Yorkshire Dales | Day out in Malham Cove

Finally, a blog post after almost half a year of absence. So much has happened since the last entry which was on spending Christmas in Tromso, Norway (link). Let's see, mid-terms went by, then it was stressing over job applications and a huge chunk of the remaining term was committed to finishing up my dissertation and course-works. Finals came and now here I am about to graduate, moving on to another new chapter of life, employment (meh). Less of the boring stuff, this post will be dedicated to my Civil Habibis! These people are one of the reasons I've came this far in my degree and I owe it to them for keeping my sanity over these past few years!

This trip to Malham Cove was a great getaway after finishing our final exams and to top it off, we were blessed with an amazing weather! 

An early start as we made our way to the train station to catch the Leeds to Skipton train. After arriving at approximately 9:20am we then got on a van/bus to Malham village, the whole journey took about 45 minutes through country roads and beautiful landscapes. We were dropped off at the Malham Bucks Inn and started our walk heading towards the cove. As you can see from the images below, the sky was clear without any clouds in sight, there was a gentle breeze and a perfect temperature of 23 c. We couldn't ask for a better day! We walked along the foot path leading us to the foot of the cove, it was about a 20 minute walk, it took us a longer time because of our constant picture taking/ selfie breaks.  

The start of our walk to the foot of the cove

Approaching the cove

After a short break by the stream, we continued our walk up to the top of the cove through a path that led to rocky/ stone paved steps. The walk may take the wind out of you, especially if you're unfit due to other priorities i.e. trying to get through uni. But we all made it slow and surely and was awarded with fantastic views of Yorkshire Dales! 

The path that leads up to the top of the cove

On top of the cove

Damini called this view 'The xxxxxx'

After spending an hour or two chilling on the the grassy field getting some tan, we all started to get really hungry and decided to head back down to the village for some nice pub food! 

As we got down to the foot of the cove, we cooled off by soaking our tired legs in the icy cold water of the stream while we watched other visitors with their pet dogs splashing around in the water chasing the ducks who were waddling peacefully before their day was ruined by us intruders. 

While chilling by the stream we got a shock of our lives when a fighter jet flew really low and past the cove above us. I'd give anything to see the reactions on our faces when we heard the loud rumbling of the jet engines echoing through the hills and its shadow disappearing in a blink of an eye.  

Foot of the cove with a little stream running through

The squad

4 years isn't a long time, but as I reminisce to the beginning of travelling thousands of miles from home to Leeds, the first day of uni and meeting tons of new faces and just finding everything so bloody overwhelming! Through constant doubts and questioning my life purposes until this day, from my personal experience I really think engineering does that to you, at least for me. So much has happened in these few years and I can't help but feel grateful for the opportunity, for the struggles, new experiences and of course the wonderful people that I've met along the way.

The one thing that made me feel so empowered as a woman in engineering is being a part of the very few civil engineering ladies in the course and seeing so many of us taking up roles, outshining the lads in many aspects of our degree life! I feel proud and honoured to know these Habibis in particular and my prayer is that you gals go on to make an impact and excel in your personal life and future careers! 

XX

Alexis

Some useful information:

Bus 210 or 211 schedule (Skipton St. to Malham Bucks Inn )

Only 2 service run daily, 9:45 am and 12:55 pm 

Because of the limited service, we decided to get a taxi back from Malham Village to the Skipton Train St. which cost approximately 30£ on way. 

More on Malham Cove

#KoreaVibes | Busan Edition |

#KoreaVibes

Busan부산

(5 Days 4 Nights)

Prior to completing my 6 weeks student summer exchange at Korea University I decided to plan a trip to Busan 부산 located on the south-eastern most tip of the Korean peninsula. 

There are many means of travels to Busan, various itineraries and accommodation choices. The following are my experiences and travel options I chose. 

1. Accommodation:

3 weeks before my Busan trip I booked an accommodation via Booking.com. I would suggest making earlier reservations especially during summer time as most hostels/ guest-house were fully booked. I was fortunate enough to secure a space in the Guesthouse 710 for a shared 4 bunk bed dorm(women) and from the reviews online this guest-house had a very good reputation. The price is above average but you're paying for good service and comfort which was my ideal choice.

My experience in this hostel was quite an enjoyable one, the service was very good 

(Wifi, clean towels everyday, breakfast included, air conditioned rooms, lounge/ computer area, ;laundry services ) and staffs were very friendly and helpful. 

During my stay I met several local Koreans and particularly had a great time during my last night of stay when the owner of the guest house held a party as well as a night out to a nearby sports pub. It was a great experience especially as the only non- Korean in the group and to experience a different culture in a foreign country.

Location was wonderful and easy to locate, restaurants nearby and less than 10 minutes walk to the popular Haeundae Beach 해운대해수욕장 and subway station.

If you're a solo traveller or in a group I would highly recommend this guest-house especially if you're open to having a good time and to meet people with different backgrounds.  

For more information follow the link to the hostel page:

Guesthouse 710

2. Travel 

As mentioned there are several ways to get to Busan. I chose the Korail Pass option which provides an option of purchasing 1-7 day passes only eligible for foreigners. 

I am aware that it is possible to get a bus to Busan as well but I didn't want to be stuck in a bus for a good 4-5 hours. 

I chose the 5 day Korail pass (youth saver age 13~25) that cost 111,800 won. 

Korail pass allows you to travel on with an unlimited access to the Standard

Class seats of the KTX, KTX-Sancheon, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa and Nuriro trains for a fixed period of time. It is a faster and more efficient was to travel. 

Procedure:

1. 1 week before leaving for Busan I went online to make a reservation for my ticket, fill in all required information and choose your rail pass options, PRINT e-ticket. Purchase transaction will only go through once you exchange your printed e-ticket at the Information Counter at Seoul Station.

2. Note: For expected arrival date in Korea: Put down the date of when you're leaving for Busan especially if you're already in Korea like I was

3. During the day of your travel to your destination: Bring along e-ticket, passport and credit card to Information Centre at Seoul station where they will give you a rail pass card with your name and details on it. (Keep it safe)

4. Go to ticketing booth and just show them the pass and let them know where you want to go. They will provide you with the earliest train time and seats if available. They will print out a ticket with your seat number, gate and destination.     

5. The trains are very punctual and leaves on time so remember to get to the allocated gate as early as possible. 

There are more information in English about Korail which gives quite detailed explanations.

Korail Link

Korail Rail Pass ( exchange from printed e-ticket)

Subway and bus travel: T-money card 

Purchased from any convenience store in Seoul i.e. 7-eleven, GS25 etc. Easy means of travelling as you can use it in Seoul and Busan as well as other cities. 

 Top up can be done only by cash at any subway stations/ convenience store

3. Intinerary

My main objective of travelling to Busan was to just relax and take my time to enjoy the sights and sceneries. Thus explains why I stayed for a longer period of time.

1st day (Saturday): 

Left Seoul Station on board the KTX-train bound for Busan. Arrived at Busan station and proceeded to Guesthouse 710 via subway. Finally checked in at about 5.00pm and was greeted very warmly by the Guesthouse manager who showed me to my room and other parts of the Guesthouse.

Walked to Haeundae beach and was surprised to see the whole stretch of the beach filled with people(literally).

Continued on foot along the beach to Dongbaekseom Island 동백공원 where there are several attraction points. It was a very relaxing walk along the shoreline surrounded by pine trees and a gentle sea breeze.

The sun began to set and I made my way by Subway to Gwangalli Beach 광안리해수욕장 famous for its fine sand, not as busy compared to Haeundae Beach and a picturesque view of the Gwangan Bridge. There were many shops, pubs and eateries along the way making it very convenient for visitors to order take out and have a little picnic by the sea under the illumination of the surrounding city sky lights.

It was a beautiful relaxing night, headed back to the hostel afterwards to rest up.  

View from Haeundae Beach

Sun set at Haeundae Beach

View from The Bay 101 area 

Dongbaekseom Island view of Haeundae 

Gwangan Bridge

Gwanganlli Beach

Gwangan Bridge

2nd Day (Sunday):

Had breakfast provided by the Guesthouse which consist of eggs, toast, cereal and juice. Left for Yonggungsa Temple  해동 용궁사 from Haeundae Station 해운대역 exit 7. Bus stop directly outside the exit and take bus 181 or just check the screen for any bus that is heading towards the temple area. Bus 181 drops you off directly at the foothill of the temple and takes approximately 25 minutes. Paid the bus fare using my T-money card.

From the drop off location it is another 10 or more minutes walk to the temple, surrounded by food stalls, drinks, souvenirs etc. 

You will then be greeted by the 12 Zodiac stone statues and as you walk along the paths you'll continue on down several flight of stairs that leads you to look out points and the temple itself. The weather was really hot and sunny, it was a great treat to buy myself an ice-cream to cool off.

Yonggungsa Temple from the look out point

Rare chance to get my own picture taken

  

After spending about 3 hours there I decided to go back to the hostel to freshen up before heading to church. For those interested do visit the New Philly Busan church a church plant from the Hong Dae branch I went to during my few weeks in Seoul. Service starts at 3.00pm and is located right opposite Gwangan Beach. 

Conveniently there was an Ultimate Frisbee pickup at Gwangan Beach so I joined in right after church service ended. It was great to be able to meet some players I met previously in Seoul during the Soongsil Hat tournament! The view was incredible and I could never say no to a beach pickup!

Unfortunately I had to rush off to meet a friend I haven't met in a long time and so had to leave early. It was great fun and met many wonderful friendly souls during that short time; Big thanks to Kyu Po for the lift back!

The night went by catching up with my friend. Shout out to Jay whom I met 3 years ago in Tasmania!

Useful links: 

Yonggungsa Temple

New Philly Church Busan

Busan Ultimate Facebook Group 

3. 3rd Day (Monday)

After a quick breakfast, I made my way to Taejongdae Park 태종대 . Took the subway to Nampo Station 남포역 and got a bus from Exit 6 the station is right before the Yeongdodaegyo Bridge 영도대교 and opposite Lotte Mart. 

There several buses that go towards Taejongdae Park, it'll be easier to look at the bus numbers located on the bus stop sign. 

Buses bound for Taejongdae: 8, 13, 30, 88, 101

Arriving at the park there will be rows of shops and restaurants. I made my way on foot to the information centre to get a map of the park. There's a lot of walking uphill before arriving at the scenic sights, one can opt for the Danubi Train 다누비열차 instead of walking by purchasing the tickets. The queues and waiting around made me loose interest and nothing beats walking/ working on the leg muscles!

Slowly and leisurely I walked along side many other visitors who preferred walking rather than taking the train. 

Map below shows that several attraction sights, but my main focus was to get to 신선바위 Sinseon Rock(cliff side) located at No. 4 from the map. 

Photo taken from online

It was quite a long descend down to the entrance to the cliff side, I spent a good 2 hours taking photo's, trying to get a closer look at the crashing waves below and climbing on the rock faces.

Fish market with platforms to sit at where you enjoy fresh sashimi

My essential travel pack and shades: Burton tinder pack

Interesting rock formations

Fishing hut

Feeling free

It was a shame that since I was travelling alone, I couldn't try the fresh sea food from the cliff side. It was too big of a portion and I wasn't willing to fork out large sums of cash for it. Solo travel problems!  

I continued on exploring the other sights after getting my adrenaline fix. 

Personally the highlight of this trip was the cliff side. It's not enough to just snap some selfies like many other tourists did; get down on your fours, feel closer to nature and the sheer power of evolution. It's a humbling experience.

Left Taejongdae on the same bus from the opposite bus station. Took the subway to Sinpyeong Station 신평역as I wanted to visit the Dadaepo Sunset Fountain of Dream. Unfortunately the fountain closes on Mondays and the evening was very cloudy so I couldn't catch the sun set which was quite a bummer. I travelled by a local bus that dropped me somewhere way off, so I do recommend just taking the Taxi as it's cheap and convenient.

The night ended with a long subway ride back to Haeundae for a good night rest.

Useful links:

Taejongdae Park 

Dadaepo Sunset Fountain of Dream

4. 4th Day (Tuesday)

Spent the day walking and exploring Gamcheon Village 감천 문화 마을 known as Busan's Santorini. A very interesting and colourful village painted with different attractive colours, with hidden cafes, boutiques and art galleries that will take up most of your day. 

I took a subway to Toseong Station 토성역  Exit 6 and walk towards the bus stop right outside a hospital, get on the local bus Saha 1-1, Seogu 2 or Seogu 2-2 that will drop you right at the entrance of the village. Went to the information centre to purchase a map, it was an interactive map that leads you to several interesting sights around the village and stamp your map upon arrival. Getting lost and exploring the narrow alleys made this visit quite a fun experience.

Interactive map from Information Centre

  

From a look out point

I wonder what it feels like to have strangers walking by your house everyday

Later in the day I went to Jagalchi fish market 자갈치시장 the largest fish market in Korea. Treated myself to some fried fish set for just 7000won. 

This was amazing

Fresh fish

After that I headed back to Haeundae Beach just to chill and relax while watching a guy attempting to surf. Joined in on the Guesthouse party held by the owner and continued on for a night out of beer pong and bowling. 

It's nice to people watch. I'm no creep.

Some of the lovely Korean's I met

Useful links: 

Gamcheon Village

Jagalchi Fish Market

5. Final day (Wednesday)

It was pouring down with rain, putting me off from visiting any other sights.

Checked out of the guest house at 11am and made my way back to Seoul via. KTX train. 

There are tons of information located online and it's easy to research and plan your trip accordingly.

Apologies for the long post! Hope it was informative and useful! Any questions please feel free to ask =) 

Summer adventures~ Lisboa, Portugal

Ola! Bom dia...

This shall be quite a detailed post so you could read on or just skip to the pictures and video =) 

As previously mentioned I'll be doing a blog post on my travels to Lisboa (Lisbon) Portugal during the start of my summer break with a couple of friends from home.

This was a highly anticipated trip for me because not only was I deprived from the sun, I needed a break from the cold wet British weather. I was really looking forward to spending some time by the beach and getting some tan before heading back home to Malaysia.

Thus begin the journey to Lisbon via easyJet. Waking up at 4am to meet up with a couple of friends before making our way to London Luton's airport where we caught a 2 hour 40 minutes morning flight to Lisbon. 

As we arrive in Lisbon our first challenge began where we had to communicate with the owner of the apartment we were to stay at. After much attempt and to the point of almost giving up we managed to make a phone call through the payphone and settled our accommodation. We then made our way via train to Rua Augusta where the apartment was located at. While walking through the streets filled with tourist we encountered a rather unpleasant situation where some people attempted to pickpocket our bags. Thanks to the kind restaurant waiters who warned us of this we managed to prevent ourselves from being a victim of their nasty intentions. After this incident we were much more aware of our belongings and surroundings. 

We checked into our beautiful little apartment in Rua Augusta with its creamed coloured walls and white Victorian window looking out into the cobbled streets and Cafés. The apartment had two rooms with single beds, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a 
living room. It had a washing machine and dryer as well as cooking utensils and a
 mini refrigerator. 

We spent our first afternoon exploring the streets and trying out some local pastries. There was 
slight drizzle but couldn't deter us from doing some sight seeing. We came upon our first
historical monument which is the Rua Augusta Arch built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake located at Praca do Comercio (Commerce square). 

Some say the best way to explore a new city is to get lost and that's when you'll see things that 
most tourist don't. 

As we looked out into the distant hills we spotted a castle stooped on a hill and thus decided to 
head towards the castle. 

Roaming through little alleys and cobbled streets; walking up countless steps and inclined 
pathways we finally arrived at 

the castle which we later found out to be Saint George's Castle (click for more info). After paying the entrance fee 5Euro for students only valid with a student ID we explored the castle, climbing up medieval stone stairs, walking through ramparts and lookout points we were able to take in the panoramic view of the city Lisbon. We also found 
The Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major also known as Lisbon Cathedral a Roman Catholic Cathedral. There was a choir performing just outside the cathedral singing hymns commemorating the birth of St John.

After walking tirelessly around the city we sat ourselves down for some lovely Portuguese seafood dinner and proceeded to the commerce square where a live broadcast of the world cup 2014 Portugal vs USA was shown. After a short while we headed back to out apartment to plan for the remaining days.

The next day it was pouring down with rain and apparently it was an unusual site for even the locals. However, the rain cleared a little and some local friends took us to the little neighbourhood called Belém. 

Belém is a very monumental and historical place, it is home to many famous architecture/ monuments and also the Pastéis de Belém (Portuguese Egg Tarts). I've eaten lots of egg tarts in my life but the way
of eating egg tarts in portugal was to sprinkle some cinnamon and icing sugar on the top and 
let me tell you, it was mouthgasmic. The sweetness and flaky skin of the egg tart was heaven
 to my palate. There were many other attractions to see in Belém however due to the short 
amount of time and the rain we only managed to see the   Belem Tower, Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the outside of the Jeronimos Monastery a world heritage monument. The day ended with a walk through Bairro alto streets, quiet during the day, but is transformed at night into vibrant night-life quarter from restaurants to bars filled with locals and tourists. 

On our third day we made our way to the Thieves market aka Feira da ladra that has been around since the 12th century by the famous 28 tram. There were many local arts being displayed, jewelries, clothings, cloths etc. From there we visited the  Santa Engracia Church, or the National Pantheon containing tombs of several Portuguese presidents. An entrance fee with student discount had to be paid before entering the church with its magnificent dome ceiling above our heads while a pensive adagio was being played across the church. We explored the church and came upon a splendid view on top of the church where we had a breathtaking sight of Lisbon, the 25th de Abril bridge and the Tagus river. We stopped by at a small local restaurant where the enthusiastic jovial owner spoke no English. Being a foreigner and not understanding Portuguese we decided to just point and order counting on our luck that the food would turn out nice. We were not disappointed as the food arrived and it was delicious. We had pork belly, pork chops and the famous grilled sardines coated in salt and sprinkled with some lemon juice. 

Next we took a taxi (cheap and affordable means of transport when shared among friends) to our next location ie. Christo Rei 90 ft built in thanks to God for sparing Portugal during WWII, this monument to Christ was inspired by the famous statue in Rio de Janeiro. Before arriving at the monument we passed through the 25th de Abril bridge. It is a spectacular sight with the longest central span in Europe (1013m/3323ft), longer than San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, which it resembles. We had to pay 4 Euro for the entrance and ascend up towards the panoramic platform view of Lisbon and the 25th de Abril bridge. We then took a taxi to Costa da Caparica beach off the coast of the north Atlantic ocean where we planned on getting some sun and a little game of Frisbee. Though the day was sunny the wind was immensely strong thus cut short our little beach excursion. Feeling a tad bit hungry we decided to leave for some seafood and hence we ended up in a bustling seafood restaurant called Cervejaria Ramiro. The staff were amusing and friendly most probably because the group of us were too enthusiastic about having seafood coming from a country where we pride ourselves with having the freshest most delicious seafood (Sabah). We were given a showcase of the huge mud crabs, lobsters, prawns etc before they went on to cook it for us. One by one our food arrived and the looks plastered on our faces were utter disbelieve and delight waiting to dig in; of course before every meal comes the expected photography frenzy. We ended the day with a fully satisfied tummy and a nice stroll back to our apartment.

On our forth day we went for a private tour (Celina tours) to Sintra and Cascais. A minibus came to our door steps and we made our way to the first sight which was the Queluz National Palace, French designed interiors and its beautiful courtyard gardens. There was a separated entrance fee we had to pay for that includes an entrance fee to another castle later on in the day. The palace itself was home to the falconry and equestrian shows during fixed time of the day. Next we went to the historical centre of Sintra however we weren't able to enter the National Palace as a Ministerial meeting was being held at the time. We left the little city and made our way to the Pena palace a mixture of Moorish and Manueline architecture. After that we were driven along the coast to a beautiful coastal village by the Azenhas sea shortly after we went for a wonderful lunch in a local restaurant and had the best swordfish and mash, veal, fresh grilled octopus and baked cod. Next we went to Cabo da roca a cliff side overlooking the Atlantic ocean also the westernmost point of Europe with its spectacular view. After some time spent taking photographs of the place we made our way to Boca do Inferno (mouth of hell) I recommend you to Google this location and YouTube the phenomenon too understand why it is called Mouth of hell. We ended our tour in Cascais a famous coastal town home to the rich and famous where many celebrities like Ronaldo the footballer build their holiday homes. We arrived back in Lisbon in the evening and rested before having our dinner and went out to experience the Portuguese way of partying till the wee hours of the morning.                 

We had a late start to our final full day in Lisbon, thus after some food we left for Fonte de Telha beach a small fisherman's village surrounded by dunes, pine trees and a cliffs via taxi. We spent our time soaking up the sun, walking the shores and relaxing. The Atlantic sea water was really cold but due to the strong wind many sports enthusiast could be seen in the water surfing, kite surfing and wind surfing. The day ended with a beautiful sunset across the horizon, chasing flocks of sea gulls and an attempt to walk along the coast towards Costa da caparica about 9km away which we ended up aborting the mission at the last phase for some food instead. 

The last day we all said our goodbyes, packed up and heavy heartedly returned back to London. 

In conclusion, Portugal is like any other city in Europe filled with it's own history, culture, beautiful people and buildings. It's a city where religion still plays a huge part in the lives of many, a mixture of modern and its own unique identity. Definitely a must to go back to Portugal. Obrigada portugal! Till next time!

List of places visited: (click on link for more info)

Rua Augusta Arch

Praca do Comercio

Saint George's Castle   

Belém

Santa Engracia Church      

Christo Rei

25th de Abril bridge

Costa Da Caparica

Fonte de Telha

Queluz Palace, Sintra Vila, Pena Palace, Azenhas Mar, Cabo da Roca, Mouth of Hell, Cascais 

Apartment information: Downtown historical flat  for more pictures and booking 

Tour information: Celina tours http://www.celina-tours.com/eng-tours-sintra-cascais.php

Photographs of my trip:

Rua Augusta Arch

Statue of King José I

Outside of St  Georges castle

The city view and bridge from the Castle court yard

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Jeronimos Monastery

Bairro Alto

Group photo in Belem

Tram 28 starting point

National Pantheon aka Santa Engracia Church

Christ the King

Falconry show Queluz

Queluz palace

Sintra city 

Pena palace view

Azenhas sea coastal village

Cabo da Roca

Cabo da Roca

At the Mouth of hell

Mouth of hell

Fonte de telha

A perfect end to a perfect holiday

Shout out to the peeps that made this trip all the more enjoyable!
And to those who read and made it this far into the post! LOL
XXXX

My video log:

Watch in HD!