Eire Road Trip: A quarter of Dublin and full dose of Cork

Day 1: Dublin to Cork - Wicklow, Glendalough

We left Dublin at about 3pm, with Adam and Farzan coming to pick me up at Nabilah’s, also Lynn at her friend’s place. Adam was the official pilot during the trip, with Farzan being the co-pilot. Me and Lynn? Duduk belakang tahan pening diam diam sudah.

First stop was Tesco, since the boys haven’t had any anything to eat since morning. And yes, we were four happy tummies with food in hands since in Ireland you have to buy plastic bags for 30cent each. When you can get it free in UK. NOT GOOD.

Need to pay for plastic bags at shops: UK-1, Ireland-0

Note manusia paling gembira di tengah tengah

Then we headed to Glendalough, or Wicklow, or Wicklow, Glendalough, or whichever works for you. It was one hell of a ride, but the view was terrific! The first time we saw hills and mountains we were so excited that we stopped randomly just to take pictures.

Dublin to Wicklow: The very first stop

RAINBOWS!

Sadly the weather was being mean to us. It was raining like mad and we were all soaked wet but still insisted on a group photo despite the heavy rain and wind. Gigih.

Polkadots and raindrops

Wicklow: Literally mandi hujan

It is said that Wicklow was used as one of the settings for Ps. I Love You movie, but heck, I haven’t even watched it. Just read halfway of the book by Cecelia Ahern and fell asleep lol. But really, the lake view was breathtaking. Imagine a lake in the middle of hills and mountains with a waterfall as the backdrop. Just one thing, it’s worth to check the weather before going, else you’d end up like us, nak jugak pergi amek gambar tengah tengah hujan sobs.

Wicklow, Glendalough

Then we headed straight to Cork, at Zayana’s place. Reached there about 12am, so Adam and Farzan had to say goodbye to her ayam paprik yang sedap gila macam nak nanges tu. Hewhew. They headed to the boys house while me and Lynn stayed at Zay’s. Bye korang.

Day 2: Cork - Kinsale and Ring of Kerry

The next morning we woke up to the smell of nasik lemak cooked by Zay. When asked what time did she start bertukang, she said at 6am, when me and Lynn was still fast asleep! The boys later came over to her place to have breakfast. And the boys being boys, Adam kept on mengada ngada nak itu ini while Farzan tambah nasik entah berapa kali. But it was all worth it. Sedaaaaappp!

Zayana's place: Nasik lemak with sponge fruit flan/cake/whatever - all home made!

Happy faces for breakfast

Tukang basuh pinggan. Actually Adam did the washing, I was just mengada menyibuk. Sorry mop.

Farzan with his entah-berapa-round tambah

I was amazed by the house system. Really.

They even have their stock inventory! NANGES.

Family photo. They said Zay jadi nenek duduk kat sofa besar. Jahat.

The heavy lively breakfast was just too good to be true. It felt like you're in kampung again. Oh did I mention how their house is so big and so proper like a real home? With a backyard some more. Heaven dowh duduk Cork. So juniors mungkin boleh apply IUMC hoping dapat Cork nanti. Ecece.

Later nearing afternoon we left to Kinsale and Ring of Kerry. But first, here’s University of Cork.

Envy her slim figure. Next time I swear I won't take pictures sebelah Lynn lagi. SOBS.

The myth is that if you stand in the middle of the quadrangle you won't graduate.

But we're UK people, no need to graduate from UCC. Heh.

Adam playing ting ting. He found the pebbles amusing for some reasons. Strange man.

Kinsale was fine. It was a lot like Langkawi to some point, with a harbor and ships and yachts and stuff. And there was Fort Charles, which was located on top of the hill. Again, views. Excited!

Kinsale

Fort Charles

View from top of the hill

Then here comes the really adventurous part – Ring of Kerry. To be honest we had no idea what we were looking for, a ring? A well? A field? We kept on driving (well it’s Adam, really) and at some point got really demotivated by the crazy turns and bends on the road. Of course, the view along the way was fantastic, but we had no idea where we were heading to and driving blindly on a crazy road in an insane weather didn’t feel right. So we asked this one guy travelling with his wife on the directions. Turned out to be that Ring of Kerry is a whole course of road that could only be finished in at least one whole day! And there were no exits along the way. Either you finish the whole course or you turn back. We were only one fifth of the course, continuing the journey wasn’t an option. 

Everyone was like, where the hell are we?

Lynn seemed fine (she always is), while Adam having after-effect of driving aimlessly

Ring of Kerry, on of the epic views

So we turned back and Adam was so grumpy so we thought it would be nice to go home get some food and warmth. Phew. Wisest decision ever made. Because we came back to Zay’s place to find the house full of people and food! There were chicken barbeques, pavlova, chocolate moist cake, fruit cocktails, steamboats, mihun soup and all sort of stuff.  Say hello to happy tummies again yay!

All the Cork people with their endless jokes and smiles. THANK YOU PEEPS.

So there goes, first and second day of our trip. Summing it so far in three words, they were all sceneries, food and people. LOVES!

So long goodbye.

Feels like ages since I last removed people from my friend list in Facebook.

Baru tadi ada sorang.

Bai.

They said I can't eat ice cream properly. SAD.

Currently in Galway feeling so gay so here goes.

Gambar sekadar hiasan.

Aungier Street.

 Yeah I lost count of my idle days in Dublin, hence the title.

But Aungier (pronounced Anjer gittew) Street is actually where Nabilah Aisyah's place is. Small and cozy, it reminds me of The Script's song For The First Time. Just perfect for a couple starting a new life, with a family of two. Awwhhhh. Okay gelabah.

Funny thing, her roommate is also Nabilah, which makes the three of us, three Nabilah's in the same room. AWKWARD. lol. But she cooked us mi udang which was amazingly delicious so I guess it's fine. And the next day we had Nadira from Cork and Lynn all the way from.... Leicester. Yeah. Semua orang buat muka bosan sekarang.

Lynn and Nadira, photo thanks to Nabilah

Mi udang for dinner, thanks to Nabilah (again)

We had Izleen and Shanaz for the night, but due to extreme hunger and coldness from waiting for the bus at 9pm, this single picture of the food is considered lucky to survive. Sorry peeps, takde gambar korang, which is so saaadd.

Quote of the day:

"I'm not sure if I really want to do Business, but I just had enough of Medicine."

Walaoweh. Ada geng. Sep sekali!

Dublin Day 2: Three Classmates and A Roommate. And another best friend.

Second day. We randomly crashed my KMB roommate, Pija's place since she just moved into her new house. And I have to say. Her house is just awesomeeee! Gila cantik macam hotel everyone single room and the house looks so canggih so brand new gigit jari I youuu. Yelah mana taknya, they pay EUR370++ per month, kalau kat Leicester dah dapat hall fully furnished including bills, itupun lebih sobs. Sorry la I orang kampung je from Leicester mana reti duduk city of Dubling nihhh.

But first, she asked me what do I want to eat. And my reflex action immediately said, "Nasik Ayam!" So off we go, nasik ayam ingredients hunting!

We met at Jervis, me, KN and Mau (we are all classmates at KMB back then). And went to some Asian market to get some halal chicken for the nasik ayam and Izleen's house since what I do is habiskan beras and ayam rumah orang je kaaannn. Then we headed off to Tesco because Mau said he wanted some "leafy-green-veges" whatever that means. And here are some real snapshots of him doing groceries shopping.

First, he grabbed a bakul and a Tesco's catalog, which I found very cute. HAHAHAHA really, who take the catalog other than the mothers and grannies? HAHAHA macam mak mak! Though that's what KN said, kita pergi rumah Pija main masak masak yay! And guess what, he also bought the senduk, and almost bought a baking pan which made me wanted to laugh sebab guys baking? And MAUUU? HAHAHAHAH tho thweeettttt.

Left, Mau paying and stuffing his groceries into the bag. 

Right, nasik ayam on the wayyy! And of course, some craps and junks, like Walkers and Mau's exotic food like salmon. Also KN's three bottles of shampoo. Lelaki, bila pergi Boots. Nyehhh.

Then we went to an Asian market in search of kerang, which we did manage to find, walaoweh! Nak nanges tengok kerang kat situ, and some alive crabs as well! Maka Bella pun buat muke kesian "Mauuuu, ada ketaammmmm." And he immediately went like, "Ah sudah, aku tak reti masak ketam." HAHAHAHAAHAHAH gedik gila suruh orang masakkan je tauu.

And also, Mau was super duper extremely excited to find his "leafy-green-veges" Pak Choi at the market! KN on the other hand was so bising tak jumpa kangkung. Weh kangkung orang tanam tepi longkang je lahh.

Catch of the day from Tesco, Asian Market, Boots

Mau happily posing for his pak choi with Azan jemur kain at the back lol. And note the Barbican there! Ahhhh rinduuuuu. NANGES.

Pija acting dramatically "Aku lah masak nasik ayam ni haaaa."

KN said, "Pija, kalau agak agak kau dah bosan dengan Mau cari aku eh, aku nak kawen dengan kau. Nanti kau masak aku boleh main DoTA." Cis tak guna punya lelaki.

Ayam perap in the making

People, meet Pija. The girl who can definitely cook and wear extraordinaru layers of clothes and half of the slippers.

Finally, the outcome was..

Our very own nasik ayaamm! With pak choi siaapppp!

Pija: Kau tau, dulu cani camtu bla bla.. (reminiscing good memories at KMB)

Bella: Aah, aku rasa kan, time tu bla bla (gebang lagi).. *paused* KN, kau rasa cane?

KN: Aku tak rasa pape, aku lapar, nak makan, apa yang korang tengah cakap pun aku tak tau.

Dasar lelaki.

Again, highlight of the day, look who I met in the city of Dubling!

Yana, all the way from Newcastle, UK!

One city, two days, and three bestfriends. My life is now complete.

Dublin Day 1: The two best friends.

Yes, I'm in Dublin! After all those tears and sleepless nights, I'm finally out of England, in freaking Dublin! Flight was at 6.30am, meant that I had to leave the house by 3am. But in the end the first day was full of excitement and love! Yes, love, just what I need. Ahh.

We went to Hanami, The Japanese Festival since KN was doing some volunteering and performing there. And I met these people too!

Al, Rif, Salimah, and of course, Izleen

KN so semangat like Nippon oneee

Izleen Yayang

KN who decided to switch to become ice cream trader after long hours of Japanese dances

Now here comes the best part. FOOOOOOOD! We went to Warung Kita, a Malaysian Restaurant where you can simply call out, "Bang, air kosong satu!" Which I have never once experienced since Leicester is so England-ish like that.  HOMAI HOMAI, jakun.

Nasi lemak ayam berempah, still can't beat BRJ though. Waaa nak balikkk!

Sirap limau and teh O ais laici. Then KN added, "Kurang ais ye bang." Goodness, he still remembers. Even I forgot when was the last time I said that. NANGES.

Izleen and Farah, both with their nasik lemak.

KN's nasi ayam

My nasi goreng Orang Kita, with satay and keropok. NANGES lagi.

KN ordered two dishes for himself. One special of the day, Mi Hailam and Nasik Ayam. Next he ordered for me, the nasi goreng. Then that abang gave him a wondering look. Three dishes, is he sure?

"Oh haah, tiga. Kitorang share tiga dish."

Hoi kau yang nak makan dua dua aku yang naik nama. Pfft.

But of course, the most ridiculous part was this. When I saw Faizul and Shafrie coming into the restaurant.

We met before at Tinseltown Leicester with few others, now we met again here in Dublin. And Faizul? Gosh we are freaking classmates! Hari hari jumpa dalam class, aku baru nak start Easter break, belum apa apa jumpa kau lagi? Sighhhh.

It feels as if I really belong to Leicester. (pun intended)