Long Distance Drive

Friday evening. It was time to drive out of Tenby and off to Reading and then to London. It’s three and a half hours by road to Reading and we arrived at our hotel just before 10pm. The drive itself was pleasant, not much traffic on the road as there was more traffic in the opposite direction. It was Friday and apparently people were getting out of London for the weekend.

The following morning we went off to London by train from Reading. We were not confident to drive in London yet, especially trying to find parking space in the city. Hence the train decision.

Reading Station To London
Najla was excited when we told her that we will be taking the train. We were invited to an Eid’l Fitri gathering organized by the London office that Fahrul belonged to, held in the afternoon at one of the halls in London. So we had plenty of time to get there. Guests at the function were mostly Malaysians from various companies and organizations that have branch offices in London. There were also others from the oil and gas industry that have some sort of working relationship with the host. We also met the Malaysian Military Attaché who happened to be buddies with Ram’s nephew through their career in the army. Ram’s nephew is now his boss as the army’s ‘numoro uno’.

Food that was served at the hall was truly Malaysian and we had a lovely time. There was also ‘teh tarik’ a concoction very familiar with most Malaysians which is really tea with milk. (Milk is typically condensed sweetened milk. Other types of milk will not give it the unique teh tarik taste). But what makes it different is when it is prepared and while still piping hot the tea is ‘streched’ (that is the tarik part) by pouring it from one container to another at an arm’s length height. This action causes the tea to foam at the top. Drinking it now gives the tea that distinctive taste. I had one big cup while Ram could not resist the tasty concoction and had two cups.

Najla was kept entertained in a children’s playroom where there was a clown and a couple of artists doing face painting and keeping all the children entertained. The artist painted Najla’s face as a cat, which was nicely done. She was beaming when she look into the mirror and was very excited after that.
The Kitten????
She kept meowing away like a cat whenever we talked to her and sometimes pouted her lips. She was so cute acting her part. She refused to have the face wiped off and remained like that until we got back to Reading at night. Wherever we went after that people were acknowledging her and she continued her cute and cheeky ‘perkings’ (is there such a word?).

We later went to Malaysia Hall to perform our afternoon prayers (a small mosque is available in the building) and also to meet up with Ram’s grand-nephew, who is studying law in King’s College, London. There is also a restaurant in the building serving Malaysian food. The place was very crowded as, by coincidence, the students in UK were having their union’s general meeting and election of its officials. We found out later that Ram’s grand-nephew was standing for the post of Chairman. He did not tell us but we heard the announcement as the proceedings could be heard from the mosque. However we could not wait much longer there and left after prayers and after the short meeting with Ram’s grand-nephew.

From Malaysia Hall we took the double-decker bus to go around London. All of us went onto the upper deck, Ram and I had to struggle up the steps but it was worth the effort. We had a good view of the city from the bus. It was getting dark by then and the lights were a fascination for Najla. She was ‘meowing’ away through the journey, and her painted face was the attraction for other bus passengers. Soon enough it was time for us to go back to the hotel in Reading to rest and recharge for our trip to York…..






MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Reading, UK