Trip to Loch Lomond~

Its our first batch trip together ( well most of us ) to Loch Lomond! Was actually a last minute decision as the night before the trip, Shirley got hold of a piece of paper - A Walk in the Countryside, which was only for international students with a charge of just 5 Pounds! From there, we started informing everyone and was a success as many of them turned up in the morning for the trip!

Picture! Picture!

We then met up with other international students who where at George Square at 10am. Jamie, the tour guide then took us all to the ticket office at Glasgow Queen Street Station (just near by) to purchase our train tickets to Balloch. It took us about half an hour -more or less to reach the destination.

Those who were going as well - walking towards Queen Street station.

Return tickets from Glasgow Cen/QST to Balloch Central

Yippee~ Got and ticket and cant wait to get on the train!

The girls again...
...and the guys~

Oh, forgot to tell u is that it started to drizzle when we on our way to Balloch...although we did wish that it didnt rain but it still did anyway...would have been better if it was sunny...sigh. However, that did not stop us from enjoying our day! Soon enough we arrived at Balloch. It was really different from Glasgow City central ya, it's a more home-y and peaceful place as there were houses and gardens everywhere, people walking their pet dogs, etc.. compared to the city.

We walked in Balloch Castle Country Park and appreciated what nature hav for us. Funny part was that Kelvin got smacked by a leaf right on this cheek and was stunned for a minute there. Couldnt believe that nature was against him?? Lol!

Lots of trees....and leaves falling/flying everywhere
( when the wind paid another visit )

Oo...r we here yet?
Balloch Castle

Nice view eh?? All greens and greens...

After taking pics and stuff...we continued another few kilometers and reached here...

Another breathtaking view... nice breeze at the lake

Here's the end of our trip around to the park...and oh, we had to walk alot..! Saw lots and lots of beautiful ducks and a few elegant swans around as well. ( help yourselves v more pics in fb )

Time to rest? Take a break? NO !!!!! More walking for us!! It was an endless walk for all of us...good exercise at the same time n seriously tiring but for Loch Lomond..its all worth it.

Loch Lomond
One of Scotland's biggest lochs... ( slightly misty due to the rain )

To just reach George Square ---> Get on the train to Balloch ---> Walk around Balloch Castle Country Park ---> To Loch Lomond ---> back to Glasgow Central.... it took us half a day, from 10am to 6pm. With all the walking...its still worth it as i get to know how the countryside looks and feels like. =)

Taking a short break while waiting for the rest...

That is all for now~

~Shiennee~

Glasgow, I'm Here! ( Part 2 )

Ok...back again with my 3rd post! So, let me continue!

We departed from KLIA at 2.30am and reached Dubai International Airport at about 4.45am their time. Shops closed ? Wrong answer! To my surprise, there were so SO many people walking around just like in the wet markets. The first thing we went to search for was trolleys as all of us had brought overweight hand carries and backpacks..but to our dismay, we walked from one end to the other end but still couldn't find any! [ we could only enjoy the view of ppl pushing their trolleys =( ] + Every single toilet was FULL and of coz, the queue was very long. But oh well, at least it was clean. =)

Dubai International Airport ~

Anyway, the airport was quite big and nice. Every shop was filled with people and i had to squeeze my way through just to take a look at things! The lightings both on the airplane and outside the airport was really pretty as well! On board the plane, when the lights are switched off, u could see the dim lights changing from one colour to the other ( green, blue, purple..etc) Also, there are tiny white lights on the "ceiling" which looked like stars! How cool is that! But still, i could only sleep for like a total of 4 hours... Soon, it was time to board the flight to Glasgow , so bye Dubai!

View of Dubai from the plane

After about 7-8 hours, the plane was ready for landing..and guess where?? Glasgow of coz!

Yayz! We're here! After going through immigration and customs, we were welcomed by a few of our seniors and one of our coordinators which brought us to our accommodations and also gave us a small buffet lunch later on. Right after lunch, seniors took us to Tesco to buy our groceries and needs ...and that was about all for the first day in glasgow. And did i mention about the weather??? It's definitely COLD n WINDY!

James Blyth Court ( where i'm staying )

My room ^^

The chefs!

( our kitchen )

What we cook...nice!

( not just this! )

George Square!

With Crystal n Vivian

Buchanan Street

There were lots of people in the city and they really do lots of walking! There were even more during the weekends and u can see most of them with a shopping bag! Anyway, whereelse here ( mayb further) thr's a malaysian restaurant - Romours, which was introduced by seniors and said that they hav nasi lemak there ( nearest u can get). I have yet to try! Anyway, along the long street, there were also some scottish men in skilts performing with bagpipes and drums! It was something new to us.

Haha...In front of TGI fridays.

They were really impressive and the one in the middle could also be been running and jumping about with his big drum on his shoulders!

On the same day, there was also a festival going on. Merchant Festival to be exact. Lots of food ( fruits, candies, burgers, pastas etc...) and also lots of ppl lining up to buy their lunch.

A stall selling highland beef burgers...couldnt resist the smell...

Uni also gave us a week of time-table and we had wake up early to get registered in our course, open an account with the Royal Bank of Scotland, visit to the Townhealth Health Center located in the Royal Infirmary, a short orientation session for the overseas students, and an introduction to 3rd Year Pharm.

( We were told by the professors that : If u think that 2nd year is hard enough ,

WAIT TILL 3RD YEAR STARTS! ) * shivers *

I can feel the stress with just those few words and classes havent even started yet! Those who were laughing and chatting about couldnt even put a happy smile after hearing that! What a scare...

And oh, guess what...we had to pay 70 pounds jst for phocopied books throughout the 3rd year... Its so expensive! Got to start loving my books... And if u ever wonder about the list of price in Glasgow...i'll say tat some of the things are quite reasonable...( bought 7 pairs of socks for 2 pounds! ) but some aren't... So it depends on how u spend ur $$. On food...min 2pounds for fast food and min 3 pounds for normal meals) So its better to just stay at home and cook hehe..

My Books...

Royal Bank of Scotland

Did some laundry during the weekend... 2 pounds per wash and 1 pound to dry! But free ironing ( self service )

Celebrated Ching Mun's 20th Birthday ( Pot Luck ) - The first birthday event here XD. Within just 19 mins u can see that there's like just a quarter left on each dish! Hungry and big eaters we all were... like fugitives. lol. Anyway, we prepared minced black pepper beef ( recipe from eng seng) Gonna end my blog here for this post....but wait... guess who dropped by and gave all of us a surprise???

CHERYL!!!

Can u spot her? I doubt u cant!

Night sceneries at George Square, its rather beautiful ( but only got a few buildings to actually look at )

Outside our hostel

Last group pic with cheryl ( for now ) before sendin her back to her dad~

- End of Post-

Next : Trip to Loch Lomond on 28th of Sept~

~shiennee~

On the way to Glasgow~ ( Part 1 )

Hello again!!! Guess what, I'm blogging again after a year of silence hehehe...This time its something different as its about my new journey to a new place...

~Glasgow, Scotland~

YES! I'm finally in Glasgow if that's what u're asking/thinking. My date of departure from my beloved country - M'sia to Scotland was on the 19th of Sept 09 at 2am but before i can even step into the airport, there were more things to worry and settle than just buying an airticket to Glasgow.

1. Waiting for results to be out on 2nd of Sept! ( worst part )

Holidays started on 12th of Aug at 4.30pm after my last paper ( DD 1) . Felt so relieved after exams...finally get to sleep, eat and dream properly... wat a nightmare. Anyway, that's what all students face when it comes to exam period.

After 3 stressful weeks, we finally got to hav some fun! A few close friends came to Penang and had lots n lots of fun! But, i could only enjoy 99% of fun as judgement day was getting nearer and nearer by the day!

~Steph, Me, Cheryl, Wendy and Iris~

And everyone else!

Judgement day soon arrived and i was sitting in front of my laptop waiting to get my results.

Results were supposingly out at 4pm but by 4.15pm it still wasnt out! Made me all tensed up and hands felt cold as ice. Fortunately, a good fren of mine went to collect my results from uni for me since it's taking quite a while via the net, and guess what....I PASSED! I shall not elaborate more on that and definitely not on my marks as its very embarrassing haha..but dun care d... i'm happy with a pass and thank God for guiding n helping me! =)

2. Packing bags and all my nonsense ^^

My messy room ...hehe

Erggh...i was "only" allowed to check in 40kgs ( too little for me ) * stop starring, i know tat's alot XD*

At first, it seemed like i hav nothing much to bring but after placing my things in, i found tat my luggage was overloaded and obviously overweight! Wanted to bring my favourite boulster which weighed 1.8kgs...but...i couldnt..* cries* T.T Anyway, my dad thinks that i'm gonna open a sundry shop in Glasgow coz i basically put in everything i have. Hey..i'm a girl k..and i love my things with me... sigh. Nvm, i shall be reunited with them after about a year or so!!! Yipeee~

But good news to me is that i get to bring my baby cow with me . I'm satisfied ^^

My Baby!~

3. Applying and Waiting for my UK visa to be approved...

This is bad, horrible and terrible! I got rejected for my first application due to some reasons ( they were too stringent ) and had to rush down to kl the day. My parents sacrificed their sleep just to drive me down kl at 3.30am to reapply my visa the next morning !!! Thanks mum and dad!

4. Leaving M'sia, my Home, Family and also Friends! T.T

Finally, the big day arrived..time flies so fast! i wish i could turn back the time...

Dinner with Mummy and Daddy! ( Happy B'day Dad! )

With Grandma and Uncle Jim

With Mum, Aunts, Cousin Sis and Nephew~

My UK visa was also finally approved that very same morning ! What a relief as well, if not i wouldnt be able to fly with the rest of my batchmates. Met up with a few friends , had family gatherings and thanks for those who were at the airport to send the MQs~ And soon, it was time to say Bye Bye...

Yi Weei!!! U're so 伟大！and u know why! Thank you for the present! Simply love it =) Also, Happy 21st Birthday o~ (my gift to u was so small compared 2 urs)

My dear little piggy, got to meet her at last - in kl ~

~Mum and Dad, I love u!~

~Last night in M'sia for the MQs at KLIA~

p/s: Will miss you lots Wendy! Hugs*

To Be Continued...( Part 2 )

~shiennee~