Day 1 : The 13 hours Flight to London

After much persuasion from my friend Larry, I was convinced and hence, there I was in Europe, and attended the World Youth Day held in Spain and side traveled to London and Paris. Took unpaid leave to travel, but I was paid handsomely in many ways in return through the experience gained over there.

We did extensive homework, from travel routes, prices, accommodation 6 months prior the travel date. The research was necessary, since we are literally foreign to our travel area.

It was the 10th of August 2011, first stop, London! Thanks to Airasia X, we took a 13 hour flight (and made a quick stop in Abu Dhabi for refueling) to our destination.

Bro tips, while in the plane, there's not much you can do. Do walk or move your feet often, as it helps prevents deep vein thromboses, the trolling blood clots form deep inside the legs. Also, the air is dry above, keep hydrated and you can do facial masks as well. Trust me, everyone will have the same dulan face during long flights, you don't have stay vain that long.

Had an inflight food, chicken chop or something like that, not exactly the best of meals I had but it is sufficient to survive.

We arrived at 10pm approximately at London time, Stansted Airport. Due to the recent riots at the time of our travel, we were advised to stay at the airport and not to travel around during the night. Larry has an aunt staying in London, and we were lucky that we were allowed to bunk in at their place, that helped us saved much! Their place is in Colliers Wood, and to travel there we needed to take the tube and bus, much of a transit journey.

And so, we camped at the airport for the night. Internet is expensive there, I would suggest finding somewhere with free WiFi the whole night, if you're an Internet junkie. Till Day 2!

Ivan's Footnotes:

1) Flight expenses : RM2740 (to and fro) from LCCT to Stansted, AirAsia X

2) London is 8 hours behind Malaysia (GMT 0000)

3) Stay hydrated!

4) Check for the local weather before traveling. Summer over in London is much like Genting's weather.

5) Keep your family members/loved ones/the ones who care posted. Get a local number. Post on their Facebook. Text! Let them know your whereabouts as frequent as you can.

Read more :

Day 2 : Where We Almost Met The Queen
Day 3-4 - Travesting Covent Garden and More
Day 5-6 - Wembley, Wimbledon and Windsor