6th May 2008 - Day 1

Woke up at 5.30am. Really early for a noctural person like me, who goes to bed to sleep at this hour. I TRIED to sleep early, unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, I woke up on time, got my bag and my backpack, and I was off to meet Ms Sri downstairs. She was so kind as to wake up in this absurdly early hour just to see me off =) Fami, the driver came a few mins past six and off I started my journey to London. Well, to the airport first. For those of you in the dark, I was off to London because I won a trip to participate in the ESU international public speaking competition. Faustina was the winner at the malaysian finals, I was the runner-up. I was still sleepy, my head was heavy, and for the first time in ages, I was awake to see dawn creeping up and the night sky turning to day. In the midst of my sleepiness I was filled also with anticipation about the week ahead. 12-13 hours in the plane! I have never ever had a flight as long as that. It was always 2 hours 15 minutes between KK and KL. I was expecting to be bored out of my mind, and have those leg cramps as the stories of deep vein thrombosis played itself in my mind. I think they ended up having to amputate their legs! They told me I would be very tired and traveling is absolutely draining, and warned me of the cold harsh weather in London. "But it would be an amazing experience," they say, after filling me with all sorts of horror stories. Hahaha. Okay, I am exaggerating a little. Ms Cheng and Carlyn were so nice to lend me warm clothes, so I need not buy any. Ms Cheng seemed more excited than I was, as she showed me pictures of London when she was a student there. Everyone was so supportive and it was really wonderful. Almost everyone who saw me online the day b4 wished me good luck and all, Des sent me a msg when i was heading to the airport, Chulan called me when I was at the airport, Umah send a msg, and it was just so awesome. Even when I was all the way in London, Carlyn, Wooi Jye, Mum/Dad, Chulan, Eric, and maybe I missed someone (sorry!) sent me msges =) Jie tried to get through, but she thought she couldn't coz msg sending failed so she didn't try again. But really, its times like this when I realise how wonderful the people who are around me are. *smiles* So thank you everyone who wished me a safe journey, good luck, enjoy yourself, etc etc. I spend a big bulk of my allowance on you =) haha maybe around 70% are stuff for others, only a small portion for me. The souvenirs don't look that much when I am back in my hostel room, but trust me they looked a lot when I had to carry them as hand luggage and are REALLY REALLY heavy. It's worth it though. =) Most of it are bags of English candies and cookies! Haha it's so typically Malaysian to get food for people back home. But I swear those cookies are awesome and the candies are extremely.... pretty... haha They remind me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory candies. Coming back I cant imagine i spent hundreds of ringgit (when converted) on candies and cookies! lol (20 pounds worth of candy, around 10 pounds on cookies) Here are some pics of the cookies and candies =p more on the souvenirs on another post. I notice i'm jumping dates. Haha this post is supposed to be about day 1. But oh well, some pictures first.

This is the bag of 7 big cookies I bought to bring back to Msia, and I left it hanging in the bathroom at Heathrow Airport on Saturday!!!! Then was going to go to Central London, was near the ticketing station when I realised I left them behind and had to go all the way back to get them. It was so silly, looking behind every toilet cubicle for this bag of cookies. lol. But it was amusing in a way. The janitor gave me an odd look. And an even odder one when I emerged, triumphant with a bag of COOKIES!

Them cookies! I hope I don't finish them b4 I give them away haha. They really taste good!

Candies galore!! I had four bags! But I took one and mixed some and gave them away already, so the photos only show 3 bags.

Anyway the flight wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. In fact it was pretty much the opposite and I really enjoyed it. I guess I'm used to Air Asia's budget airlines, that flying with MAS was like being in a 5 star hotel as compared to a 3 star one. I watched 27 dresses, jumper, listened to music, and half of season 2 of heroes! =) Ah, my holiday has started. Awesome! I haven't been able to just watch movies as a marathon for quite awhile, been so busy. It felt so so so so nice. Poor Faustina though, she was awfully airsick, and was puking almost the whole way. =(

With Faustina at KLIA, in the departure lounge, waiting to board. Ms Amy was there too.

The plane we were in, flight MH004


My entertainment for 13 hours

The flight lasted almost 13 hours. We reached Heathrow Airport at around 4.30 local time (if I am not mistaken), and by the time we reached president hotel, it was 6.30pm. Just in time to miss the briefing. I wasn't tired, but I felt like I really needed freshening up, so I went up to have a shower. Faustina crawled into bed and slept (poor girl, I have never seen someone so airsick before). Ms Amy also went to her room. The hotel was a little older, so they used those old fashioned keys and not cards for the door. They looked pretty cool, but opening the door was tough! Till I got a hang of it in around a day or two =p My room was 514. Rakshita from Mauritus was next door (if I am not mistaken), and she was also trying to open the door with the key. After a few attempts, she asked if I could open it. I tried like so many times, and finally the door sprung open! Haha first obstacle of being in London came in the form of opening the hotel door! lol

I showered and was ready in 15 minutes. Faustina looked really tired. I called Ms Amy, and she wasn't ready to go out. So I decided to explore London on my own. I went down to the hotel lobby and noticed many youths around, chatting. They looked like participants, but I wasn't sure. So tentatively, I walked out of the main door, took a breath of fresh air, walked back in, walked out again, and walked back in, repeated for around 3 times, before I finally drew the courage to walk up to some of them and talk. haha I was glad I did though. I met some awesome people right on the first day I got to London! =) I don't really remember exactly who I spoke to at first, but I remember Ilya(Russia), Ian (North Carolina), Alexey (Russia), and a few more.

Apparently, the participants have met at the briefing, which i missed, and were meeting up unofficially in the lobby at that time. It was great that I managed to come down around that time and had the chance to meet them. =) Then we all went out to get some food. Met more people, Lorna (London), Michelle (Denmark), Veranika (Belarus), Meriem (Morroco), Sarah (Yemen), Fares (Yemen), Nataly (Belarus) and lots more. We couldn't decide where to eat, and in the end Ian came up with a bright idea to just get what we want, and we'll all go to the park. Oh, one thing I noticed about London. Everyone LOVES the sun and everyone sits around on the grass in the park to bask in the sun and enjoy the company. Haha a sight you will never see in Malaysia. Ah well, but in Rome, do as the Romans do. In London, do as the Londoneers do. Sit in the sun on the grass. Haha. It was fun though. And thus, the first pictures in London itself. It was already 8+ pm but it was still daylight. Summer, they told me. The sun was hot, but the wind was cold, and the air so very dry. Let the pictures paint their thousands of words. It was 6th May, but my camera's date is 7th because it follows Malaysian time.

In the park:

Veronika (Belarus), Meriem (Morroco), Ilya (Russia) , Michal(Poland)?(I think, I can't really see), Alexey(Russia)

Lorna (London), Fares and Sarah (Both from Yemen)

As it started to get dark around 9pm, still in the park:

Martin! (Argentina) (I think haha side view a bit hard to see) Behind is the same gang as mentioned in 2 pics above =) I hope I got the names right.

Ian's mum, Ian (USA) , Nicholas (Denmark), Me, Lorna (England)


Nataly and Veronika (both from Belarus), Sarah (Yemen), Me, Meriem (Morroco), Fares (Yemen), and Ilya (Russia)

Fares, Nataly, Veronika, Ilya, Michal, Me, Tamara, Alexey, Sarah, Ian's mum, Meriem, Lorna, Ian, Nicholas, Michelle. (I hope i got everyone's names right!)

Me and Sarah with yellow tulips in the background. The flowers were really pretty in London.

After hanging out in the park, we decided to move elsewhere. Lorna decided to take us to Trafalgar square. Some of us did not have tube tickets/travel passes for the underground train, so we decided to walk. It was a really long walk, and it got quite cold along the way. London looks beautiful at night though, when all the streets are lighted up. I noticed the different kinds of vehicles on the roads. The famous red double decker buses and of course, the black taxis. So we walked and walked and walked, while getting to know each other. I was relatively quiet... I did talk but I guess I tend to be quieter when I am tired. i didn't feel physically tired, but it was in the middle of the night malaysian time, so my brain probably felt it. Nevertheless, it was wonderful felling the cool breeze against my skin and I just took the awesome sights in. Forget about jet lag, it doesn't happen to me. =) After walking for around half an hour, we finally got to trafalgar square. It was awesome, actually being there. These names of these places, which I only know of from Monopoly. For a split second, I thought of the travel monopoly set I once had, those with tiny pieces for money. I remember Trafalgar square was painted with a red heading. And now, there I was.

Me, Nataly, Meriem, Michelle, Sarah


me, Lorna, Meriem


The view from Trafalgar Square. Hmmm.. I realise I DIDN"T take a proper photo of Trafalgar Square itself. It was actually a really nice place. There were statues of lions, which many of them climbed upon to take photos. I tried to climb on top of one of them, but failed miserably. Lol. I guess my legs were too short. haha. Even with help I couldn't get up. Oh well.

And with this, ends the picture story of day one, 6th May 2008 in London. After that, we just walked around till we got back to the hotel, then I went to sleep. First impression of London was that every house had chimneys and that brickwork can be seen clearly on walls. You don't get that back home in Msia. London is very different. What was really weird (and maybe a little silly), was that the taps in the hotel was either hot or cold. The cold tap was freezing, and my hands get numb when I use it in the morning. The hot tap is HOT HOT HOT and no one in their right mind will wash their hands with it. haha). The bulidings look really well, english. Like something out of a movie or book, it was almost surreal. I guess that's why tourists always look at everything with awe. Simply because it's different and different suddenly looks amazing to a new eye. =)