Manchester Raya Celebration

I went to Manchester on Saturday, to attend the Raya Celebration organised by Malaysian Stdnt Society of Manchester (MSSM), Malaysian Community of Old Trafford (MCOT) and some other Msian societies. I had to pay £6.65 for my return train fare from Preston to Manchester so, I was determined to make it a useful one!
Aims for the day: Get to know other Malaysians studying in UoM, free lunch, pack food for dinner and if possible for the day after too (and so I brought two empty food containers!), meet Fatin and visit places in Manchester. Since Kiew and Ibrizah wanted to stay at home, I went with Syahidah.

The celebration was in the Student Union, and I was so delighted to see the staircase decorated with small Malaysian flags. And the hall was full of Malaysians and raya songs! Haha... I felt the raya celebration but at the same time know that we are thousand miles away from home.

After the celebration, we went to Fatin's house for prayer before setting off to tour around Manchester. I have only been to Arndale, and Piccadilly Gardens so far. And my dream of going to Old Trafford has not materialise yet :(

Lately, the weather had been warm, and hot sometimes.
There was no rain for the past one week and I've even managed to dry my clothes outside!
And so yesterday, Piccadilly Garden was so full of people trying to savor the sunlight.
A scenery I'd never ever see in Malaysia. Come on, who would want to sit on the grass in KLCC park on a hot sunny day?
Everyone will rush to sit under the big trees (and start running away if the tree has, unfortunately, loads of ants. Heh..)

See what I meant? There were quite a lot of men who even stripped their shirts off. Not to flash their torso (I hope), but to appreciate the sun. And women, many of them were wearing only bras! (with a skirt or shorts, of course!)

Fatin brought me and Syahidah to Afflecks, a building of weird clothings. Haha.. I am not really sure how to describe it but it is some sort of Times Square and Sg Wang for us. There are a lot of weird fashions; frilly skirts and gowns, tshirt printings, beads shops, etc.

Through Arndale, we then went to the Wheel of Manchester. I am not sure how much will it cost me for a ride, I didnt even check, but I hope I'll be able to go onto it one day :)

We then went to a chinese supermarket in Chinatown. I'd say the fresh food there is a bit more expensive than a Pakistani supermarket I always go to in Preston. But there were more varieties of familiar dry foods. In Pakistani supermarkets, most of the dry foods are Indian foods while here in this shop, I recognised most of the foods, simply because they came from SE Asia. There were even Adabi, Brahim's and Cap Kipas Udang! It is good to see familiar brands :)

And guess what, a Malaysian doctor invited us to her house for lunch today. Another free lunch! I've nvr really appreciate free food when I was in Malaysia, bcause I eat at home most of the time, and need not worry of where the money for food is coming from. But over here, every free meal is an opportunity not to be missed! :D

-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com