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.
Close your eyes and imagine this scene as I paint a picture
for you; a sea of white snow everywhere you look, snow-capped mountains in the
distance, slight tint of blue in the sky, frozen lakes to your left, you take a
breath in and the icy fresh air just awakens every corner of your soul.
Or this, you’re freezing out in the sub-zero temperature,
there’s a slight breeze brushing past your skin, your fingers and toes frozen but
you don’t care because right in front of you, the sky is dancing with bright
green and purple hues; gaze transfixed at the sight of a starry aurora night.
This trip to Norway
took place in Tromsø, the second time in one of my favourite country to visit, 1st trip to Norway blog entry Here.
My friends and I left for Tromsø on the 21st of December and the
trip lasted for 6 magical days.
Below are some of the best (to my ability) moments captured
in chronological order;
Links to places are at the end of the post.
Day 1 | Checking in and exploring |
We spent most of our time walking around town as light was
scarce and it was cold, we explored the malls and walked around the water front
watching boats drift with the ocean and lights reflecting off from the
buildings above. The streets were decorated with Christmas lights and the
yellow flickers coming from within the windows gave the town a sense of warmth
in one of the darkest period of winter. We stayed at the Comfort Hotel Xpress
Tromsø which was strategically located in the city centre, within walking
distance from the nearest SPAR grocery store, the malls, restaurants and main
streets.
A random alley lit with fairy lights
Christmas Tree
Day 2 | Whale safari in freezing conditions |
On our second day, we woke up early in the morning for a
Whale Safari Tour, our pickup location was at the Scandic Ishavshotel which was
about 10 minutes’ walk from our hotel. We were met by the company
representatives and got on a bus for a 45 minute journey to the safari
location at an island called Kvaløya. On the way there, our guide gave us a very
informative talk on the whales that we were going to see (hopefully), the
evolution behind the whales and also lots of other details about migration and
their behaviour. Finally we arrived at the location, we were given high visibility
flotation suits which were far too big for me but it serves its purpose
nonetheless. I chose the ‘ Rib safari tour with a marine biologist’ as it gave
us a better opportunity to see the whales up close and just experience the
sheer power of the open ocean and the elements of our surrounding. Unlucky for
us, the weather was not on our side; it was quite dark and cold, windy as well
as raining for most of the tour. Regardless, our very experienced guide manage
to spot some Orcas in the distance within 10-minutes out in the rib. After approximately
2 hours, the safari was cut short due to the worsening weather but we were glad
in a way because most of us were wet and freezing. Back at the hub, we were
given some fresh and delicious hot fish soup which was an instant pick me up
and immediately felt a whole lot more alive. I wish I had a better camera to
capture the whales in the low light conditions, unfortunately the pictures I
took came out really grainy but they’ll have to do.
The ribs that we were on
Orcas feeding
Day 3 | When plans don’t work out |
Day 3 was the day that I was super excited about because it was
the day for Dog Sledding! Our pickup point was at the Radisson Blu Hotel which
was also situated beside the Scandic Ishavshotel . Unfortunately to our dismay, we
were given the bad news that the tour was cancelled due to lack of snow. To be
honest, I was particularly bummed about it, we were all disappointed because
who would’ve thought that of all places we’d run into this issue that there
wasn’t enough snow? Apparently it has been one of the warmest few weeks that Tromsø
has been experiencing and the continuous rain had melted away the snow. All we
could do was to just go online, search for any available dog sledding tours
that we could find and we called and called but everyone we talked to was fully
booked out or the days available was just not suited for our schedule. Finally
we got in contact with a local guide, there wasn’t much information online
about the tour, but we were desperate and he sounded promising, however the
probability of the tour was dependant on the snow condition. At this point we
were just holding on to our last ounces of hope and so we just brushed this whole
situation aside and went to collect our car which we rented from the company
Avis.
We drove out across the bridge to the Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen) and
spent some time in the snow snapping away at this architecture marvel. After
dinner, we just picked a point on google maps and drove into the darkness in
search of the northern lights. With the little information we got from the local
tour guides we drove up north for about 30-40minutes but snow was just
incessantly falling and we knew it was impossible to see the northern lights in
this condition; we turned back and this time we went down south and came upon a
diversion which we just decided to explore as the sky started to clear up.
During our drive we came upon a house and decided to stop by the road while we
took out our cameras and nonchalantly pointed it at the dark sky, waited a few
seconds as the camera clicked away, right then and there the LCD screen showed
some faint greenish rays across the sky that we weren’t able to see with our
naked eyes. After speaking to the home owner who was outside doing some chores, he
pointed us to the direction of where we could see the lights clearer and so we
set out with high hopes, safe to say we weren’t disappointed. We were
surrounded by darkness and all we could see was the faint lights in the sky
which our cameras were able to capture more clearly. We spent close to 3 hours
just snapping away in the cold before deciding it was time to head back, by
then it was close to 1am and all the morning disappointments were temporarily
forgotten.
The Arctic Cathedral
Tromsø Bridge connecting Tromsdalen on the mainland and the island of Tromsøya
Day 4 | Road Trip to Svensby, Christmas Eve |
After checking out of the hotel, we stopped by at the local
SPAR to do some Christmas dinner grocery shopping, we then loaded our car
before setting off for a road trip passing through Fagernes towards the ferry
terminal at Breivikeidet which took us close to 50 minutes. The drive was
remarkable as light began to fill up the dark sky, we were immediately transfixed
by the surrounding fjords, frozen lakes; snow covered roads and trees clothed
in white. As we reached the ferry terminal, in the distance were the majestic
Lyngen Alps; the scheduled ferry arrived at 11.40am and took us across the
waters to the other side where we were going to stay for the remainder of our
time in Tromsø. We checked into our holiday apartment in a private farm land
and was amazed by the beautiful scenery as well as the cosy and modern interior
of the house. The house was fully equipped with all the necessary cooking
utensils; they also provided us with oil, salt and spices which I requested upon
the reservation of this accommodation. We ended our Christmas Eve night with a
full belly of instant noodles and watched ‘Train to Busan’ which I know, isn’t the
most festive movie for the Christmas season but hey, we enjoyed it all the
more.
Our cosy farm house
Day 5 | Christmas Day |
Started the day with a leisure drive to the nearest town
Lyngseidet which was 25 minutes away, for the first time since our trip we had
clear blue skies and this was the start of an amazing and unforgettable Christmas
day.
After stopping by the quiet town, we continued on to
Koppangen Brygger towards the left side of the Lyngen Fjord overlooking the sea with tiny
red houses on stilts by the bay. The view as always was spectacular and breathtakingly
gorgeous, soon the sun began to set and we made our way back to the farm while
we enjoyed the bright orange and yellow hues in the horizon. As darkness fell,
the Christmas dinner preparation began and we were all just buzzing with
excitement as Christmas tunes filled our entire apartment. While waiting for
the Chicken to roast we were caught off guard when the northern lights suddenly
appeared in full glory, words can’t explain how remarkable the sight was, the
sky above our apartment was just filled completely by the aurora and this time
we could see it with our eyes, bright green purple blue hues dancing above our
heads. The chicken, potatoes, vegetables were all just forgotten in the moment
of pure wonder, thankfully nothing was burnt. I don’t know how long we spent
outside staring into the sky when we finally went back into the warmth of the
apartment for our Christmas meal and gift exchange!
During this time we were keeping in contact with a Lyngen
local dog sledding guide, Tommy Larsen whom we found the day we were frantically
searching for an alternative as our first tour was cancelled. He was kind
enough to invite us over to his place on boxing day to just experience what we can and meet
his team of huskies, however we were told that it was impossible to do the
complete sledding experience because there was still insufficient snow at the trails.
Taking into account the fact that this trip wouldn’t be complete without a dog
sledding experience, we took this opportunity and it turned out to be one of
the best moments of my life. I’ll stop with the words and just let the pictures reveal this special Christmas day.
Our trusty ride
Koppangen
Day 6 | Final day & Boxing day, dog sledding with team
Lyngen |
The final day, we woke up early in the morning and had some
fresh milk from the cows at the farm and after a hearty breakfast, we cleaned
up the house before driving about 30 minutes to Tommy’s place in Karnes. As we arrived at
his cosy house, we were greeted warmly by Tommy and after chatting for a bit we
found out that he was a local musher from Lyngen and has competed in several
races with his team of 13 Alaskan Huskies. We were provided with some warm clothing and
snow boots before we went outside to the kennels to finally meet these
remarkable athletic dogs. The introduction was very simple as the dogs were
very friendly and comfortable with strangers, we felt right at ease with 14
dogs running around, greeting us with kisses and paw bumps. Tommy explained how the sled
worked then we were each assigned a dog where we helped put on the harnesses, the
dogs were very well trained and once the harness was on it was as if a switch
was flipped and the dogs were focused and ready for the task ahead.
We went out to an open field where we were given the
demonstration of how to control the sled and then it was our turn to ride, each
of us had several tries taking turns to handle the sled. The experience was
definitely exhilarating and I could feel the sheer power of these dogs as they
pull the sled across the open field. After several rounds with the dogs, we
spent another hour or so just talking and playing with the dogs watching them
run around the enclosure. Tommy then brought us to a hut he personally built
which overlooked the Alps and sea; the view was amazing and we had a lovely
time listening to his experience and learning about Norway over a warm cup of tea/
coffee by the fire. The conversation had to be cut short due to the fading light
and the push for time as we had to drive back to Tromsø city, return the car
and make our way to the airport to catch our 7pm flight.
It was a packed full on day but definitely a great end to an
amazing trip.
That view tho.
(Photo by CK)
Back Left (Buster), Back Right (Diko) Middle (Lisa), Front Left (Mille), Front Right (Mie) (Photo by CK)
Pros: Very responsive to emails, lounge area includes hot water, free coffee and tea, mini convenience store, Wifi, rooms are very comfortable and the toilet has heated floors!
Cons: On the pricey end; no cooking facilities/ electric kettle in the room
Pros: Very responsive to emails, the owner is super friendly and helpful and lives in the farm as well, has a dog named Molly( such a cutie), fresh milk from the cows, beautiful scenery, check out their website to learn more about the accommodation options that they offer.
The whale safari and dog sledding in my opinions was one of the best experience I've had and they both have great reviews online. There are dozens of tour companies available so be sure to just research more and make comparisons to see which suits you best.
There's an alternative route that takes approximately 2 hours instead of taking the ferry; The highlighted route in Blue includes a Ferry ride which would cut short the journey time.
The Aurora forecast and weather forecast links provide very useful information for those of you who are keen on hunting your own Northern lights like we did.
Summer. A season I long for every start of the term. A period of time where I eagerly anticipate.
After not being back home for almost 2 years, it was time to head back home. Finals was over, the process of packing commenced and soon it was time to head back home. But before that, I made a cheeky stop to Dubai because why not. More about Dubai in my previous post here .
Long story short, I spent about 3 weeks back home before heading off to the tiny island, a dot on the world map but an incredible country known as Singapore.
So there I was, in Singapore. It felt familiar, like home, but it wasn't. This time I wasn't a traveller, I was not there for just a few days. This time, I was an Intern. Living, breathing, and adapting to the hustle and bustle of this economy powerhouse.
Not going to bore you with the in depth details of my time in Singapore because, there wasn't much that went on. But here are some of the highlights of my 2 months there.
Joined the Singapore Ultimate Open (SUO) 2016. Twas a random decision to join a team with a bunch of random international people who throughout the weekend displayed why ultimate frisbee is such an incredible sport that unites everyone.
Probably the best part of the tourney was playing against former team mates from the UK! and also an AUDL player. YAAAAS
Saturdays were one of the days that I looked forward to the most. Beach pickup in Sentosa. 3 things I love the most all in one. Beach. Sea. Frisbee. My life is complete. Big shout out to the pickup people who graciously allowed me to be a part of their training's, games and hangouts <3
Where should one go to be immersed in nature? MacRitchie Reservoir pretty much checks the box in most areas in terms of scenery, trails and wildlife bearing in mind that this place is (man made). A lovely refreshing getaway from the city with my friend Nicole.
Something work related! Had the chance to visit a site where one of the many MRT tunneling work was in being carried out. 30m below ground, standing in the midst of giant machinery. Such a humbling and incredible experience.
Singapore's National Day fireworks display was pretty awesome, albeit rather short.
One of the place I frequent to chill at night. Good vibes. Good food and Good company.
Singapore Night Festival. Live music, hipster food and drinks all night.
I love the creative aspect of art. But when I had to wait 2 and half hours in a queue to enter a 6 by 6 ft room to see a couple of dangling lights and mirrors. I found myself questioning the mere existence of life. But here it is, the Shower thoughts. It was, pretty cool.
This out of the world Gardens by the bay. Felt like I was transported into a different realm.
Pretty much sums up what I did in Singapore. Not to mention the people I've met along the way. Friends that I've reconnected with and also family members that I had the chance to meet up with. I feel immensely blessed beyond words with the kindness I've been shown and the opportunities that I was given. To the people that made my stay in Singapore an unforgettable one. Much love!
It's been a while, I'm finally home ( weird because technically I'm writing this in Singapore but you get the point. I'm narrating. Moving on..)
The days went by and I practically just shut myself at home. Literally left the house only to run errands and a lil bit of work outs. But basically just relishing being back home.
This trip to Mt Kinabalu Park was a great getaway, I was able to witness the majestic sight of the mountain post earthquake as well as just spending some quality time with the parents. Without further ado, here's some of the pictures I got whilst up there in the midst of nature and it's beauty.
My dad brought us to this trail that apparently was the trail he used to bring my siblings and I to when we were kids. This is the stream that flows along a bridge at the main entrance to the trail.
Everything just looks, so
Green.
Oh, dad found this ant or termite trail and I thought it was pretty gross! Ha, I hate little crawly things.
Dad was fascinated with the roots that provided natural steps for the trail
Green. Again.
Introducing my beautiful Omma!
My witty Abba!
( Randomly picks up branches and asks ' Do I look like a deer?' )
No trip can be complete without a SELFIE
And, finally. Mount Kinabalu.
Scars from the recent earthquake that sent landslides, boulders and loose rocks crashing down the mountain side destroying anything in its path as well as taking some precious lives. Till this day I can't imagine such heartbreaking event to have ever occurred so close to home.
As a child I've always looked up and saw The mountain sitting so majestically swathed with trails of pearly white clouds, the pride of our land. Now, as we look upon her scars it'll bring a new sense of emotions, different for each individual and as for me, it'll be a heartfelt respect for nature and what has came from it. To know that we don't own nature but we're just mere beings that gained a temporary gift to dwell in this earth we can call Home.
Mount Kinabalu will forever be sat on her throne, looking upon the city of Kota Kinabalu. And we can always look up from wherever we are and remember,
Tinggi-tinggi Gunung Kinabalu, Tinggi lagi sayang sama Kamu.
