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It took a few years but I’d say the LCCT airport is pretty much complete (their website seems a bit outdated though!).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’ve been twittering alot cause my vodafone has free twitter via SMS You can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/maitwit.

It’s 7:15 a.m. I woke up in a sweat and rushed immediately to beat the morning shower rush. I think I may be getting a little old for hostels. Everyone here is pubescent. Oh well, they can look at me as a motherly figure

So here’s a quick run down of what I’ve been up to.

I took AirAsia X to London. It was a smooth flight and I was lucky no one sat next to me on the flight so I got to use both seats as my temp. “bed”. Despite what people think, the seats DO recline – well at least the plane I took. It was the OAKLAND RAIDERS sponsored plane! I highly advise people to pre-pick their seats. I strategically chose mine so they were close enough to the toilets. The food was decent but was finished in .5 seconds.

Immigration took about 30 mins and probably another 30 mins to wait for my luggage to arrive. I made it just in time to catch the 1800 bus from Stansted Airport to Liverspool St. in downtown London.

Jump to the part where I reach the hostel (Smart Russell Square). It’s close to the Russell Sq. tube station which is a plus. They screwed my booking up though. When I booked my rooms, I accidentally double booked ONE NIGHT so I wrote them to cancel that ONE night. What they did was cancel that ONE night along with the last TWO nights as well. I think anyone with a decent command of English would understand what I meant in my email, but instead of apologizing one of the people behind the desk wanted to “challenge” my email. Whatever. I ended up paying extra for the last two nights cause they put me in a 6 person room. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise cause a 24 person room is kind of a mess. The bunks go up to three levels, everyone’s things are on the floor and it’s hot.

BUTTTTTTT…. I met with Gina last night and I traded one of my July 3rd Blur @ Hyde Park tickets for a July 2nd Blur @ Hyde Park ticket…which is…. today!

Jump to the present where I’m sitting in the Hostel breakfast room where I think the average age of people is 17. SIGH….

Picture post coming up…

It’s official! I’m going to see BLUR this July @ Hyde Park (2nd & 3rd) – It’s like a dream come true and I don’t say that to be cliche – I really did dream about it!

Get this – a day or two before Blur officially announced they were re-uniting with Graham Coxon I dreamt I was at the concert. When I actually received word of their announcement a few days later I impulsively bought tickets for the first announced July 3rd Hyde Park concert. Tickets sold out in 2 minutes when they were officially on sale but I was lucky and had presale codes. Obviously at the time I didn’t really think much about how I was actually getting to London. Around the same time AirAsia launched their long haul flights to London for cheap but I had already booked tix to London for my October trip enroute to the US for Rosie’s wedding. Long story short – even though one of my favourite things about travelling are the airports and the frills you get on the flight like free wine and postcards – it’s a wonderful thing to know that getting to London has become more realistic for many people (sans frills) – myself included and here I am, a little under 2 months away to actually see Blur in the flesh – albeit them (and me) being older, heavier and more cynical

My tickets are all booked and I have at least 2 projects revolved around this trip. Leaving July 1st and guess what??? I bought 2 tickets for their July 3rd show and with that extra ticket I’ve traded for their July 2nd show too. Why yes, yes I can.