Well, it turns out the only noise affecting my sleep was from the lady herself as she was snoring away in her sleep. Lucky I had my earplugs ready. I slept until 7.45am and went down for breakfast were there are toast, bread spreads, cornflakes, oats, coffee and tea. I had a big breakfast before heading out to the Snowdonia National Park. I took bus no. 88 from the bus station and bought a Red Rover Day Pass (￡4.95) to Llanberis. Llanberis borders on to the Snowdonia National Park, attracts up to 12million visitors a year and Snowdon is internationally renowned as being an icon to the nation. At 1,085 meters (3560 feet) it is also the highest peak in both England and Wales. The Snowdon Mountain Railway runs to the summit of Snowdon in fine weather, since its completion in Victorian times in 1896.
The bus ride took about 25-30mins and I alighted at the bus stop where the Snowdonia Mountain Railway (SMR) station and the Llanberis Lake Railway station are located. The lake railway is not running today but the mountain railway is operating. The next train is leaving at 11am and the return ticket costs ￡16 (if you called one day ahead to book the earliest train at 9am, you only pay half price). As the weather is not very good today and there are strong winds, the train will only go up to the Rocky Valley station, which is 5/8 of the distance from the summit and we are not allowed to leave the train during our 10mins stop up there. I was hoping that the misty and cloudy weather will get better later on.
With an hour and a half to spare, I walked to the tourist information at the city center. Llanberis is a lovely little town and it is rather quiet at the moment. People here are very friendly, broad smiles and greetings as you meet. I took some brochures from the tourist info center and bought postcards. The post office is just across the road so I went in to mail my postcards before making my way back to the SMR. The air here is so fresh and clean, the environment so tranquil and serene.
Entering the train station, I see the steam-engine train that would take us up the mountain. The train officer punched my ticket and waved me onto the train coach. It is just a one-cabin coach with the engine at the rear side. At 11am sharp, we started our slow ascend to the mountain. The railway track is lined just next to the valley or cliffs. The first sight that comes to view is the beautiful waterfall on the left while the rest of the main sights were on the right side of the coach. There was an audio commentary pointing out the sights as we pass by them. Sheep runs freely at the hills and one of them was even resting just beside the railway track. The weather is still very misty hence it is difficult to see the sights clearly. Along the way, we saw some hikers walking the trail to the summit although it was not advisable to do it. Soon, it started to drizzle and as we climbed higher, the rain started pouring really hard. We arrived at the Rocky Valley about 30mins later where we stopped for 10mins. There were 3 guys who tried to go down the train and were immediately stopped by the train officer. During the stop, I changed my seat to the right side on the way down so I could see clearer the sights I missed just now.
By the time we arrived back to the station, the rain has subsided a little. I went to the cafe next to the station and had a peppered steak slice as lunch while waiting for the rain to stop. After lunch, I visited the Welsh National Slate Museum. There, I learn that Llanberis is a new village which grew due to the slate quarrying industry. The industry, which started with a number of small workings in the 18th century, was organized into larger operation and by 1870 it had reached its peak employing 3000 men. The slate industry is still alive today but modern machinery used contrast with the simple hand tools used previously. In the museum, you could see a demonstration of slate splitting and examples of tools and quarryman's living accommodation. The present LLanberis Slate Railway runs on the track that was built in 1842 to transport slate to Port Dinorwic. After the closure of the quarry, the equipment and manpower were available to rebuild it and the Lake Railway reopened in 1971 providing a scenic ride along the shores of Lake Padarn.
After the slate museum, I followed the trail along Lake Padarn. Llyn Padarn or Padarn Lake is the result of millions of years of earth movement and volcanic eruptions, and over two million years ago the Ice Age began to form what is seen today. The weather has changed for better now, with a hint of blue skies and sunshine. However, the strong and cold wind blowing is still freezing me to the bones. As the skies cleared up, the Snowdon Mountain and the rolling hills nearby are all clearly visible. I told myself that I must return to this place again one day during the Summer time to admire and to fully appreciate the magnificent Welsh beauty. The stroll along the lakeside is absolutely wonderful with lots of photography opportunities.
Later, I was undecided if I should return to Caernarfon town or to continue exploring other areas here at the park. Finally, I decided to hike up the hills to the waterfall I've seen on my trip up the Snowdon mountain. The hike was quite easy and I am really glad I did it. The trail is through some residential and as I walked in a boy on his small red bike waved and said 'Hi' to me. I stopped and waved back with a broad smile. I asked him where is he going and he pointed down the road. So I said bye bye and continue on my way. There is a viewing point across the railway track, giving me an opportunity to take some photos of the railway track. Cool... There was a group of visitors at the cliffs of the waterfall so I too went down the path. It's quite a sight to see the beutiful waterfall up close. As it soon approaches 5pm, I went back down to the road and waited for my bus back to Caernarfon.
Back at Caernarfon town, I bought some diced beef and salads for dinner. At the hostel, the hostel owner came up to the room and apologized for all the noise from the Rugby boys. Also, he told me he would only charge me for 2 nights instead of 3 as compensation. I told him I didn't mind at all but thanked him for his nice gesture. I showered and then cooked myself a nice bowl of beef stew using the chicken soup pack I had left. While taking the bowl out to the dining table, I accidentally spilled the hot soup and burnt my hand a bit. The hot soup is really good after a day in the cold wind but the beef is very chewy. With the boys out until 8pm, it's good to have a quiet place to wind down after a long day out. Again I felt like I am actually staying at a friend's place rather than a hostel.
Around 12.45pm, I grabbed my luggage, went to get a subway sandwich and head to Bangor. Took the 1.10pm bus arriving at the Bangor train station at 1.45. Waited at platform 1 for my virgin train from Bangor to London Euston. My pre-booked seat is backwards facing... bummer. While having my sandwich, I noticed there are small LCD displays on top of the seats stating if the seats are available or had been reserved. I found 2 forward facing seats nearby which were not reserved and move over. Much better now. Use the traveling time to read up on my LP guide, jotting down some places of interest in Amsterdam and Belgium.
Arrived in London Euston at 1745pm and walked to the Euston Square station and took the tube to Liverpool Street station. Then I went to pick up my pre-booked 'rail and sail' ticket. The 'rail and sail' from Stena Line's dutchflyer service provides city-to-city travel for passengers wishing to travel from Britain to Holland, where you pay just one price for your travel from London to the Harwich International by train, then board the ferry for an overnight sail (in private en-suite cabin) to Holland, and then again take a train to any of the dutch train station. A paper is given to me as proof of my rail ticket from Liverpool Street station to Harwich International station. There are 2 trains I could take, first one at 2018pm (final station at Harwich town) but I decided to take 2038pm train which terminates at Harwich International station. While having my dinner at Burger King, there's a group of Asians there, listening to their voices and conversation, I know they should be Malaysian. (hehe just entertaining myself) 
I board the East Anglia train to Harwich International at platform 9, arriving around 2200pm. The train station is just next to the ferry terminal. Went up the escalator to the ticket counter to pick up my second half of ticket, my boarding pass for the ferry and also the rail ticket from Hoek of Holland to any dutch train station. All passengers waited at the waiting lounge for 5 mins before we were allowed to board the ferry. It was a very huge ferry with a total of 10 decks. I am in deck 8, room 8213, a single cabin inside (meaning no window). It's a great cabin all to myself, there are 2 bunk beds, a sofa, a toilet, a table, and one huge mirror. All these for just ￡57, well worth the money. The boarding pass also acts as the door key which has a bar code on it. After putting down my stuff, I went down to deck 7 for a little exploration tour. There are café, restaurant, game area, casino, cinema, duty-free shopping to keep you entertained if you are not sleepy. Went back to my cabin, showered and laid down to sleep after this very long traveling day. 
