Solo Adventure: Part 17 - Heathrow Airport & KLIA

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong!

*jumping with joy!*

Finally...my last entry under the solo adventure label! Hooo yeah! It took me nearly 4 months to get them all posted. And oh, post-mortem entry for the solo trip will be up soon. Insya Allah. Serve me right! Gatal kan berjanji setia mau buat different entry pasal hostels I stayed throughout the trip...sekarang silakan embrace kemanisan janji² kau tu Bie!

Right, save the bebelan already! Straight to the point-lah kan. Pictures with captions. Susah kalau orang trip busy memanjang ni. Kunun tiada idea mau scribble, tapi huraian for each picture berjela². Memang P to the Yo!

On the 25^th morning, I woke up extra early. Just to be safe, in order to avoid kelam kelibut hormone from arising. Did a last minute checking on my stuffs before checking out. I don't remember taking the free breakfast at the cafe...suddenly blank sebab sedih kot masa tu. Last day di bumi Eropah, alkisahnya. 

Senyum lebar sampai telinga jugalah bila nampak signboard ni. Bangga gue. Produk Malaysia ku terchenta ni! Tiba² kan semangat jitu di situ. I checked in the evening before at the hostel, hence upon arriving the airport that morning...I just need to drop-off my things at the counter to get my boarding pass. 

My AkademiFantasy luggage...and the most treasured backpack! Sangat berjasa. Insya Allah, ini sudah jadi hak milik kekal gue. Makaseh ya Adik Pulau ku! *flying kiss to Mabul*

Walau kau ndak da cakap pun mau kasi back pack ni. Yet, since kau sudah tinggalkan di rumah...kira halal lah kasi sama kakak ah. Sian bah kakak ndak da budget mau beli backpack. You have more than enough for someone who lives in an island, so sila berhati mulia sedekah yang satu ni. Merci!

Both bags exceeded the allocated weigh by 3kg! But the counter lady didn't charge me at all. I was looking at her, waiting for the amount of denda. Sudah letak bag tags bagai, she looked at me...while smiling & said "All ready Miss Karim. Please be at the boarding area an hour before the departure. Have a safe flight". Aku pun terkesima di situ sampai lupa ambil gambar kakak manis. Dan² kan kakak manis. But yeah, bersyukur ndak payah melayangkan duit to pay the fine. 

Taadaaaa! Dream came true...and officially ended the moment I held the boarding pass. I secured myself a super great seat. Thanks to the mobile check in service, I was able to pick my seat. Of courselah aku pilih aisle seat kan. Senang keluar masuk lavatory. Senang duduk bangun untuk stretching. Ndak mau berangan duduk tepi window sebab akan sungguh kasihan orang sebelah aku terpaksa balik² bangun for me to pass through. Sila tahu, si Err kaki lavatory! Mau enjoyed view awan super cantik...boleh jak kot aku berjalan sampai hujung kapal. Area sana super luas boleh menangis darah layan blues sendiri² tengok sunrise/sunset. 

Lepas drop luggages, buang masa round Heathrow Airport. Hari tu masa sampai, aku over kelam kelibut. First time kan jalan sendiri di tempat orang. Lagipun masa tu belum get used to their transportation system. Mana mau naik coach to Victoria Station...pastu hop on another coach to Birmingham pula. Risau ok ndak sampai tempat yang dituju. Tu yang keluar dari arrival hall, terus cari coach station. Ndak sempat mau snap sana snap sini. Let alone, tawaf airport. 

Outside the airport. Downside of selca. I didn't get to capture the whole words. Dapat yang 'London' tu kira ok lah. Muka aku selambak di situ; memang ndak boleh blah.

Siapa mau hantar mail or postcard last minute...can do so from the airport as well. The left box is where u purchase the stamp. And the right box is where u place ur mail/postcard. Convenient indeed. Pastu nampak pula initial super hebat di situ...ER! 

The airport authority is extremely strict with this! Sepanjang laluan to the departure gate memang akan ditanya BANYAK KALI. Aku ada rasa macam masuk pasar ikan jap, except time tu diorang jual plastic bag instead of fish. Tettt.

Miss BibiErr inside the departure hall. Opted to wear the tudung express. Senang wudhu nanti. Kalau guna tudung berlilit bagai, ada karang aku terlilit dalam lavatory. Fuh! Tuuuuuu dia, mentang² naik flight terus ndak sudah kau guna the word toilet ah, Bie! 

Because I haven't take any breakfast...aku pun trip melepak di Costa. Berhambur cafe ni di sana, so before balik apakata buang tabiat. Starbucks, Coffee Bean, McDonalds...ndak kunun dipandang. I had light kudapan only because aku super pintar...turned out duit aku semua dalam luggage yang sudah check-in. Ada few pounds in my pocket, selamat cukup bikin bayar. Lucky I didn't order much, ada kan kuyak di situ mencari duit nan ado. And nasib juga ndak didenda exceed luggage. Perangai, super hancur. 

Wooooooooooooow! Walau sedih mau tinggal bumi Eropah *bluek*, aku tetap excited terlebih adrenaline upon seeing this plane at the parking bay. 

Saja duduk dekat² tingkap, menunjukkan ketidaksabaran untuk pulang. Walhal baru away for 2 weeks kot.

The first meal served on board. Lunch cum dinner. Sebab baru 2 hours departed from London. Alhamdulillah, flight AK tukar to MAS. Kalau ndak, memang top up extra RM untuk beli meal. With MAS, meals are included. Memang super duper berbaloi. Ada hikmah di sebalik semuanya. 

Ni fasa menghayati sunrise di kala most of the passengers were in their dreamland. Cramp bontot aku duduk terlampau lama...hence I took sometime to walk around. Lepak tepi tingkap near the rear lavatory just to witness this. Subhanallah! Indahmya 'lukisan' Allah. Rugi sikit sebab masa transition from day to night tu, aku adalah lena dibuai mimpi. Ntah lah kenapa super sleepy & tired masa tu. In that 12 hours of flight, I only stay awake for 3 hours.

Second meal was for breakfast. Tiba² kan dihidang breakfast. Padahal dinner pun belum. Ngek. This was served few hours before landing. After breakfast, aku Subuh...then terus sambung zzZZzzZzz. Aku bangun masa leading stewardess tu announce that we will be landing shortly. Tegakkan tempat duduk, pasang seat belt, buka penutup tingkap blah blah blah. 

Keluar dari kapal, kena menapak quite jauh juga to reach the intertrain platform. It hit me upon seeing signboard in Bahasa Melayu. Sob! Gue udah di bumi Malaysia dong. Sila berhenti bermimpi dengan segera. Berpijak di bumi nyata. Sekian.

Settle segala urusan di airport, I took the ERL express to KL Sentral. Adventure di bumi Eropah might have ended, but I still have a week of holiday to spend in Kolumpor. I was supposed to fly to KK few days after my arrival from the UK, but Jay's solemnization & reception held me from going back. I bought my ticket prior Jay's confirmation about her wedding date. Sekali she insisted to replace my ticket. Pengantin sendiri sudah offer untuk belikan new ticket untuk kau, ndak kan masih mau flip hair to the back gaya diva lagi kan. Sudah lah memang masih on leave. Boleh guna the remaining days in Kolumpur bermanja bersama cousin-mousin terchenta. Menghabiskan duit pun ya juga sebab malar melepak di Jalan Tar. Tapiiiiiiiiii aku pun sempat curi masa untuk visit baby Sofiah Si Hidung Mancung!! 

Hmmm...last pic adalah sedikit pengalaman menyebalkan hati. Sudahlah baru balik dari holiday, aura trip pelancong masih teguh. Sampai KL Sentral, disajikan sama cab rupa begini. Macam kapal karam. Perca kain di sana sini. Stains everywhere. Lucky I didn't get to snap the trunk. Lagi macam tempat kucing  baru beranak. Fuh! Ayat.

Memalukan rakyat ok. How can a cab like this dibenarkan masuk KL Sentral to pick up passenger. Nasiblah baik dapat passenger local, kalau tourist yang dapat? Apa cerita? Ini bah first impression diorang sama public transportation kita. Awfulness. It was an old ProtonSaga; maybe sudah berusia berpuluh tahun. Upgrade lah wei cab yang masuk tempat macam tu. Economic hub kot KL Sentral tu! Sampai rumah Angah, straight call & made complaint. Ini bukan kes cerewet ndak sedar diri aku ni Malaysian etc etc...ini kes mahu memajukan negara sendiri dari sektor perlancongan & yang berkaitan. Siapa rasa aku cerewet ndak bertempat, sila kau ganti pakcik driver ni bawa cab tu. And angkut tourist sekali. Baru kau tau erti cerewet. Ok, hemo! 

Sudah habis bebelan yang kunun hanya serangkap dua. Perhaps, I will bebel about the hostels in my next entry, insya Allah. 

eryantierdabdulkarim