We are currently in the UK, on family holidays. Had been planning for this trip some time ago but KIVed due to insufficient budget. Tapi teringatkan ada lagi ESOS extended by the office, so dispose them off and here we are in London. It is a 11 days vacation. Initial plan was to cover Austria & Italy as well, but due to time constraint, we have to make do with the 5 countries. I had planned for a self-driven holidays. Rented 2 cars visiting countries as below.
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Expenditure
1. Cost for local transportation, lodging = RM16,100. That equals to RM1,800 per person.
2. Cost of air fare per person on Air Asia = RM1,700
3. Cost for miscellaneous item per person = RM500
4. Total cost per person including air fare = RM4,000
Distance traveled between each location/stops
UK
1. 70 km Stansted Airport - London
2. 133 km London - Dover
3. 388 km Dover- Ludlow, UK
4. 156 km Ludlow - Liverpool
5. 280 km Ludlow - Stansted
Europe
1. 388 km Calais - Amsterdam
2. 626 km Amsterdam- Stuttgart, Germany
3. 308 km Stuttgart - Switzerland
4. 376 km Switzerland - Beaune, France
5. 400 km Beaune - Paris
6. 263 km Paris - St Omer, France
7. 50 km St Omer - Calais
Find below route taken to the 5 countries. We traveled 4,000 km covering UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and France.
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| Europe driven route |
The accommodation stop and checkpoints are indicated below
A&M - Stansted Airport
B - London (4 nights)
C - Dover port UK
J - Calais Port France
D - Amsterdam (1 night)
E - Stuttgart (1 night)
F - Switzerland
G - Beaune France (1 night)
H - Paris
J - St Omer France (1 night)
K - Ludlow (3 nights)
L - Liverpool
Iterinary.
13-16 Nov 2009 London
17 Nov 09 Amsterdam
18 Nov 09 Stuttgart, Germany
19 Nov 09 Switzerland
20 Nov 09 Paris
21 Nov 09 back to UK
21 - 24 Nov 09 Ludlow close to Birmingham
25 Nov 09 back to KL
Six of us from the family join the trip. The eldest son cannot make it since he is too busy with work commitment. He is employed with Hua Wei, a Chinese Telecommunication company, stationed in Jakarta. Ayie , brother in law who works in Telekom and two other of my son's friend Fuad & Fickri join the team. 9 of us altogether. We depart LCCT 4 pm. We fly on Air Asia since it offered a very good deal when I was browsing their web site back in May. That was 6 months before the trip. The Stansted 2 way seat was advertised for RM1600.The earlier plan was to visit UK covering London, South, North, Wales and all way up to Scotland. But since wifey had been pestering to include Paris as one of the iterinary, I had to comply to please the lovely wife. Later the kids also said, alang alang dah ke Paris- pasal tak gi Amsterdam & Switzerland sekali. Last last to please everybody, I had to pack all 5 countries in the 11 days trip.
Due to the long journey, we pre-ordered the on-board meals. Nasi beriani was served for dinner. The breakfast meal or rather supper, depend which way you looked at it, was nasi lemak Pak Musa. We reached Stansted Airport 12 hours later at 10 pm local time.
We had booked the car with Alamo Rental. It is a subsidiary to Europe Car Rental. Rented 2 cars. We reached Rumah Pak Mat in Willesden London NW10 at 1.00 am without much problem, thanks to the GPS set we brought along. We stayed at rumah Pak Mat during our 4 days vacation in London.
http://www.tinggal247.blogspot.com/
However, latest I heard Pak Mat had stopped operating his bed n breakfast services.
I had brought along 2 Garmin GPS map set, one unit on loan by Wan. The GPS set also double-up to find qiblat direction. It is really convenient compared during my student days in Newcastle where I had to do the driving with my wife doing map-reading.
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| The rented car |
Food served in Air Asia is barely enough to fill my tummy. After the heavy dinner cum supper, everyone retire to bed. We rented 3 rooms which cost us 100 pound per night. Most of us are too excited to go to sleep. However the long journey tire us and every one was in bed by 3. Photo on top is taken in front of the guest house.
The car we rented is a station wagon so we have plenty of space for our luggage. The basic rental cost is 390 pound for 11 days. The additional cost to bring the car to Europe was 70 pound. I also purchase additional insurance to cover accident damage just in case costing another 55 pound. So in total I had to pay 520 pound for each car for the duration of our stay.
Day 1 - Portabello Street & London Bridge
Our first visit was Portabello Street where the tourist converge to see wares, antiques and local Londeneers stuffs sold. It situated at Notting Hill Gate tube station where Hugh Grant & Julia Robert acted in the romantic movie named after the Tube Station.
It was drizzling but that is normal for London. Later we took the London bus to Trafalgar Square passing along the famous Oxford Street. There are no more pigeons at Trafalgar Square where it was used to be. We took the tube to Westminister Station to visit London Bridge & London Tower. Only managed to visit these 3 places due to time constraint since was almost dark by 5pm.
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| Ajim |
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| Helmi |
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| Anep |
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| Tower bridge background |
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| Notting Hill |
The weather was very cold almost 10C that I had to don my wife head cover to weather the wind. See the right photo. But in London who cares. Kalau kat KL dah lama orang kata saya ...?. We had to do lots of walking taking the London underground tube and the bus service. The day ticket using both transport cost 6 pound per person for the whole day trip. There are almost 12 different train service unlike 3 in KL. Some of the station are 3 level down underground. However due to some engineering work being done, some of the train are not operating today.Went back by 6pm and had early dinner and went to bed early since it was a very tiring day.
Day2 - Car Boot Sale in Oxford
I went to bed right after Isya last night so I was early this morning at 5am. Update this blog. Wife also woke early to prepare food. We were preparing to go to Oxford car-boot sale.
Everyone was ready by 8.30 am. We went in 2 cars. Both are equiped with GPS brought from home. The trip took 1.25 hrs driving thro the English village. The sight was refreshing with sheep on the hillside and rivers running along the small road. Car boot is a must visit in England. They sell both old and new wares sold by families and second hand dealers. Wife bought porcelein plates and souveniors. The daughter got herself Dorothy Perkins jacket and Liverpool souvenoir. The boys got themselves wierd stuffs cost between 25 pence to 3 pounds. Nothing cost more than 3 pounds. I got an alarm clock for 2 pound. We manage to visit 2 car boot site in Oxford. Later we drove back to London to purchase Ayie's Chelsea ticket for Monday stadium visit. Come dark we drove to the city center to view the night life but not much to see since it is winter and most people are indoors.
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| Carboot sale Oxford |
Day 3 - St James Park, Buckingham palace, Oxford Street Shopping and Madam Thussauds Wax Museum
We left home a little bit late in the morning because the day fare ticket is expensive before 9.30 We took the train from Dollis Hill on Bakerloo Line to Wesminister Station.
This is where London famous landmark namely London Eye, Big Ben and Buckingham is. It rains on the first day we arrived in London. However the weather for the last 2 days was good.
We respond to the good weather at St James Park. Since it is winter, the falling leaves provide a beautiful backdrop to the scenery. Buckingham Palace is nearby. We then walked to the famous Harrods.The boys left to visit Chelsea Stadium Tour.
Later in the evening, we went to Madam Tussauds wax museum. It housed figures of artist, politician, sports figure. There is also a mini train ride riding thro British history all shown in wax figure. Ticket price is 12.50 pound per person booked online. If walk in, it will cost 25 pound.
Left for home at 9pm after spending hours in Oxford Street. There are plenty of winter sales but we only window-shopped. Need to pack for next morning trip to Amsterdam.
The distance between London to Dover is 2.5 hours drive, so everyone went to bed early.
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| St James Park |
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| St James Park |
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| St James Park |
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| Buckingham Palace ground |
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| Big Ben |
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| Chelsea Stadium |
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| Madamme Tussaud wax musuem |
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| Madamme Tussaud wax musuem |
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| Madamme Tussaud wax musuem |
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| Madamme Tussaud wax musuem |
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| Madamme Tussaud wax musuem |
Day4 - Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Amsterdam
Our next destination is Amsterdam. Woke up 2.30 in morning packing up to drive to Dover port. Dover is a port southern tip of UK. It is adjacent to Calais port in France. Reached Dover at 5.30am. We had booked P&O ferry using the internet costing 50 pound for each car and the passengers.
The ferry trip is 1.5 hours journey. It transport walking passenger, cars lorries & containers. Reached Calais 9.30 because of the 1 hour time difference. In France & rest of Europe, driving is on the right side of the road, so we had to adjust our self to the situation.
The road to Amsterdam pass by Belgium. We only stop in Belgium to ease ourselves. Belgium is famous for their chocolates.
As we are approaching the Netherlands border, the other car driven by Ayie was stopped by the Dutch immigration police on motorbike. They produced the passport and travel iterinary that we had prepared. No harm done.
We arrived at Zaanse Schans 1.30 pm It is a small village with plenty of windmills. It portrays the life of the Dutch people. The village hosted the windmills& cheese making farm.
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| Zaanse Schans |
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| Zaanse Schans |
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| Zaanse Schans |
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| Volendam |
It was 10 minutes drive from Zaanse Schans. Over here, we took family photos donning the Dutch costume. Fish & chips are cheap here since it is a fishing village.
Later drove to Olympic Stadium Parking for an overnight parking and took the tram to our motel. The parking cost 7 Euro per car with 24 hours return bus pass for the 9 of us. We stayed at Spinx motel right in the center with canals around the city.
http://www.boo.com/amsterdam/hostels/hostel_sphinxtels/hostel_sphinx
The hotels is manned 24 hours and so the checked-in time is flexible. After a simple dinner we went to see Amsterdam night life.
http://www.boo.com/amsterdam/hostels/hostel_sphinxtels/hostel_sphinx
The hotels is manned 24 hours and so the checked-in time is flexible. After a simple dinner we went to see Amsterdam night life.
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| Amsterdam |
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| Amsterdam |
Day 5 - Stuttgart Germany
(I only managed to update the blog today in our home in Setiawangsa since after leaving Amsterdam, we have no to access to the internet).
Next day we packed up ready to go to our next destination in Stuttgart Germany. We stayed at Pension Zum Heurigen Hotel.
We had to start early because the trip would take 700km ie about 7hours drive. The latest hotel check-in time is 10 pm. So we have to ensure we reach Stuttgart before 10. The road from Netherlands leading to autobahn (highway in Germany) were full of constructions and thanks to the GPS, we managed to reach Stuttgart at 9.30pm. Speed limit on the autobahn is no less than 110 km/hr and the max speed is 180km/hr.
The wife prepared rice with sardine, all cooked in the rice pot we brought along from home. Slept early sine need to start early at 6am. We need to reach Switzerland early since daylight hours is short.
The other car was late since they stop-over at another German town called Baden-Baden.
Packed up by 6am and were on the way to Switzerland. The trip took 3 hours. We reached Swiss Immigration post at 9am. Had all the papers checked. From the post, it took another hour to reach Lauterbrunnen, foot of the Swiss Alps. The backdrop are equivalaently beautiful compared to New Zealand (we were there in 2005). However the villages on the foothills make it a lot different. Took lots of photos here, the scenery are extremely beautiful. The boys took the train up to the mountain resot called Kleine Scheidegg. The resort is 2061 meter above sea level. There was no falling snow. But there some snow on the ground. While they were up in the mountain, we drove to a nearby town called Grinderwald. There are plenty of houses perched along the hills and the mountain side.
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| Route 8 Switzerland |
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| Lauterbrunnen |
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| Lauterbrunnen |
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| Grinderwald |
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Kleine Schdeidegg
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Kleine Schdeidegg
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| Kleine Schdeidegg |
Left Switzerland at 6pm. Our next stop is Paris. Since it will take another 5 hours drive, we rest for the day at a town called Beaune. The road to Beune was scary. Had to drive via the mountains thro the forest and the road was full of mist. We stayed at Formulae1 hotel chains in Rue du Pré Neuf - 21200 MONTAGNY LES BEAUNE
http://www.hotelformule1.com/frm_fiche_hotel.svlt?code_hotel=2378&code_langue=gbe_hotel=2378&code_langue=gb
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| Stop-over motorway/highway |
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| Formulae1 hotel |
Next day at 10am we left for Paris. We use the toll highway all the way to Paris.
Day 7 - Beaune, Paris, St Omer
Reached Paris at 2pm. We parked at one of the public parking lot 500 meter away from Eiffel Tower. It is coin operated paid parking and cost us 9 Euro for 3 hours. Met a Malaysian family who had been touring UK for the last 2 weeks. They took a group package tour to Paris. Spent some time at the foot of Eifel tower. The queue to climb the tower is extremely long, so we just loiter around until it was dark. We did not visit other places here in Paris due to time limitation.
We later pack up to go to our destination in St Omer which was 3 hours drive. On the way driving out of Paris, we drive passing by the round about where Arc de Triomphe is. Drivers in Paris are crazy lot unlike those we experienced in UK, Amsterdam, Germany or Switzerland but better than Malaysia drivers. In St Omer, we also stay in one of Formulae 1 motel chains - Formule 1 Arques Saint Omer. We will be spending the night there to catch the next day morning ferry to UK.
Day 8 to 11 - Town of Ludlow; Stoke-on-Trent; Liverpool, Birmingham
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| Paris |
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| Paris |
Day 8 to 11 - Town of Ludlow; Stoke-on-Trent; Liverpool, Birmingham
Everybody was up early prepared to proceed to France Calais port for our ferry to Dover UK. We had booked for the 9.30am schedule. As usual need to fill-up UK immigration entry papers at UK immigration checkpoint at Calais port. This had somehow delayed our checked-in process to board the ferry. Our other car missed the schedule. They had to wait for the other ferry which runs every half hour.
We did some shopping on Dover side for our groceries. We stopped over at Netto hypermarket. It was one of the market that we had confide during our stay in Newcastle UK back in 1993. It is a low-end hypermarket patronised by the low income group. Goods were sold at bargain prices. Later we proceed to our next stop in Ludlow in Shropshire County close to Birmingham.
On the way we stop over at Bicester Village shopping Outlet in Oxford. Branded apparels were sold at 50-70% discount.
By 6pm we reached Ludlow. We had booked a cottage farm house close to point of interest that we had earmarked to visit namely Liverpool, Wales and Stoke-on-Trent.
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| Ludlow rented house - pond |
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| Ludlow rented house - garden |
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| Ludlow rented house |
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| Ludlow rented house |
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| Ludlow rented house |
Those on the move would be interested to stay with http://www.travelodge.co.uk/.
The rate are reasonably at 30pound depending on the time of reservation.
However, we stayed at the village cottage for 3 nights. It is a beautiful country home with a fishing pond 200m away and a farm right at our doorstep. It has 3 rooms on the ground floor with kitchen, living area and dining place on the first floor. Cost us 300 pound for the 3 nights. It cost more during summer period.
The next day which was Sunday, we visited Wales car boot sale about an hour drive. Managed to get cheap souvenior items and fresh farm fruits. Bought some fresh mackeral and salmon from the local grocery. Wife cooked curry first time since we left home.
The next day which was Sunday, we visited Wales car boot sale about an hour drive. Managed to get cheap souvenior items and fresh farm fruits. Bought some fresh mackeral and salmon from the local grocery. Wife cooked curry first time since we left home.
During the stay, the boys went to Liverpool Football stadium and Cheshire Oak factory outlet.
Me, wife and two other children went shopping for ceramic especially Portmerion brand in Stoke-on-Trent. Most of them are on 50% discount. In another outlet, branded wares which includes plates & saucers we sold at 1 pound each.
Recommended shops to visit is found at the following sites
http://www.visitstoke.co.uk/see-do/thedms.aspx?dms=11&areaid=293&groupid=6&msg=Browsing$$Pottery%20Factory%20Shop$Pottery%20Factory%20Shops$$in%20Stoke%20on%20Trent¶m1=1
Recommended shops to visit is found at the following sites
http://www.visitstoke.co.uk/see-do/thedms.aspx?dms=11&areaid=293&groupid=6&msg=Browsing$$Pottery%20Factory%20Shop$Pottery%20Factory%20Shops$$in%20Stoke%20on%20Trent¶m1=1
The wife had been collecting them couple of years ago ever since we lived in Newcastle back in 1993.
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| Portmeirion factory shop - London Road, Stoke on Trent |
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| Portmeirion factory shop - London Road, Stoke on Trent |
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| Portmeirion factory shop - London Road, Stoke on Trent |
Later we drove to Birmingham City Center.
Hazim got his 59 New Era brand hat/cap in Birmingham.
http://www2.neweracap.com/category/9/GENERAL/page/259/NEW_ERA_FLAGSHIP_STORE_LOCATIONS___BIRMINGHAM.aspx/NEW_ERA_FLAGSHIP_STORE_LOCATIONS___BIRMINGHAM.aspx
In Birmingham, we checked into one cybercafe. I badly need the internet access to purchase baggage access with Air Asia. 15 kilo extra cost RM125. The ceramic definitely take up most of the extra weight.
We packed all the clothings with ceramics placed in between. My wife had spent about 500 pounds for her Portmeirion branded table wares. The day before, I had purchased a bathroom scales to weigh the luggage. I had to make sure they do not exceed the allowed weight set by Air Asia.
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| Liverpool Stadium |
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| Liverpool Stadium |
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| Liverpool Stadium |
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| Liverpool Stadium |
We left Ludlow at 4.30pm. Had a smooth journey to the airport. However, we had bad experience at the hand luggage check-in counter since each passenger is allowed by airport authority to bring only one bag into the cabin. I almost had to pay 120 pound to bring in the extra luggage. However due to our genuine ignorance about the ruling, consideration were given by the supervisor and we were let-off with a warning.
Reached LCCT Sepang at 10.30 pm 24 Nov 2009.
Syukur Alhamdulillah our 11 days trip to Europe went smoothly without much hassle and complication. Exploring different parts of the world exposes us to the greatness of Allah, seeing the different people, culture, way of life with the trees, hills, rivers, mountains forming the backdrop.
My recommendation to those planning to self-drive vacation in Europe.
1. Do a lot of research to places planning to visit. Have all of them marked in the GPS. If planning to drive more than 1 car, each must carry a GPS with the same location saved on both.
2. Consider enough time taken between each stops.
3. Bring right power plugs for the 4 different countries namely Netherlands, Germany, France. No problem with UK since they had same power plug like Malaysia.
4. GPS set is a must. It is better to bring in your own set rather than renting from the car rental company. The reason is, we are able to preset all the hotel location plus all the place of interest that you are planning to visit. The set we brought along was the most useful tool of all . In most cases we try to stick together but separated due to heavy traffic. However Alhamdulillah we meet again based on the latitude & longitude set for each location.
5. All logistic are done in Malaysia. Use the internet to book the car, hotel and ferry prior to departure. It is cheaper that way. Imagine ticket for Wax Museum cost GBP12 booked online as compared to GBP25 if purchased on arrival. Same thing with accomodation. You do not want to sleep in the car, do you (especially winter).
6. Give some buffer time travelling between each destination.
7. Strictly follow the iterinary.
8. Bring enough thick clothings, glove and socks (if winter).
9. Bring rice cooker to prepare your food.
10. If you are using Air Asia, consider to purchase additional luggage on the return leg. Excess luggage is very expensive ie 10 pound per kilo, 5 times more as compared if you pre-purchase them.
11. Dont forget to purchase local mobile SIM card or register Malaysia SIM card for roaming.
12. Try not to go during their school holidays since most of the attraction will be crowded.
13. Be mentally prepared to switch driving lanes from the left to the right side of the road soon after you leave the ferry on Calais side. In France and the rest of Europe, driving is on the wrong side of the road just like in the Hollywood movies. Even at the round-about, you have to circle the other way round, i.e. anticlockwise.
14. For those who like shopping, December is the best time to go due to big discount due to year end sale.
15. It is better to spend 2 days at each location rather than 1 day like we did. You can see more things. But of course you have to spend more. A small bottle of mineral water in Amsterdam cost 1 Euro i.e RM5
My recommendation to those planning to self-drive vacation in Europe.
1. Do a lot of research to places planning to visit. Have all of them marked in the GPS. If planning to drive more than 1 car, each must carry a GPS with the same location saved on both.
2. Consider enough time taken between each stops.
3. Bring right power plugs for the 4 different countries namely Netherlands, Germany, France. No problem with UK since they had same power plug like Malaysia.
4. GPS set is a must. It is better to bring in your own set rather than renting from the car rental company. The reason is, we are able to preset all the hotel location plus all the place of interest that you are planning to visit. The set we brought along was the most useful tool of all . In most cases we try to stick together but separated due to heavy traffic. However Alhamdulillah we meet again based on the latitude & longitude set for each location.
5. All logistic are done in Malaysia. Use the internet to book the car, hotel and ferry prior to departure. It is cheaper that way. Imagine ticket for Wax Museum cost GBP12 booked online as compared to GBP25 if purchased on arrival. Same thing with accomodation. You do not want to sleep in the car, do you (especially winter).
6. Give some buffer time travelling between each destination.
7. Strictly follow the iterinary.
8. Bring enough thick clothings, glove and socks (if winter).
9. Bring rice cooker to prepare your food.
10. If you are using Air Asia, consider to purchase additional luggage on the return leg. Excess luggage is very expensive ie 10 pound per kilo, 5 times more as compared if you pre-purchase them.
11. Dont forget to purchase local mobile SIM card or register Malaysia SIM card for roaming.
12. Try not to go during their school holidays since most of the attraction will be crowded.
13. Be mentally prepared to switch driving lanes from the left to the right side of the road soon after you leave the ferry on Calais side. In France and the rest of Europe, driving is on the wrong side of the road just like in the Hollywood movies. Even at the round-about, you have to circle the other way round, i.e. anticlockwise.
14. For those who like shopping, December is the best time to go due to big discount due to year end sale.
15. It is better to spend 2 days at each location rather than 1 day like we did. You can see more things. But of course you have to spend more. A small bottle of mineral water in Amsterdam cost 1 Euro i.e RM5