I sometimes feel I get asked more about my “life savings” than about when I’m going to get married (a shocker coming from an Asian family). I think it would make more sense to talk about my savings after getting married and/or having kids because then you’ve invested in other people outside yourself (ie husband/wife/kids etc…). Right now I’m free as a bird. I don’t have to look out for anybody except for myself. Yes, I do think it’s a good idea to have money for a rainy day but that whole “5 year plan” savings scheme seems a bit out of whacked for me right now. As much as I hate saying this all-time classic cliche – yes you could drop dead any day regardless of how healthy you are. Live a little, spend money, go places and do  potentially regretful* things (*with slight caution )

Well in a few days I’m on my way back to the US / UK  for a visit.  It’s been labeled the uSUK Tour 2009 though I hope not aptly named. I’m nervous, excited, anxious and @#%!&@#$%()*@. Being the total control freak I am I’ve pretty much structured my whole trip. Aside from just enjoying the company, I’ll be:

• Sleeping at Heathrow Airport
• Going to Kings Dominion
• Wavves @ the Ottobar
• Driving all over Scotland
• Spending my 29th birthday in Glasgow and London

I just got a pair of decent walking shoes and yes they are *GASP* Crocs (http://www.crocs.com.my/footwear_detail.php?mainID=54 – in dark blue) I think I could have waited to get a pair of http://www.crocs.com.my/footwear_detail.php?mainID=36 in black instead but it was combo of wine and an impatient Ben that resulted in my rushed purchase. They are comfy as hell and light as shit (though hell isn’t comfy and shit isn’t light).

So aside from the obvious packing itself, I still need to sort out my holiday playlist. I’m a little behind on the times and only have a 2GB memory card to store my music on my phone. I must be very selective! But I forsee a lot of Jesus & Mary Chain, Wavves, Lovvers, the Horrors and uhm Ministry – that is if I stick to my Last.FM listening trend.

I kept a notebook with me and jotted some notes down in regards to my recent trip to London. Travel has gone from a luxury to something affordable and even necessary! AirAsia X’ s new route from KL, Malaysia to London, UK is a good example at how it can be done.  Despite everyone’s concern it was a rather pleasant experience. I guess at the end of the day it isn’t about the flight but rather the destination of the flight. A pleasurable flight experience helps though

It took a few years but I’d say the LCCT airport is pretty much complete (their website seems a bit outdated though!). There’s lots of places to eat now though I only came across one multipurpose type shop in the main concourse area and the line can be quite long just to get a stick of gum! I didn’t get the chance to eat anything at the airport cause I didn’t want any problems with my bowels during the 14 hour flight to London. But aside from the bustling McD’s – there’s also Marry Brown and Old Town White Coffee. The food garden has quite a selection too. It’s the airport though so you know it will cost you more!

As much as it can be a hassle to have very tight security checking you, LCCT seems quite lax. For international flights, you usually have a 100ml limit on liquids and you’re suppose to place them in a clear bag for customs to check. I don’t recall them doing that though. But they do detect anything over 100ml. After you pass the metal detectors and the bag scan on your way to the International departure hall, you pass a couple shops – Dunkin Donuts being one of them. You’ll probably be tempted to buy water to keep you hydrated throughout your flight but if you want to save yourself a ringgit – don’t buy it there. There’s a place called Cafe Express in the Int’l Dep. hall itself that sells water for 3 something rather than 4.80.

I read a couple tweets from AirAsia’s CEO Azran Osman-Rani about their Oakland Raider’s sponsored plane and I got to ride in it to London!

The flight was maybe 75% full. I was lucky and got a seat all to myself! Well sorta to myself 

I strategically pre-booked my seats online so they were close to the toilets (hint – Row 32/33). It’s worth to pay the RM25 one way to choose your seats.

There were a few people on board wearing face masks to prevent them from getting/transmitting any germs that may result in the H1N1 virus. I wanted to keep it cool so I wore a scarf instead.

This guy on the other hand was exposed and coughing/sneezing all over the place. Plus he wore a singlet and shorts..hmmm ok. Aragorn has something to say about that:

Cover up you coughing, sneezing, exposed person...you!

Sleeping on the flight was no problem..for maybe a couple hours. I took a nap after my first meal (I pre-booked a meal plan). After a few hours when I woke up, I was hungry but the next meal wasn’t for another 5 hours! Basically, an hour after we took off, they served us meal #1. Two hours before landing in London is meal #2. So either you cough up some serious money to keep you stomach from rumbling or fall asleep again. Of course for me it’s hard to get back to sleep being so hungry so I listened to music on my Mp3 till the batteries ran out. Next time I’ll have to remember to either bring a book or some magazines on board. They do however have their own entertainment set with movies, tv shows & games etc… but it cost you RM30. I was tempted but I was trying to be very thrifty! Next time, I think it’ll be worth the RM30.

So finally, after about 14 hours, we arrive in Stansted Airport on time.. (maybe 10 mins early).

Immigration wasn’t too bad. I got through in about 30 minutes. The immigration officer was pretty cool with me too. I told him I was going there for the Blur concert and he was impressed with my enthusiasm.

Waiting for the luggage to arrive was another story. The sooner you check in from point of origin, the later you receive your bags at  your destination! It all worked out though cause in under 5 minutes I managed to ask around and find the Terravision bus that would take me from the airport to Liverpool St.

I’m going to save the actual “review” for when I submit my article(s) to www.junkonline.net & www.Voize.my but I will say this – it was every bit and more of what I expected! Being short sucks but having people empathize for being vertically challenged is nice too (I had this one guy who kept insisting he take the photos/videos for me).

Some highlights of the show include:

• Seeing Graham Coxon smiling along with the other dudes.
• Seeing Graham Coxon roll around on the floor on the stage.
• Seeing Graham Coxon.
• Seeing Damon Albarn reliving his younger days doing airsplits and stage diving.
• Singing along with thousands to Tender (the extended version)
• Phil Daniels singing to Parklife (I wonder if he’ll make an appearance today too).

I’m a little dissappointed when Damon Albarn said he doesn’t know how they can keep it up the next day (July 3rd) – hinting perhaps they are getting a little too old to act young!

Right, so as promised, a little photo journalism of my trip to-date:-

Aragorn blending in with the crowd at the entrance of the departure hall at the LCCT airport on our way to LONDON!

"Arr mi sword. I must withdraw to protect thee fair maiden from the H1N1 virus"

The narrow cramped space that is known as my hostel room

Sleeping with all my stuff on the bed the first night

It's Blur time

One of the supporting acts for Blur July 2nd (Foals)

The crowd thickens slowly

New found friend from Denmark, Catrina, and myself...

These guys thought it would be cool to climb that. Security was waiting for them below.

Guy about to "crowd surf" during Blur

And last but not least, here are some photos I took of BLUR (click for a slightly bigger photo)

Tomorrow I will be on an AirAsia X plane (my first long haul flight on a no frills airline) to London! I seriously need this mini break, even though I am sorta ‘working’ by churning a couple articles out for it.

Of course today of all days the POUND is selling at close to 5.9! It’s ridiculous as last month it was only 5.4. When the exchange rate differs by only a few .01 it doesn’t really matter but it does show a bit of a difference It doesn’t really make that much of a difference with .1 difference. For example I changed RM1500 and got £255 – £277 if it were selling at 5.4. That’s a 22 pound difference. With 22 pounds I could buy me enough round of beers for a massive beer hangover the next day! That says a lot.

So I’m all set to see Blur. I’ve been reading reviews and I even managed to catch a snippet of their performance at Glastonbury online. The connection was slow though because I had to change IP Proxies to a UK one (proxy descrimination!!) Anywhooo…my music playlist now is arranged according to their set list. “Purists” may complain that it’s too singles heavy but seriously though – it’s a killer set and I can’t wait. 2 Nights of Blur and some pretty good opening acts.

Check this space for more updates! I’ll see if I can ‘twitter’ from London via my phone. I’m still deciding whether I should bring my lap top. Bringing it means I’m bringing my work with me, but at the same time I can choose to ignore work. Typing everything out when it’s all still fresh in my head helps. Plus my travel buddy wants his 2 mins of fame. He’s dying to get out there and get all middle earth on you!

I’ve been so preoccupied with trying to find the right “theme” for this page I almost forgot it’s not how it looks but rather what is written. It’s hard to work with 1000 ++ over posts and categorizing them. Ughhh the headache! I’ve decided to F it for now!

The big news to-date is in exactly one week I’ll be on my way to London to see Blur. I feel I’m at a buffet and got greedy with all the food and now I have too much on my plate. Forgive me for the awful puns!

I have an article to write for AirAsia’s inflight mag Travel360 about my budget travels to London on AirAsiaX. I’ve also got 2 reviews of the concert I’m submitting to two local online music/lifestyle mags. Plus a ton of stuff to settle before flying out.

My checklist for things I need to bring onboard with me on a long-haul no-frills budget airliner:
- Inflatable travel pillow
- Mouth/nose face mask
- Wet wipes
- Face H20 spritzer
- Blanket/pashmina
- Music to get me by for 14 hours
- Panadol
- Eno
- Thick socks in case it gets too cold onboard and the key to keeping warm is keeping your feet warm!