Sauntering around Scotland: Our Accommodation

The Caravan we hired

Booking an accommodation in Edinburgh was a really tough task for me. I remember I got quite frustrated many times when the ones that we tried to book were all fully booked. And I'm quite worried of the phone bills that we are going to receive this month for all the last minute calls trying to secure a place for our big party.

Babah took this photo from a different angle

Luckily, after we broaden our search to hotels and bed n breakfast (previously it was cottages and self catering apartments only) I found some availabilities with Travelodge. Even that was about 15 miles away from Edinburgh. I booked to stay there for 3 nights. But then, Uncle De confidently offered to find a self catering accommodation.

Babah and Sarah at the main door

Honestly I doubted that he could find a place at such time. I could say that because I had a difficult time searching for a week! But hey, I shouldn't doubt Uncle De aka the internet directory. He found this caravan package at Seton Sands. The only thing was the stay must start on Saturday and the package was for 3 nights.

Travelodge offered 'flexible' rate to us, meaning we could change the number of nights with them (must further read their t&c). So after a quick calculations on the rates and all, we agreed to stay in Travelodge for the first night. The other two nights in the self catering caravan and we would check out early on Monday. And yes, even though we had to pay for the 'extra' night for the caravan, we still ended up paying less in total^[1]. Haha... (I think I have confused everyone)

No. 49 ~ Aberady

The above was 'stolen' from Babah's blog. But it summarised the inside of our caravan. With thin panels separating every room, we could hear everything that went on in the next room. Hence, I hereby change the name of our caravan from Aberady t0 "Tiada rahsia antara kita".

Truce

Uncle De: "Dung dang dung dang"
Auntie De: "Runtuh caravan orang nanti!"
MS: "Shhh jangan bising. Nanti orang marah"
Babah: "Pandang sini." <-- nak tangkap gambar. Emyr: "BUHBIES" (bunyi macam babi tapi sebenarnya bubbles) Sarah: "Sarah naaakkk..." (Berebut dgn Emyr) Amar and Safiya were the only sensible ones.

The only double room

There was not enough space to pray on the floor in any of the rooms. So we either prayed at the living room or ON this bed.

Sarah main bubbles

There was plenty of space outside our caravan for the kids to run around. But we did not normally let them. Because of the weather, dah malam or we were always out (to the city centre) anyway.

Auntie De and Emyr in the living room

It was a great experience staying at this caravan. A great place to stay especially during the Summer for families who love simplicity^[2] like us.

---

Note^[1]:

(i) 3 nights with Travelodge:

£80 per room per night
^ £80 x 2 families x 3 nights
= £480 (or £240 per family)

(ii) 1 night plus Caravan package for 8 people

£80 per room per night + £259
^ £80 x 2 families + £259
= £419 (or £209.50 per family)

Still, we ended up paying less; although we were actually paying for an extra night for the caravan package. Moral of the story, next time let Uncle De do the searching and bookings.

Anyway, this will serve as a benchmark for us. In 1987, my dad paid £8 for the whole family to stay in a bed n breakfast in Edinburgh. Mind you I still remember it was a big family room (A double bed + a single bed).

Note ^[2]:
If you love to sleep ala a can of sardines and you don't mind falling of a small bed, then you are definitely are those who love a simple life like us.

Also, all of us (I think) experienced the sudden gush of cold shower because someone turned on the hot water tap in the kitchen. Hehehe... that was funny hearing the 'oohs and aaahs sejuuuuk' from the shower cubicle.