We left London on Thursday. This was also the first and only day we saw the Sun thus far into our trip and we didn’t even enjoy it as we spent half the day either traveling on buses or planes and were too busy to bask under the glory of our shy yellow friend! Anyway, our flight was in the early afternoon sometime. Airport security @ Stansted Airport is a bitch. I’ve been given grief at this airport more than any other airport I’ve been to. It wasn’t too bad for me outbound but Cece and Marie got held up and most of their make-up and toiletries (amongst other things) confiscated. When we arrived at Glasgow Prestwick airport (about 30 mins away from Glasgow city) everything changed and people were noticeably friendlier and the vibe a whole lot positive.

We picked our rental car from the Arnold Clark car rental company – a black Nissan Tiida – and made our way to Edinburgh. We got stuck in a bit of a jam once we hit Glasgow city, I think it was rush hour, but made a few ‘friends’ on the highway while rockin out to some tunes on my USB Mp3 car modulator. About an hour and half later we found ourselves in Edinburgh – somewhere, everywhere, but where we wanted to be – our hostel. Getting lost in the city does have its upside – we get to see parts of the city we wouldn’t normally see. The city has lots of churches and castles. Awesome architecture and ‘cleaner’ than Glasgow (which we’ll delve into later). Finally an hour later than expected we find our hostel (Belford Backpackers) and are greeted by Francisco, our ’sassy’ reception dude from Chile! Boy was he sassy with us! But hey I guess he was helpful. The “rooms” at our hostel was…interesting. Basically everyone shares a ceiling (and a view of the church’s stained glass ‘decor’) and you’re essentially sleeping in cubicles. You can hear everyone come and go, snore, chatter etc… For people like me who can sleep through an earthquake it shouldn’t be a problem plus do you really want to sleep while in Edinburgh?

The higher the bunk the closer to god

Perhaps it was cause it was a Thursday night but the so-called ‘happening’ spots we were recommended to go to by ‘Sassy’ weren’t as happening as we hoped. We ended on Haymarket and had dinner at this place whose name escapes me. After hanging out with the gals and having a few drinks we went to the pub next door and had a few drinks there too. We ended up staying there the rest of the night. There was a live band, a ‘naughty vending machine’ and Cece & I doing the “crossing guard dance” . We met some interesting people here and there, one of whom told me I should get ‘off the internet’ and do some recreational things like scuba diving. How we got talking about my ridiculous amount of time spent on the internet boggles me but I think it had to do with him hearing one of us say “OH EM GEE” (OMG). Forward to the cab ride back the hostel and the classic conversation had between me and the taxi driver about Jupiter, petri dishes, joobs, the joobicial system and being a Jupiterian. I think it all started with how he thought I was from Hawaii….

Belford Backpackers Hostel in the morning

PART 2 of SCOTLAND COMING UP….

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.