The main objective of this family trip to UK was to attend Wei Juan’s MRCP Celebration and Ceremony at Edinburgh. Unfortunately  Yun Xin and Wei Hor could not join us as they had work commitment at that time, else it would be more fun and more enjoyable! Of course the trip will be more complete!

Day 1

Arrived at KLIA2 airport at around 11.45 pm waiting for our red-eye flight to Doha at 2.55 am by Dreamliner Qatar Airways.

After almost 7 hours flight, we finally arrived at Hamad International Airport,  Doha at 5.00 am local time for our transit to Edinburgh at 7.05 am. (Time difference between Doha and KL is 5 hours).

After another 6+ hours,  we arrived at Edinburgh International Airport at around 2.20 pm local time. (Time difference between Doha and Edinburgh is 2 hours)

Immediately we took the Airlink bus to Edinburgh Waverly bus station (£4.50 per pax). Then we walked for about 10 minutes to our Airbnb apartment at the Old Town Edinburgh. Well, this was the first time I was staying at Airbnb apartment!

After checking in, we walked again to Princes Street to get some winter clothing for Jun Ing and Kimberly. On the way back, we dropped at Tesco Store to get some fruits and breakfast for the next day. In Edinburgh, you don’t find modern sky-scrappers. You only see century old medieval buildings. 

Nice Spring weather at Edinburgh!!

We retired early to bed as everyone was too tired after more than 14 hours flight!

Day 2

Woke up early and after some self-prepared breakfast, we started out first itinerary by walking to  Arthur seat. It was quite a distance from our apartment. But it wasn’t too bad as the weather was cold and windy. It took us about 1 hour to reach the base of the hill.

JI and Kim didn’t follow us up the hill as the trail was quite steep.

It took us about 45 minutes to reach almost to the Arthur Seat. We didn’t continue our climb as the trail was getting tougher and the two of them were waiting at the base.  

                                                                                                         Vyy is acting cool..                                                                         (Photo by : WJ Lim)

So we descended and walked to Dynamic Earth, another tourist attraction. However, we didn’t go in as it is more suitable for school children and of course the entrance fee is not cheap also!

So we called an Uber taxi to get to Botany Garden. We explored for about 2 hours at the garden.  

We then took another Uber taxi back to Edinburgh Train Station to take our lunch at the Booking Office Restaurant.  

We tried the local dish, haggis which is a blended mixture of liver, lungs from cow and oats. But this delicacy is not palatable to us. Maybe we are not used to it!

After lunch, Wei Juan, JI and Kim went back to the apartment as Kim was in sleeping mode and they had been there before during their last visit. The three of us headed to Edinburgh Castle which is just a 15 minute walk from the Train station. This castle is an amazing and beautiful place to visit and to get some inside history of Scotland. Entrance fee is £17 per pax. At the castle, you could get a panoramic view of part of Edinburgh town. However the wind was very strong and it was very cold, you couldn’t stand outside for too long. Anyway it is worth visiting.   We stayed for about 2 hours before walking back to our apartment.

After a simple self-prepared dinner, mom and I began our exploration of the night life in the Old Town area. Alas, it was very quiet and we were disappointed to see very few people out there despite the fact that it was the most happening area in Edinburgh according to TripAdvisor. Maybe it could be due to the cold weather which was about -2⁰C.  So we didn’t stay long before we were back to our apartment.

Day 3

It was an exciting day as we had to wake up early to catch the 7.15 am train to Mallaig, the northern part of Scotland then took a ferry from Mallaig to Armadale before taking a MPV to Portree, a country town in the Isle of Skye.

Everyone woke up at 5.00 am. After a simple breakfast, we rushed to Edinburgh Waverley Train station. It took us about 15 minutes to reach the station. We took the train to Glasgow which is about an hour journey where we switched to another train heading to Mallaig. It’s another 5 hour journey from Glasgow to Mallaig.

But it was never boring as on the way, you could enjoy the beautiful scenery. The train also stopped at several stations on the way. Actually the scenery looks a bit like New Zealand where you can see a lot of green grazing fields with lambs roaming around, lochs and seaside. Some mountains were capped with snow. The view is just magnificent!

The train finally arrived late by 20 minutes at  Mallaig, a small cowboy town. So we missed the 2.00 pm ferry, had to wait for another 2 hours to board the next ferry at 4.00 pm. We had our lunch at the Mission Restaurant, just fish and chips.

We departed from Mallaig at around 4.05 pm. The ferry journey took about 45 minutes to Armadale. Our prebooked driver, John was there to greet us and fetch us to Portree which was another 1 hour journey. (Price is £75 per MPV one way) We checked-in at Pier Hotel at around 5.45 pm. Well, Portree is a beautiful port town with beautiful mountains and seaside. Our hotel is just situated at the pier. Immediately we walked around the town to explore. We bought some bread and fruits at the Cooperative Grocery Store. Dinner was at Lower Deck Restaurant. It’s supposed to be a highly recommended restaurant from the reviews in TripAdvisor. However, we didn’t find the food spectacular. Maybe we are not used to Scottish cuisine.

Day 4

Today’s itinerary  was round island trip. We engaged a local tour agent Skye Scenic Tour for a seven hour tour which brought us to various tourist spots in Isle of Skye. After a simple breakfast, we took some photos before setting off.

Departed from the hotel at 9.45 am. We were back at the hotel at around 4.30 pm as it was raining in some of the places we visited, so we didn’t stay long. We visited mountains with lambs wandering everywhere, lochs as well as cliffs. The places we visited were mostly unspoiled as there were not many tourists going to this island and the population here is only around 5000. The scenery is simply marvelous and picturesque, ideal for photography.  Alas, the sky was cloudy, so we couldn’t snap good photos. The package was £180. After a rest, we were out again to explore the town on our own.  

Day 5

It was time to say goodbye to Isle of Skye, a beautiful paradise. We checked out the hotel at 6.45 am without taking the breakfast. The hotel proprietor was kind enough to give us some cereal and milk. The driver was there to pick us up to Armadale Pier. It took us around 1 hour to reach the pier.

It’s another hour of ferry ride to Mallaig. We arrived at the train station at around 9.30 am. The train departed at 10.10 am. So we hanged around the train station under the cold weather at around 2⁰C.

After a 5 hour train ride, we finally arrived at Glasgow train station. We walked about 10 minutes from the train station to George Square to check into Premier Inn, Glasgow.  After a brief rest, we headed to George Square and walked around the city to get a feel of Scottish culture in Glasgow.

Day 6

After breakfast, we walked to George Square and Princess Square to go up to the Light House to get a view of the city. However the view was not spectacular as the Light House is not very high.

Then we headed to the Museum of Arts. We didn’t stay long as we are not enthusiast of modern arts!

At 12.00 pm, we checked out.  Juan and Vvy walked to the Buchanan Bus Station while the rest of us took an Uber taxi with our luggage. It’s another hour bus ride before we arrived at the Edinburgh bus station. Again Juan and Vvy walked to our Airbnb apartment at the new town while we took an Uber taxi.