Category: Driving All the Way – England

Road trip in England.

A Quick Visit to Yarm

November 15, 2023November 14, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

Had the opportunity to visit Yarm aka Yarm-on-Tees, when we were in England. Yarm is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It’s not far from where we were staying. We went there for an evening walk. Of course, we had to drive there.

Just look at the architectures here at the High Street. Georgian-style old buildings with their red pantile roofs. It’s like you’re going back in time. Ignore those cars there hahaha!

At the back of row of shops, there’s River Tees. You can see the photos of the river in my Instagram’s post below.

Here’s the two landmarks that you definitely won’t miss when you’re there. The railway viaduct (left) and the high street and the Yarm Town Hall (right) can be seen at the center of the High Street. The high street was voted as the ‘Best High Street’ BBC’s Breakfast programme on 19 January 2007.

That’s pretty much about Yarm from me. We’ll go to another town in the next post.

Driving All the Way - England, Going Places

A Half-Day Trip to Holy Island

November 8, 2023November 4, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

Our first stop after entering England’s border from Scotland was Holy Island, also known as Lindisfarne. It was a half-day trip. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England. I was curious with how it is possible that you can drive to an island. Now that I’ve been there, I understand how it works. I didn’t do any research prior to the trip as I wasn’t the one planning. All I had to do was to get my parents and myself to Newcastle, England from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia ;p

Expensive rescue!

The timing to reach there and to leave the island must be right. So you have to properly plan your journey there. You must check the tide times and weather carefully. Tide tables giving the safe crossing periods are published by Northumberland County Council. You don’t want to get stuck in the water, it’s not cheap to rescue you! It costs over £2,710 or more for sea rescue while £5,710 or more for air rescue.

Little Island with Small Population

Surprisingly, there were less than 200 people living on this island (27 March 2011 according to Wikipedia). When we were there, the place was filled with summer holiday tourists. It was a bright sunny windy day which was great to spend the summer here.

Only those with permits can drive in the town. Otherwise, you have to park at the designated public parking space and pay for your parking. Then, you will have to walk all the way to the main area where you will be greeted with scenic views. It’s a place for historical tourism and birding trip.

Historically Interesting

You will certainly be greeted with the view of Lindisfarne Castle when you’re there. How can you miss it? We did walk up to the castle but we didn’t go into the castle. This island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD. It was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan, Cuthbert, Eadfrith, and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. From here, the Christian message flourished throughout the world.

Angel of the North

After the Holy Island, went to do a bit of shopping in Newcastle, and early dinner, we stopped at Angel of the North before heading home. It stands at 20m (66 ft) tall with a wingspan of 54m (177 ft). It is larger than that of a Boeing 757 aircraft. The sculpture is indeed huge! You can feel how big it is when you are under it. Amazing!

We were lucky to have good weather and nice sunset when we were there. The wind on top of the hill was very strong and chilly though. We took some photos and left.

So that’s the end of the day. We returned the rented van the next day.

Driving All the Way - England, Going Places

A Day Trip to Durham

October 2, 2023September 24, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

Arrived in Newcastle, UK

We arrived in Newcastle, UK on 14th August 2023 at noon. Then, it was about a one-hour drive to my sister’s place from Newcastle International Airport. We just stayed home to rest for 2 days.

Durham Day Trip

Then on the 4th day, 17th August, we went for a day trip to Durham after we got the van for 8 of us for the weekend. We started our journey around 10 a.m. It was about a half-hour drive. Not too far. Here’s the summary I made on Instagram Reel:

Before we started our walk in Durham, we had an early lunch at Zen Durham. Since it was still a working day and it was still too early for lunch, we managed to get a good seat inside. Here’s what we had there:

Overview of Durham’s Street

After lunch, we leisurely walked around the hilly city. The following are some views that greeted us during our walk:

Gaia at Durham Cathedral

The highlight of the day was the Gaia in Durham Cathedral. I’ve seen the Museum of the Moon at Borneo Cultures Museum by the same artist. Didn’t expect to see the other art installation by UK artist Luke Jerram in the UK. I did not plan the trip so it was a surprise for sure. So, I can proudly say that I’ve seen the moon and earth by Luke Jerram in two different countries in the same year less than 2 months apart.

Look at how big the building is!

There are many graves in the surrounding. It was quite cloudy when we were there and the vibes sure were quite different. It felt “dark”. However, with people around and the greeneries, the “darkness” wasn’t that “dark”.

Durham Markets

After visiting the cathedral, we went to Durham Markets. We just walked around and window-shopped. Since it wasn’t a weekend, it’s not that happening but still with a good crowd. I’m sure it will be packed on a weekend.

There you go. My day trip to Durham. Sure took me a long while to complete this post.

Next, to Scotland we go…

Driving All the Way - England, Going Places

A Compilation of MH & EK In-flight Meals (KCH<->NCL)

September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 sweet surrender No Comments

This is the compilation of the in-flight food I got when I traveled from Kuching to Newcastle, UK. Left Kuching on 13 August 2023 and left Newcastle on 30 August 2023. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 31st August 2023. We were lucky to be one of the last batch of passengers to experience proper in-flight meals by MH before the catering fiasco.

I’ve not gone on an MH flight for ages! The last time was in 2019 from Kuching to Newcastle. This time, we were also flying with MH to go to Kuala Lumpur for our transit to Dubai and then to Newcastle.

Kuching to Kuala Lumpur (MH)

Malaysia Airline in-flight meals (KCH-KUL)

They had chicken rendang and sweet and sour fish on offer. Truth to be told, we didn’t like them. The chicken rendang was spicy. We didn’t expect the sweet and sour fish was also spicy. I suffered a gassy tummy all the way to Newcastle after eating the rendang. Hmm…

Anyway, I guess these were some of the last from Brahim’s. So must commemorate it hahaha! We used to take it for granted ;p However, I love how the water was served in a bottle. That way, I didn’t have to worry about water spills and I could drink it anytime I wanted.

WAH! Wooden cutlery… Gone were the days when you got proper cutlery in MH economy class. Oh well… Anyway, let’s see what Emirates had on their economy in-flight meals.

Kuala Lumpur to Dubai (EK)

Got a chicken sandwich as supper (I guess…). Not a fan of sandwiches. Then, for breakfast, I opted for potato. Not too bad.

My parents went for the curry-looking rice dish. I don’t remember what it was though. Didn’t get good feedback from my parents. However, it’s good to see proper cutlery used on Emirates. No plastic, no wood. So much better of course.

Dubai to Newcastle (EK)

Next, these are for breakfast (I guess…). Two options, egg sandwich or apricot pie. Didn’t like any of them. Just not a sandwich/pie person. Nevertheless, I still finished the food.

This tray came with the sandwich/pie. There’s muffin and blueberry yogurt. At least these two were not too bad. Why do they serve blueberry yogurt on every flight? Do you know some people are allergic to blueberries?

Before we reached Newcastle, we got lunch. Went for potato again. The taste was OK. The other option was rice which we didn’t want to get anymore. Couldn’t stand those spices. I was still having a gassy tummy from the rendang that I ate on Kuching to Kuala Lumpur flight. ARG! We’re given proper cutlery in this sector too. I really don’t like those plastic or wooden ones.

Newcastle to Dubai (EK)

After spending over 2 weeks in England, it’s time to go back home, Kuching. Of course, it’s Emirates again.

Went for a potato dish again hahaha! This time with beef meatballs. Not bad. I also asked for red wine. I forgot to tell them to just give me a little. They gave me a full cup. Aiksss… I didn’t finish it of course. Only had 1/4 of it then I poured the rest away into the toilet bowl. Didn’t like the wine.

Then, we got shortbread and pastry for snack time. The former was nice, not too sweet. In fact, I had this before at home. It’s not cheap selling in the airport. Meanwhile, the latter was not of my liking and I didn’t finish it.

Dubai to Kuala Lumpur (EK)

This time, I had thoughts of getting white wine with my meal. Instead, I opted for orange juice. Didn’t like the snack on this flight. I only ate half of them. Then, for lunch, we opted for the omelet option. Something lighter to eat than having rice. Was quite exhausted and in no mood. Didn’t really get to rest well on the flight even though we were on an A380 with spacious seats compared to the B777 that we’ve been flying in the previous sectors. That was because we were seated next to the galley. Oh well…

Kuala Lumpur to Kuching (MH)

Finally! Back to Malaysia! Waited for quite a long time for the flight to Kuching. We arrived in the afternoon while our flight was in the evening, that’s why. It was 31st August 2023.

So, here’s the food for the last leg of our flight. The wooden cutlery was back hahaha! As usual, I didn’t go for rice. I went for potato again! LOL!!! It looked spicy but not spicy. Not too bad. While the other one was fish. Luckily I didn’t go for that. My parents said that it’s not nice hahaha!

Anyway, we’re lucky to get a proper in-flight meal on this flight. Phew… Imagine you paid for full service and got snack items for your meal. Surely won’t be happy with that. Even though the in-flight meal wasn’t the tastiest, it’s still part of what we paid for. Hopefully, the fiasco will be over soon. Good thing I won’t be flying MH anytime soon.

If you would like to follow me on my trip, feel free to go to my Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok. I will also update it here but it will be slower.

Driving All the Way - England, Food Porn, Going Places, Review It!

[Vlog] Ep. 7: Where To? – Spring 2019 UK Road Trip

April 26, 2019April 26, 2019 sweet surrender No Comments

WOW! The 7th episode is up! This vlog concludes the trip I made in March to the UK.

By the way, if you would like to know about the opening time of High Commission of Malaysia, London, you can go to 3:39 to see it.

It’s the longest vlog to date hehehe… Just recording myself talking took over 2 hours. Really exhausting just to get the footage that I’m happy with. It’s still not perfect but that’s the best I can do for now. Still learning.

It took me a week to edit, at least 12 hours in total to finalize everything before publishing. you tell me vlogging is easy? I really salute those people who could publish so many vlogs in a constant manner.

Recording was done with Huawei Nova 2 Lite. Editing was exclusively done with Samsung Galaxy Tab 2S with Filmigo app.

Thank you for the support and hope you can subscribe to my channel(https://bit.ly/lovebellbelle) 🙂

Driving All the Way - England, Going Places, Vlog