Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Momad's Visit to London

This is a quick update, especially for Ikelah and DITH as I don't want them to worry so much. All the pictures here were very quickly Picasa'ed and uploaded.

I have been very busy the past several days since Sunday, hence no updates on the blog or Fotopages. Actually, I have been escorting Ikelah and DITH's son Momad, to an interview at St George's Hospital in London. It's for a five year medical degree course and it was held on Monday the 26th. Here was how everything went.

On the 25th of Feb, Sunday, I went to Heathrow to meet up with Momad. It was only when the passengers were getting out of the arrival's gate that I realised - I didn't know what Momad looked like! I had to text Ikelah many a times to ask about the finer details of his son. It turned out that I had actually seen Momad around three times after he arrived, but I thought he was one of the passengers from China! The only thing that made me realise it was him was the fact that Ikelah said he was wearing a black cap.

Having met Momad safe and sound, we made our way to the Malaysia Hall in Bayswater, pictured above is the entrance.

This was our accommodation at Malaysia hall - it was 10 pounds per night for me, and only around 6.50 for Momad. In comparison, the cheapest hotel around central London would be around 35 pounds per night.

The rooms were very tidy and en-suite as well! We were absolutely satisfied.


That night after dinner, I brought Momad out for a tour of Bayswater. Our destination was Whiteleys. I used to make frequent visits to Whiteleys with someone who used to live in Bayswater during his degree - Orang Kilang and with Kenakelayan too, after they got married.


Malaysia Hall has a canteen where you could buy Malay food - and for breakfast the next day, I had nasi lemak while Momad had mee goreng. This was the morning of his interview.

This is Momad in interview gear on the underground - heading towards St George's hospital - merely 40 minutes away from Malaysia Hall. We went along the central line towards Bond street ...


... Oxford Circus ...


... and whooops, stopped at Tottenham Court Road.

Momad wanted to see Piccadilly Circus, I instead brought him to Leicester Square (which was nearer) ...

... and China Town ...

... still in China Town ...


To Trafalgar Square. Behind Momad is the new, Alison Lapper statue, as well as the National Gallery.

The famous Lion Statues in Trafalgar square.


Using the Underground to travel.


Okay, enough of the excursion - back to the interview.


20 minutes later, we finally made it to St George's Hospital.

The above picture was taken after the interview (notice the "before" and "after"). Momad said the interviewers asked reasonable questions.


A coffee & tea to calm down the nerves after the interview.

Well, hope St George's will accept Momad as one of their medical students, Insya Allah.


Here's the absolutely amazing bit - it turned out that both Uncle and Auntie De work 5 miles away from St George's hospital. At 5 pm, after their work, we arranged for a meet up. We went to a Halal Chinese Restaurant in Croydon.

It turned out that the owner of this restaurant was from Malacca, Malaysia! She was quite friendly and the food was excellent. Thank you so much Uncle and Auntie De for taking us out for the wonderful dinner. It was brilliant.


Above is my only picture with Momad.


After dinner, we headed back towards central London, and made one more small excursion to the Marble Arch. It was pitch black, but using flash I managed to take the above picture - hand held! It's amazing the flash could illuminate such a gigantic structure.


Next day again, which was this morning, Momad seemed alot happier. With the interview out of the way, I took Momad for a whirlwind tour of London, starting with the Tower Bridge.




The tower bridge.


Towards the Tower Bridge.


Artworks lining the pedestrian subways.


Big Ben, Westminster.


Platform 9 and three quarters. Where do we push our trolleys to get to Hogwart's again?


The City Hall and the Tower Bridge


City Hall


London cityscape & the river Thames

and that's it! I hope Momad had fun, it was certainly enjoyable for me shooting all the pictures in London. Unfortunately it rained ever so heavily today and the weather was awful! Even so, I braved taking out the camera and shooting away. I just got back from London around 2 hours ago and here I am posting away to tell Ikelah and DITH.

The photos above are all barely edited because of the lack of time. Insya Allah I will post better looking pictures in subsequent days. My best pictures (errr, more like "less terrible" pictures) would go to my Fotopages site.

We almost got to meet another blog friend, Ayumi, as well as she's on Holiday in Dublin at the moment. It's such a pity due to unforeseen circumstances the meet up had to be cancelled - maybe next time, Insya Allah.

Okay, later everyone -- off to bed for me now -- it's been extremely exhausting lugging heavy bags around London today. Good night, Oyasumi.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks. macam modelling for suite bila pakai coat tu. macam nak mengiklan pakaian. i like the leicester and the big ben most, satu perspective, yang kedua kelakar dan ada life sikit.... hehehe..... u patut suruh dia twist and turn, boleh practice modelling shootout di london.

overall, great vacation pics with all those landmarks.

thanks again for spending your time with him, away from your family. thanks to nisak, sarah and amar too.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha.. iklan Benson and Hedges! Gaya, Muttu, Vellu.

Hope the interview went well. London is a great place to live in. Especially if you are a student.

dith said...

Mynn, Nisak ,Sarah and Amar,

I cant thank you all enough for your endless kindness.

Mynn, thanks for this entry. Funny that my dad should have asked me prior to this on how both of you are going to recognize each other. He suggested bringing placards or something.To which I answered confidently that you've both seen each other's pics. I guess both of you havent really scrutinized each other's pic properly. As for me, I can vouch that I would recognize you, Nisak or your kids anywhere, instantly! (even in Timbuktu!)hehe

Syukran jazilan!

Panglima said...

tourist from china??? hehehe... that's so funny. told him to lose that cap.

great photos myn.

ifos said...

I didn't know he'd be having someone to guide him around London- there i was, feeling sorry for him when we talked last week. The brat! Hehe. Thanks to you, mama sarah n family for your kindness. ;)

Anonymous said...

Ikelah
You know what, if Momad is skimp on money once he starts his medical career ask him to take up modelling. Just tell him to eat alot of protein and bulk up first, i'm sure it'll be a successful career - (just ask him to practice on varying his expressions, not just "teenage angst") :p

ps
travelling to London has made me realise I want the new Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 with Optical Stabilisation. Previously i wanted the 24-105mm L IS USM, but I NEED the wide 18mm to take pictures of buildings.

OK
it was great visiting London again. I was telling Momad - O-K used to live here, KKL used to spill her coffee here, all of us used to go to the Apple store here, Forbidden planet there, and eat here, here and here...

it's a great trip, one of these days if you guys happen to visit just give me a call.

DITH
i actually have a tiny inkling of what Momad looks like, i just didn't realise he was so tall!

anyway, no need to thank us - it was my pleasure taking Momad to places I wanted to go to anyway (to take photos of) - if only the weather was better. We forgot to thank you guys -- thanks for the food from malaysia, and thanks for the magazines OK & KKL.

Panglima
actually, I came to recognise momad BECAUSE of the cap. Oh by the way, any cheap tickets to Japan? heh heh heh ;)

Ifos
I've been reading on your Mum's blog that you were similarly entertained in Turkey recently. It's great knowing blog friends all over the world isn't it? hope for more travelling adventures in the future.


PS all:
we also went to the London eye, but I forgot to upload the photo! also, insya allah i will post a dvd with all the pictures to you two Ikelah & DITH, just email me your address. OK, wassalam. later guys.

nuhaafnan said...

oh i feel like i'm browsing thru some GQ magazine! Malaysia's next Manhunt model hurhur. Momad's expressions OK, what, the blank automaton face but come-hither eyes fits in nicely (kena pelangkong ngan DITH karang I ni LOL)

Anonymous said...

Excellent2 fill-in mynn! you've have truly master your 580EX i think. Buleh la ajar aku pulak lepas ni :D

Anonymous said...

jemput ke
http://www.pengukir-cahaya.com/forum/index.php

jika ingin berdiskus fotografi dalam bahasa Melayu. hehehe

Anonymous said...

myn, cheap tickets to japan? you may want to ask boogey as he's the travel agent. i can only tell you to take the cheap airasia flight to macau, and then connect with other low cost carrier. or hitch a ride from the boat people. hehe... seriously, it's boogey you want to ask.

that cap does look like those worn by the peoples republic of china liberation army, only different color. ;)

Anonymous said...

anne
pelangkong dia dith! but you are quite right the sour faced expressions suits a model very well.

Li
haha, you're right, i was practising with fill in flash i.e flash in broad daylight. it certainly helped in "bringing out" the subject - i'm still not happy though, as i reduced the flash power by 2/3 so I found that the subject had shadows under the eyes and stuff. next time maybe i'll use near full power.

ikelah
as always, thanks for the links

p5
whoops, wrong person.

re: the cap, nasib baik takde bintang merah.

Jamil said...

Momad looks set to become like one of those tv hosts that explore exotic places to visit in foreign lands.

And mynn, how come you only have one picture with him?! It's a waste of a good opportunity, I say!

Anonymous said...

sape momad nih?tapi kool lar pic2 nih...hepi n sporting habes...waaahh rindu nk mkn sushi korang masak dulu....bl mau import anta kat anden?hehe

pycnogenol said...

Mynn, if I go to London, can you take my pics and make me look as dashingly handsome as Momad? ;)

pycnogenol said...

BTW, I used to stay near Bayswater (A couple of months) before moving to Lillian Penson Hall in Paddington.

So, Whiteleys still there? Ingat dah tutup kedai...or is it under new management now? I remember buying fabric for my mum's baju kurung a long, long time ago (early 80's)

alynnsis said...

*drop jaw*
speechless.

Anonymous said...

sorry, it was puan mama sarah who told me i have many more comments to answer here. apologies:

yosh!
hahaha, dith will pelangkong you too encourage Momad as a model/celebrity. don't say i didn't warn you mate.

anden
momad is ikelah & dith's son, recently came for an interview in London. he stayed over for only 3 days, and i was the guide for his brief stay.

pycno
don't worry, photoshop can - hahaha :) only joking pycno.

re: whiteleys, i have a few pictures of whiteleys, it's still standing. Orang-Kilang, aka as kenakelayan's husband used to stay in bayswater too, and i quite frequently visited them throughout the years. Man, going to bayswater and london brings back lots of memories.

alynn
<-- see hiyoshi & pycno, another Momad fan rendered speechless.