YeinJee's Asian Journal

Arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in early morning on October 5, 2005; taking a free ride from by brother who was working nearby.

KLIA was much busier than a few years ago; reminded me that I hadn’t been travelling overseas (except neighbouring Singapore) for almost five years… quite a long gap for a self-proclaimed travel enthusiast lol.

Plane departed at 11am; and after 11 hours of movies, sleep, food and toilet visits, the plane touched down safely at Heathrow Airport in London evening.

Had a rough time passing the custom; the officer was asking stupid questions for 25 long minutes before letting me through.

Not blaming them too much though, as London was bombed a few months prior to my visit, thus the tightened security.

My sister was already waiting at the airport lobby; it was great to see her again, as it had been almost a year since we last met. And it was her birthday… speaking of perfect timing for a reunion lol.

We took the Underground tube from Heathrow to Turnham Green station in Chiswick. The train was not as crowded as expected, but the weather pretty predictable… drizzling. Not that it’s a bad thing; I am not a sunshine lover, so the weather actually suits me well.

Had a 10-minutes walk from the station to my sister’s apartment. I was a bit jet-lag and didn’t feel like dining outside, so my sister ordered delivery instead. Guess what my first meal in London was? Chinese food! How ironic is that?

The food was decent, but gosh… £5 for a plate of fried noodles! That was like RM35, or equivalent to seven plates of noodles in Malaysia. Well, kinda expected because of the currency difference, but it’s still a huge culture shock lol.

Went to bed early… it should be an interesting holiday ahead.

UK & Europe travelogue

Next: Buckingham Palace, London, UK
Summary: UK & European Cosmopolitan (2005) travel journal