic ransum to be finished inside the car instead by the lake.

My mood had been so awful for the rest of the trip. Even the slightest thing irritated me and my heart almost lost all interest in everything. The beautiful view of Windermere outside the boat window couldn’t make the eyes wide opened and they chose to sleep along the trip. The weather was quite fine. Some blue and grey skies took turn. The trip took an hour back and forth.

The next destination was Grasmere where there was a famous gingerbread man store which only opened until 5 pm. On the other side, we had already promised the little girl to go to playground. We had Brockenhole in our itinerary where there was playground. We supposed to go there before the boat trip. Since the plan changed, so did the itinerary.

We accidentally found a pretty decent playground on the way to Grasmere. We made a stop there and let the little girl played for a while. There were quite few people, big group of moslem families to be precise, doing picnic and barbeque although there was a clear sign of no camping, no fire, no barbeque. Shame on them.

One of the advantages of summer trip is the long daytime. So we proceed to Grasmere and when I saw the little vilage from the car, the hope to have a picnic by the lake soared. Grasmere is a beautiful little village, the town was slightly busier than Penrith. I always love town walking trip. But sadly, we couldnt do that in this trip. Also, most of the shops were still closed.

We bought dinner from one of the restaurant and still tried find a spot for picnic but ended up with nothing. At that time, all I wanted to do was went home and sleep.

The mood was slightly improved when we visited our last itinerary : Castlerigg Stonecircle. It looked just like mini Stonehenge without entrance ticket and the crowd. It was located on the top of mountain with incredibly stunning view. The view reminded me of the Heidi and The Swiss Alps book.

Albeit all the beautiful landscapes, day one spent with heavy heart and dissapointment.

Lanjut dari bagian 1

Besoknya Senin pagi, kita keluar airbnb jam 9.20 dan udah pesen uber buat ke rental mobilnya. Perut saya udah mendingan meskipun masih ngga nyaman. Kita sempat nunggu agak lama sampai mobilnya siap.

Mobil yang kita dapet adalah Nissan Juke yang ternyata oke dan nyaman. Dalam bayangan saya mobil rentalnya akan seperti mobil tua yang sudah agak lusuh. Tapi begitu liat bersih, nyaman, dan kaya mobil baru, seneng banget.

#3 : ketika jalan-jalan, ekspektasi penting buat kenyamanan hati.

Kita berangkat dari Edinburgh jam 10 lewat sedikit. Keluar sedikit dari kotanya, lanskap pemandangannya sudah langsung berubah. Setelah jalan sekitar 40 menit kita stop di pemberhentian pertama. Sebuah toko es krim home made dan produk peternakan di pinggir jalan.










Es krim habis kita lanjut lagi dan berhenti di Luss Loch Lomond. Loch Lomond memang ngga seterkenal Loch Ness, tapi ngga rugi berhenti. Di ujung jalan menuju danau, ada satu toko souvenir kecil yang barangnya lebih unik dengan harga yang sesuai. Di sini akhirnya kita beli sedikit oleh-oleh.

Loch Lomondnya sendiri waktu kita dateng hujan lumayan deras,tapi karena cuaca di Skotland ini moody sekali, dalam beberapa menit tiba-tiba cerah lagi.





Dari Loch Lomond kita masih berhenti di banyak tempat lagi buat pipis dan foto. Pemandangan di luar jendela terlalu bagus buat dilewatkan.  Lanskap pemandangan menuju Glen Coe ini bergunung-gunung yang sebagian besar puncaknya masih tetutup es. Apa yang dilihat dari balik jendela ngga bisa sepenuhnya ditangkap kamera hp sederhana.



Kita sempat berhenti di rest area buat ke kamar mandi dan beli instan couscous dan tuna pedas di dalam cup. Buat makanan instan rasanya cukup lumayan. Setelah itu, langsung menuju penginapan karena sudah mulai gelap.

Kita sampai sekitar jam setengah enam. Strassynt guest house ini penginapan yang dijalankan oleh keluarga kecil. Kita dibukakan pintu langsung oleh Neil yang punya rumah. Meskipun kecil tapi kamarnya bersih, nyaman, kamar mandi juga cukup luas. Kita sempet numpang makan malem di ruang keluarganya. Selain bawa makanan, juga sempet beli makanan di Co-Op, minimarket  yang ada di belakang guest house.

Sebelum kita naik, Neil minta kita buat pilih breakfast yang kita mau untuk besok pagi. Pilihannya ngga banyak dan standar. Tapi lebih baik daripada ngga ada sama sekali.



Salah satu hal yang mungkin beda sama orang lain adalah pergi kemanapun kita hampir ngga pernah keluar lagi abis maghrib, dan kita selalu bangun dan sarapan kecil sebelum subuh. Setidaknya beberapa kali trip keluar, kita selalu jalan paling lambat jam 8 dan maghrib udah di rumah. Jam 9 udah tidur. Lama-lama udah jadi kebiasaan.

Di sini pun sama dengan banyak alesan yang valid. Ini desa kecil, gelap, dingin, dan ngga ada apapun juga yang bisa diliat. Jadi setelah check in, ngga kemana-mana lagi selain makan malam di ruang keluarga sambil ngobrol sebentar dengan hostnya.Besok pagi sebelum jam 7, kita udah keluar dan jalan-jalan di sekitar penginapan. Udara dingin dan berangin ditahan-tahanin karena pemandangan di semua sisi susah buat dilewatkan. Setelah sejam, kita kembali ke penginapan buat sarapan.



Sarapan yang disediakan adalah menu yang sudah dipilih malamnya. Standar aja, tapi enak. Saya pesen omlet, pancake buat Langit, dan smoked salmon bagel buat Pak Dokter. Buah, yoghurt, dan sereal juga tersedia. Selesai sarapan, kita langsung mandi dan beres-beres untuk cek out dan lanjut jalan. Setelah cek out dan taro koper di mobil, kita lanjut jalan-jalan lagi di sekitar penginapan. Tujuan utama  danau di sebrang jalan. Cuaca waktu itu hujan, angin lumayan, tangan beku. Semangat aja yang tetep 45 dengan dalih kapan lagi.

Setelah puas hujan-hujanan, kita kembali ke mobil dan itinerary hari kedua dimulai. Tujuan akhir hari kedua adalah Fort Augustus. Di Fort Augustus ada danau Loch Ness yang terkenal. Loch sendiri artinya lake. Sebelum Fort Augustus, kita sempat berhenti buat tracking sederhana di salah satu forest trail. Tracknya antara ringan-sedang. Lumayan juga buat olahraga dan suasananya juga tenang dan sepi.
Selesai tracking, kita terus ngga berhenti lagi sampai Fort Augustus. Sampai sana sekitar jam 2. Waktu sampai, ada cruise Loch Ness yang siap berangkat. Tadinya mau naik, tapi udah telat dan ternyata itu kapal terakhir. Ya sudah, jadi kita makan siang dulu dan  jalan-jalan sambil nunggu waktunya check in jam 4 sore. Pemandangan sekitar Loch Ness waktu itu pas banget dengan cerita-cerita monster yang didenger. Kabut, mendung, hujan, bahkan pas makan siang sempet hujan dan salju sebentar.

Cukup salut sih sama negara ini yang bisa menjual pariwisatanya berdasarkan sesuatu yang fiktif dan absurd dan dibeli secara masif. Karena winter mungkin ngga terlalu rame, tapi pemandangan dari danau Loch Ness dan suasananya itu tenang dan relaxing sekali.





Ngga ada yang lebih moody dari cuaca Skotland selama road trip ini. Setelah jam 4 cek in, tiba-tiba cuaca jadi cerah lagi. Tapi saya udah terlalu lelah buat bungkus diri dengan semua jaket tebel, jadi waktu Pak Dokter mutusin jalan lagi, saya lebih pilih tinggal di penginapan.

Besok paginya, kita cek out jam 9 dan sempetin buat nengok Loch Ness sekali lagi. Cuaca pagi yang cerah bikin moodnya juga beda sekali. Seperti perbandingan pas monsternya laper dan sober.


Tujuan hari ketiga sekaligus hari terakhir adalah Urquhart Castle lalu akan balik ke Edinburgh. Sewa mobil kita sampai keesokan hari jam 10 pagi. Jadi kita lebih milih sudah di Edinburgh dari malam.

Dari Fort Augustus ke Urquhart Castle hanya sekitar 30 menit. Loch Ness dan Urquhart Castle itu biasanya satu paket kalo misalkan ikut one day tour. Urquhart Castle ini salah satu castle yang paling banyak dikunjungi di UK. Kastil di danau ini pemandangannya juga luar biasa cantiknya.






Dari Urquhart Castle rencananya kita akan lewat rute yang sama dengan pergi, tapi GPS di mobil menyarankan untuk ambil rute lain yang mana terus lanjut sampai ke Inverness, kota kecil yang merupakan akhir dari rute A82.
Karena yang nyupir sangat percaya dengan GPS, diikutilah saran mesin pintar tersebut.



Rencananya di Inverness mau makan siang. Tapi repotnya adalah cari parkir yang gratis yang aman. Karena ngga ketemu kita jalan lagi terus. Keluar dari aura kotanya dan jalan kecil di Inverness, kita kembali ke jalan besar seperti high way dan cari-cari tanda rest area yang ada restoran.



Cari rest area dan tempat makan ternyata ngga semudah itu. Kita jadi sempet muter-muter dan salah jalan yang ternyata adalah sebuah blessing in disguise. Setelah berbulan-bulan ngerasain winter yang hangat di London, akhirnya bisa lihat dan ngerasain aura dan warna winter yang sebenarnya. One of the most breath taking experiences in this trip was a chance to see and feel the “winter is white”.



Sepanjang jalan cuma bisa terkesima liat pemandangan di kanan kiri. Setelah berbulan-bulan Langit nanyain hal yang sama tentang winter, akhirnya pertanyaannya dijawab. Kita akhirnya bisa berhenti dan parkir di Aviemore buat makan siang dan berhenti di salah satu taman kecil buat main salju. Aviemore ini kayanya juga pegunungan dan resort tempat main ski karena banyak orang dengan snow suit dan sepanjang jalan banyak toko peralatan ski.

# 4 : selalu percaya, ada sesuatu yang lebih besar dari perhitungan akal manusia untuk segala hal yang terjadi di hidup kita. Sekecil apapun, semua yang jadi rejeki, akan sampai dari manapun dan bagaimanapun caranya. Sekecil ganti rute jalan, ternyata highlight tripnya ada di sana.






Setelah makan siang dan main salju sebentar, kita ngga berhenti lagi dan langsung gas ke Edinburgh karena kejar sebelum gelap. Sengeri-ngerinya nyetir di highway, lebih ribet nyetir di kota yang jalanya kecil dan lebih padet.


Hal yang paling menakjubkan dari Scottish Highland ini adalah gimana alamnya bisa berubah drastis dalam jeda waktu dan jaraknya yang sangat pendek. Dalam 1 jam bisa ngerasain hujan salju lalu berubah jadi panas terik meskipun tetap dingin. Dalam jeda beberapa menit pemandangan di luar jendela bisa menampilkan musim yang berbeda.

Kita sampai di Edinburgh sekitar jam 18.30 dan langsung cek-in. Kali ini pilih di apartemen hotel yang juga punya parkiran biarpun bayar. Pengalaman sewa mobil ini jadi belajar banyak hal. Seperti susahnya cari parkir gratis, atau masuk ke gedung parkir dengan kode, slot parkir juga ngga bisa liat asal kosong. Meskipun nyaman, saya mendingan naik bis kemana-mana.

Setelah Komodo tahun lalu, ini mungkin salah satu trip alam yang paling berkesan. Salah satu skill paling jago yang saya punya adalah bisa tidur dimana aja dalam waktu cepet. Apalagi di mobil. Bisa baru naik langsung tidur. Di road trip ini, hampir 90% mata saya kebuka. Dua pertiga karena ngga selesai-selesai ngerekam semua pemandangan depan mata, sisanya berdoa semoga selamat di jalan sampai kembali ke tujuan. Ngga baik buat jantung duduk di kursi penumpang selama road trip ini.

#5 : makin jauh pergi, makin sepi dan sunyi tempat yang dikunjungi, makin banyak lihat berbagai macam hal, makin jelas dan sadar kalo kita kecil sekali di dunia seluas ini.

Keesokan paginya kita cek out jam 9 dan langsung ke tempat rental mobil. Perjalanan yang harusnya hanya 12 menit berakhit jadi 40 menit karena selain GPSnya ngasih jalan yang ngga bisa dilaluin mobil, navigator di samping supir pun sama sekali ngga pinter buat baca peta. Combo lah.

Lega sekali rasanya waktu mobil sudah dikembalikan tanpa kurang satu apapun. Kereta kembali ke London masih jam 1an, kita nunggu dulu di Waverley Mall buat makan siang di Chopstix, fast food halal terenak di UK yang menyediakan makanan cina sederhana kaya mie dan nasi dengan ayam berbagai bumbu.



Sejauh-jauhnya pergi, setelah lima hari bertualang, ngga ada yang lebih nikmat dari kembali ke tempat paling nyaman di seluruh UK.


Alhamdulillah.