The day things started to go wrong Part 2

Judy and Laili are the first to see that our trains were not being displayed on schedule. Thus, they went to Eurostar counter to clarify. Without much explanation, the lady there just directs us to another counter. Once there, the ticket officer asked us to go in and said “Oh..you are late..the bus is leaving” we thought we heard her wrong. Bus? What bus? We are supposed to take the train. We sat at the lounge for a while until another personnel came in and ask a bunch of us to follow him. The way they handle everything seems very mysterious. At one point, i felt that we were like immigrants, being snuggled into a country.

We were brought to a BUS. The guy than check our TRAIN tickets and asked us to go in the BUS. We started to speculate. Oh…maybe this BUS will take us to the TRAIN station. So, we sit back, and relax as the bus move.

But then…… there was no train station in sight and as time continues to tick, the bus maneuvered into a highway!! This is getting ridiculous, so, I asked the lady in front of us. “Where are we going?” (so silly right, after ~30mins of the journey only want to ask...if it was the wrong bus, there is no turning back already) The lady replied “Lille”. I gave her a shocked face and she explained “The train to London from Brussels got cancelled. So, they arranged us to Lille, and we will take the train from there”.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…… so, that is what actually going on. Now we know.

At Lille train station

faking a smile for the the photo's sake

the blue beg contains chocolates ONLY

Finally, the TRAIN arrived

The good thing is, we got promoted to 1st class

Later, once we reach home, Judy managed to checked online.

This is why our train got cancelled.

All i can say is, Alhamdulillah... we were not on the train. ;(

The day things started to go wrong...

It was Day 13 and we are already at the 12th city. Time sure flies very fast and we questioned ourselves... "Are we ready to go back?" Back to reality. Ending this adventure. ;(

But back home is where we belong. Above all, we need to go back as that's where we work for a living. :P Else, we will end up being beggars on the street.

Anyway, we safely arrived to Brussels Midi Station, with plenty of time still at hand before our train departure, we find a seat and proceed to eat the dinner we bought just now. Suddenly, a guy on a wheelchair approached Aida and starting to say something to her in a foreign language. Is he asking for money? Or he wanted the food that we are having? Unclear of his motives, I think, it’s wiser that we ignore him. If it is not money or food that he wants, he might be humiliated by our act. Unfortunately, that is not a wise move. He suddenly becomes more agitated and started pulling Aida elbow. He grabbed it so tight that Aida cringed. In an instinctive defensive act, I pulled back Aida’s arm away from him and motioned to him to leave us alone. Laili ask us to move quickly as that guy could be a mad guy instead! We stand, about to take our bag, when I suddenly notice that he is getting ready to spit at me! #*@!%#1!^!#^!!!!!!

I turned my head quickly and at the same time can see him spitting! I could sense his spit hitting the back of my scarf.#!%!#%^!^!!!! I was super mad and at the same time super scared! =( That guy is crazy! He is turning aggressive! We managed to grab our bag and leave the place. Then, we saw him turning towards another guy who was sleeping on the bench, and he tried to punch that guy! Super freaking us out! As a last resort, we move away to a place far from his sight. I then went to wash my face and to calm myself down, walk a bit around that area and ending up buying 3 box of Godiva chocolates. Shopping does sooth your heart and soul. :

Well, the mishap doesn’t stop here. As we look up at the train information counter, we can’t find our train number! Our train was suppose to leave at 8.29pm, but the display was already showing the train for 8.30pm onwards! Where is our train?!

To be continue…………………………….

Sweet Tooth in Brussels

Some Facts:- Brussels operates as a bilingual city where both French and Dutch are official languages. Thus all the streets have two names, which can sound totally different. For example, the Main Square is called both la Grand Place and de Grote Markt. Although officially bilingual, French is undoubtedly Brussels' lingua franca. English is also widely understood, but not always widely spoken. (credit)

That's where our next destination is, Grand Place-Grote Markt, surrounded by the city tower and a range of beautiful 300 year old buildings!!

Charles Buls Fountain

This small entrance lead to 102 shops! No kidding!

Initially we plan to go another chocolate outlet listed in the tourist guide, but who knows, one we reach here, it is very hard for us to leave! Why not, each stores that we go in will offer free chocolate tasting! :P

Oops. Not this one. I think this cuties cost ~1EUR. We shared. :P

Galeries Saint Hubert-Sint Hubertusgalerijen. The world's first shopping mall, opened in 1847, is a light and airy triple-gallery enclosing boutiques, bookshops, cafés, restaurants, and a theater and cinema. (credit)

We got mesmerized seeing the sales girl preparing Strawberry Chocolate or is it Chocolate Strawberry?

Super Duper Yummy! EUR 1.6

Some of the buildings surrounding Grand Place

Memorial to Charles Buls, a Belgian politician and former mayor of the City of Brussels.

A unique statue of a guy sleeping, not so sure the history on this one.

As we walk along the alley towards Mannekin Pis, we were again tempted by this stall.

So, we bought 1!! :P

Right after that, is this alley.

Where the famous Mannekin Pis can be found!

Up close and Personal! Si Budak Kencing.

And it's twins, triplets... etc.... They are all curse to do the same thing. :P

After that, mission is considered accomplished and off we find our way back.

Look! Archie!

We walk to the next station and pass by this imposing statue of King Leopold II on his horse, Royal Palace

Reach Botanique safely. See those guys in the pictures? They are the security checking if people riding the trains have valid tickets. Luckly, we did not try to cheat and bought the tickets, albeit a bit dramatic as being told in the previous post. There is this 1 couple who did not have the tickets and try to escape the security, by running down and ascending elevator! Alas, the got caught!

Dunno what this thing represent. :P

Oh ya. Before getting our bags, we accidentally missed our tram station and get off at an Adidas store. While in there, we asked the owner if there is any Halal shop nearby, and guess what?! The road behind the shop is actually full with Muslim community and a lot of Halal restaurants. If only we know about this sooner! :P

Bought our dinner and off to the train station!

Bye Bye Brussels.

If i stay here longer, i might loose my teeth. :P

Day 13 - Brussels Part1

OMG....i am such a lame blogger. (-_-") It's been 2months+ and i haven't finish updating!!

Ok Ok...here goes....Brusselssssss......

We reached Brussels at night. Thus, there is this eerie experience that I wanted to share. The direction says we could walk from Botanique Station right to the hostel, and walk we did. The road itself is not isolated as many cars were passing through it. Laili and Aida were walking in front while Judy and I walked a few meters behind them. Suddenly, a van pulls over right next to me and the driver speaks to me in a language I don’t understand. This is the type of van that carries things at the back, not a passenger type of van. Instinctively, I shook my head and continue walking, a little faster. Fortunately, they just drove off. Scary or not? Huhu. (-_-)

Anyway, we reached the hostel safely a few minutes later and this is how our room looks like. It is quite spacious and we spent the night watching Winter Olympic. :P

On the next day, after breakfast, we headed to Atomium. Before that, there is yet another experience at Botanique station again! Apparently, the station does not have a ticket counter and tickets need to be purchased from the auto machine. But the !%!% machine does not accept coins on that day! All it wanted is an auto card, sort of ATM card. We asked for help at the bus station and a guy tried to explain to us something. But we could not understand him as he cannot speak English. In the end, we decided to stand by the machine and identify a good samaritan to help us. Luckily, there's this woman who help us to purchase the tickets using her card. We paid her in cash. Phew. I think the whole fiasco cost us >half hour:(

Here's Atomium. We just loiter outside and take photos. :P

Next, we decided to go to Basilica. But, before that, one of the interesting thing about the metro in Brussels is each station is decorated differently. So, Laili and I stood by the train door and try our best to snap each station's photo before the door closes again. :P

We reached Basilica, but then again, we decided not to go in as we have other important agenda. What is that important agenda? It will be in Part 2. :P As of now, being Day 13 in Brussels, we are tired of taking photos already, hence, the goofy pictures.

When in Brussels

Brussels Never Die

After that, on the way to the train station, we crossed the street and bumped into Godiva and had a sip of Hot Chocolate for EUR3.

Then we take the metro to the station nearest to King Stephen Cathedral.

Stumble across this grand church.

and walk a bit

until we reach Stephen Cathedral. Nice isn't it?

This will be the next gothic cathedral after Duomo in Milan, i guess.

Cak!

So, that's it. The 1st part of Brussels, just walking around, taking photos and goofing around. Our main agenda will be in Part2. Stay tune. :)