While I was scrolling down Facebook one day, I saw someone wrote a quote :

If you think travel is dangerous, try routine. It's lethal.

Yeap.. Another travel story of mine and don't worry about it. This time it is going to be short and simple.

I was participating in a global student exchange program last year in Manchester. The program lasted for more than 100 days and it was an amazing and eye-opening experience. But little did I know that a boring old daily routine will slowly take my souls away from me. Everyday I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and prepared myself to university as I need to include the time wasted for traffic jam and the late arrival of public bus. After spending 3 clueless hours in the class, I spent most of my time in the gym to burn all the burgers and fries in my body. I also spent time in the library, thanks to the lecturers that gave me assignments. I usually went back home at 7p.m. and just laze around in my room before bed. This is the same exact routine repeat again and again everyday.

So, one day I told myself that I just do not want to be a boring 21 years old girl anymore. I suggested to my new friends from Hong Kong that we should go to a nearby city which is Liverpool. It was our first trip together and we were excited about it.

How to get there?

By train : Please buy ahead of time for your train ticket because the closer the date of travel, the more expensive the ticket can be. I bought my tickets for 4 people at around 20 Pounds per person for both ways which was already expensive for us since we bought them 2 days before the exact travel date. The time taken from Manchester Piccadilly station to Liverpool Central station is about 1 hour plus and it is more comfortable than bus due to the big spacing between the seats.

By bus : You may travel to Liverpool by bus and it is cheaper than train as the price is as cheap as 3 Pounds per way. The time taken is almost similar to the travelling time by train. If you are a person that gets motion sickness easily, then I highly recommend you to take the train instead. As for the interior of the bus, it has less spacing between the seats compared to the train and has zero leg room as well. But, travelling by bus is highly recommended to travelers that are on a strict budget.

I am not a big fan of Liverpool F.C. and definitely not a fan of football. I prefer something more adventurous like dodgeball.. Although it can caused pain sometimes, but that's what I call a great sport.

Anyway, let's get to the main point.

Liverpool is considered as a marine city as there is a river named River Mersey meets the Irish Sea. This city is less busier than the city of Manchester. It's like comparing the city of Kuantan and the city of Johor Bahru. It is a very relaxing and nice place to chill with your friends as the peacefulness of the city life will just clear your mind. The city of Liverpool is not like any other hustle and bustle city than we usually see on TV or in real life. It is more likely a place that is suitable for older generations to hang out with each other and gossip about their daily life. That is how I felt about Liverpool or maybe I went at the wrong time where the citizens in Liverpool traveled down to other places and watched football matches between Liverpool and Manchester United. (Just a wild guess because I heard that they are very supportive of their football club)

I did not take any public transportation in the city of Liverpool as everywhere is just near to each other. The longest walk we had was around 25 mins. Although we considered ourselves as a bunch of lazy young people, but we preferred walking during that day as the cold weather and quiet windy street were something that made us relaxed on that day.

As for meal choices in Liverpool, I did not searched for specific local delicacies as I saw that the food sold in Liverpool was similar to Manchester. There are cheaper selection of food such as MacDonald and Five Guys. You can try Jamie Italian restaurant which served medium price-ranged of Italian food but you need to be patience as the service of the staffs is slow . Besides, there are pubs and taverns around the city of Liverpool where you can ordered some western food with a big chilled mug of beer. As for me, I ended up eating Vietnamese food with my friends because well... Asian food is a big influence in their life. ( Nope...It's not cheap at all and I prefer Five Guys more than this..)

Places that I visited during the day trip

Mathew street : A street where it is a heaven for the Beatles fans. It is best-known worldwide for Cavern Pub where the Beatles played their gigs there on numerous occasions during their early career. There are tons of pubs and bars along the street where you can see people chilling with their friends with a big mug of beer.

The famous John Lennon statue in front of the Cavern Pub

The Beatles souvenir shop : This is definitely a paradise for the Beatles fans as they have a lot of merchandises from T-shirts to anything that a fan can possibly imagine. I have a feeling that if I bring my dad into this shop, he will definitely go crazy with all the merchandises.

St.John Garden : A garden that is next to St.George Hall in Liverpool. It is a memorial park where there are famous monuments from the late era of Victorian to Edwardian. It is an open garden where you can organize picnics with your family and friends. You can also stroll down the garden during the season of autumn and even play with the leaves there. That pretty much happened to me as it was my first time experiencing autumn weather.

Just me and the leaves with some random guy at the back.

World Museum : It is a free entrance museum where you can learn the knowledge of archaeology, ethnology and physical sciences. This museum also include a Natural History Centre and planetarium. I am not a big fan of museum as it will bored me out quickly. However , it was amazing to experience and learn all kinds of knowledge under one building. It is highly recommended to come here with your children as they will definitely have more fun than us.

Albert Dock : It is a dock that is similar to the scenes in the 1980s movie where people watched their loved ones being sailed off to other places. There are a lot of dock buildings and warehouses and it is considered as one of the historic waterfront in the heart of Liverpool. It is also listed as a World Heritage Site waterfront. The evening view there is spectacular and I think that it is one of the best place to bring your date there. You can sit by the bench and talk to each other as well as have a candlelight dinner beside the waterfront. Pretty awesome huh?

And no... I did not have any candlelight dinner there as I went home with my friends after the evening view.

Maybe it was really not the perfect trip day but at least I can go around and tell people that I visited Liverpool before. I will rate this trip a 5 out of 10 because I felt boredom during the trip which is not a good sign because every trip should be an excited one.

Or maybe it was just me being a city girl who cannot stand the quiet and peaceful vibe on that day.

But if you or your parents are huge fans of the Beatles, it is highly recommended to visit Liverpool as you can literally see shops selling the Beatles souvenirs or you can visit a place called the Beatles Story which is a museum specially for them and their history as well. This museum is located on the Albert Dock and it is NOT a free entrance museum.

8 hours in Liverpool is really more than enough for me.

Will I put into consideration in giving Liverpool a second chance to prove me wrong in the future? Well... Maybe yes...Maybe no?

I hope that you enjoyed my story and stay tuned for more travel stories from me!

Cheers!