Yeahhh… this is the post I’ve been waiting to write, the trip to London in 2009. I planned for almost 2 years to go there. I’ve done all sorts of surveys about London. To cut a long story short, I’m practically an expert on all things London now, seriously dude! Of course, when you plan to go somewhere, you plan the whole trip, right? Besides, London is quite far, costly, and possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You’ll survey every nook and cranny of London on the internet so you won’t miss a single inch of the city throughout the trip there.
London … who doesn’t know London? Everyone around the world knows the city of London. Here are the reasons why Malaysians love London (perhaps people from other countries have similar reasons):
- Weather: Malaysia is hot all year round. Malaysians want to experience different weather, especially in a country with four seasons, so London is a popular choice.
- Education: Many Malaysians send their children to study in London, making it a frequently mentioned city when visiting or seeing their children.
- Right-hand Drive: London has right-hand drive cars, just like in Malaysia (one of the Commonwealth countries). It’s very convenient for tourists wanting to rent and drive vehicles there.
- Glamour: London is a glamorous city. Anyone visiting London and known to friends or relatives… fuhh… you’re glamorous! But for me, that’s not the main issue; the main thing is the enjoyment of being in London.
- Air Travel: Previously, only Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had trips to London, and return tickets could cost up to MYR6,000. That’s why anyone going there was considered rich. Now, AirAsia has been operating trips to London for years (UPDATE: As of 2018, there are no more AirAsia services to London). It’s becoming easier for Malaysians to travel. When I booked a ticket to London (two months before the departure date), the return ticket cost around MYR2,600. Cheap, right? I’ll explain more about the flight to London later.
- Language: England fully uses English, making it easier for Malaysians, who are familiar with English, to travel there. Imagine traveling to Tokyo, Japan, with its complex Japanese language and characters? Hehehe…
- Historical Ties: The English once colonized Malay land. For this reason, Malays are already accustomed to English culture, unlike America and the Netherlands, which never colonized our country.
Believe it or not, I went there alone, it was really hard to get my friends to join in. Alright, how many hours does it take to fly to London? It’s longer than the flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is 11 hours. Yes, it’s true that your feet and knees will get cramped and stiff when you’re on the plane for a long time. The AirAsia flight I took at that time stopped at Stansted Airport in Essex, which is 48 km away from central London. Stansted Airport is unique because it was a runway for warplanes during World War II. Now, it’s know in Europe as an airport for “low-cost carriers” like AirAsia, EasyJet, Ryanair, and so on.
Before booking the flight, I suggest adding add-on services from AirAsia such as meals and the “In-Flight Entertainment TV/movie Player.” One mistake I made at that time was not booking meal add-ons when purchasing tickets online. As a result, I had to buy it on the plane with cash at twice the online price, which was MYR80. Seriously, for me, it was very expensive and not worth it because the food options were only spaghetti or lasagna. The “In-Flight Entertainment TV/movie Player” is actually not expensive if booked online and is worth it considering the long boredom during the flight.
That was the story in 2009, now in 2013, many people use iPads and Galaxy Tabs. I recommend you fill your iPad with various things like ebooks, movies, songs, etc. Don’t worry, when I went there, I brought a mini laptop and Stansted immigration did not check the contents of your laptop. But, if future flights by AirAsia or MAS stop at Heathrow Airport, I can’t give any guarantee as the policy might be different.
Do you see the picture above? I was so happy when I arrived. I guarantee you’ll be just as excited when you get here, especially if it’s your first time like me. Unfortunately, I arrived there at 11 pm. There wasn’t much to see outside, except for the Westernized interior of Stansted Airport (hehe, actually London is the first Western country I’ve ever visited). The immigration process was smooth; I got through the officer in less than 45 seconds—pretty fast, right?
For backpackers or solo travelers, be prepared for some questioning by immigration because there have been many cases of people arriving alone with intentions to migrate or overstayed illegally. Be careful and don’t do anything illegal because if you overstay less than 28 days, it’s usually fine. But if you overstay more than 28 days, you could be banned from entering the UK for 10 years!
You might be curious how I got through immigration so quickly. Well, before going to London, study the interesting places to visit. It’s best to mention these to the officer or study the names of these places: British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Natural History Museum, Arts Museum, Kew Garden, Fort, and others. This list is for fans of history and science. If immigration sees you as a researcher type, insyaAllah it will be easy for you to pass. The key is to look confident, and calm, and maintain eye contact.
Tip: We Malaysians often end our English sentences with “lah”! Haha, try to avoid that. In my first and second days, I kept slipping, even with the immigration officer.
Okay, I was momentarily stunned after passing through immigration because I was thinking about how to get to my accommodation in Willesden, which is in north London. I was thinking, it’s almost midnight, is there still an express bus to central London? I checked at the bus counter, and luckily there was still one available (if I’m not mistaken, their bus service operates 24 hours). So I bought a ticket to Finchley Road and took the bus. It took about 45 minutes. Even though it was dark outside, due to it being my first time there, my excited face could only be recognized by someone who was equally as excited… hahaha. I looked left and right to see the London scenery.
I was lucky because there was a Chinese man from Malaysia who became my companion throughout the flight and on the bus. It turned out he was also going to London. I don’t remember his name but he was from Perak and his father was a Chinese convert to Islam, Alhamdulillah. He was the one who told me a lot about London. Actually, he was going there to continue another semester. Since he was already familiar with London, he was just wearing slippers and thin clothes. Crazy. When I went there (October 2009), it was 2-3 weeks before winter. Do you know what the weather was like at that time? During the day it was between 13-17 Celsius and at night it dropped to 3-5 Celsius! One night I almost caught a fever, and my lips got chapped! I’ll tell you more about this later.
This friend of mine got off at another stop, and I took his phone number and waved goodbye. I think that was the last time we met because I had lost his number. I suddenly became anxious because now I was alone. I got off at Finchley Road. I was anxious because it was 1 am and I was alone on the street. The roads were quiet and there was no one around due to the cold and everyone staying indoors. I was waiting for a taxi to take me to Willesden. While waiting, a police patrol car passed by me and then made a U-turn, watching me from about 100 meters away. They probably thought I was an immigrant or a thief because I was carrying a big Deuter bag. Then they drove away, and I made eye contact with them to show that I wasn’t causing trouble or had any intention to do so. That’s how you handle encounters with anyone abroad.
Map Above: Location where I got off the bus at Finchley Road, London
I waited for a taxi for about 20 minutes. What new experience did I get when taking a taxi? The driver was white, and I was an Asian passenger, hehe. The fare was quite expensive, at £10 (~ MYR50.00). I had to take a taxi because I was not familiar with the area yet. Besides, I had already cut unnecessary costs earlier by taking the bus to the nearest bus stand at Finchley Road. Finally, I arrived at Mr. Ahmad’s house in Willesden. This place is located near Wembley Stadium. The journey from central London to Willesden by “Underground Tube” (Dollis Hill station) takes about 25 minutes.
Since I was traveling in a backpacking style, Mr. Ahmad’s house was the most suitable option with rates between £25-£35 per night. Initially, because many people rented his house, I had to stay in the library room on a mattress he lent me. Luckily, the rate he gave was only £25. The next day, I moved upstairs at a rate of £30 per night. Actually, this was also similar to AirBnB. For your information, in 2009, AirBnB, Hostelworld, Agoda, and Booking were not yet famous, nor were dormitory-style accommodations.
GPS Coordinates of Mr. Ahmad’s House: 51.551108, -0.245510
What’s interesting about Mr. Ahmad’s house? Besides being affordable, as a Malaysian Malay host, he provides a Malaysian/Malay atmosphere for travelers like us. This includes halal factors, friendliness, and only accepting customers from Malaysia. That’s the advantage. His house is relaxed, you can cook, wash clothes, and so on. In short, it’s like being at home. Unfortunately, since last year, I have tried to contact him via email and his blog, but there has been no response. I think maybe Mr. Ahmad is no longer running the accommodation business or other issues. Therefore, I can’t give you detailed information, just his blog at:
http://tinggal247.blogspot.com
UPDATE (May 21, 2014): According to the news on his blog, Mr. Ahmad has indeed stopped providing accommodation services. He only provides a ‘chartered van’ or any type of transportation service. You can contact him here: +44 7733 037997.
Here are more pictures of his house:
It was already 3 AM and I still couldn’t sleep. Maybe because I was still excited since I had just arrived. The room I was staying in was full of religious books. The heater was next to the mattress but it wasn’t very warm. This was the first time I saw a heater in a room; in our country, it’s usually just air-conditioning. I had to wear layered clothes to sleep because it was so cold. From inside the room, I peeked through the curtains to look outside. The cold, pleasant, calm, and peaceful atmosphere was evident. I couldn’t wait to start visiting interesting places the next day. Still not sleepy, I opened my laptop and updated my Facebook status… “I’m in London!”… it was exciting when friends started commenting… feeling “Glam” for a moment… hihi.
In Mr. Ahmad’s house, which has a local design, it’s a bit unusual that the toilet is upstairs. Their toilets are indeed built small. Unlike in Malaysia, the toilet are bigger. Do you know why? In the UK, the weather is cold, and there’s no time to shower for a longer time while singing. Most of the time, they just wash their faces without bathing, except in summer. So, there’s no need to build big toilets or more than one toilet in each house.
To be continued in the next article…
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