THE FIRST [whatever that is] IS ALWAYS THE DEEPEST

Today's theme: 

THE FIRST TIME

Sounds so wrong but feels so right isn't it? heh.

Whoa.

Hold your horses and calm down. im not going there. not even remotely close. Not even a tiny bit of and attempt to entice you there.

Instead, I'm gonna share the first time for everything, going places and such.

Let me start with my first ever experience travelling abroad.I still remembered it like it was yesterday. And come to think of it, the next 3 years would mark the 20 years since I first traveled abroad. it was in the late 90s and I was still this young chap eager to see the world. PLEASE NOW, STOP CALCULATING AND GUESSING MY AGE! Continue reading puhlisss.

Going gaga over Luton for whatever reason

When the university offered a study tour (nowadays the call it student mobility) to UK, I jumped with excitement and enrolled in it. Of course, to raise fund we organized all sort of activities and the highlight was fashion at Crown Princess Hotel (no longer in KL. it was located at the Tun Razak junctions near KLCC - the place to be and where the famous nightclub/disco was located.. forgot the name though. I'll let you know later).

Ok I'm digressing. huh.

Anyway, with sponsorships pouring in and stuffs we were able to fly to the UK. Mind you, there was no Airasia and being a normal human like me, I would not even dream of flying. I remembered the return ticket to the UK was about RM 9k close to 10k yeah. and there were 36 of us. it was 13 hours direct flight and God were we bored to our bones. I put on my modjo and flirt with the flight attendant just for the kick. haha.

In the UK, we stayed at Malaysia Hall before going to our host university, Luton University. If im not mistaken, it's 2-3 hours ride from Bryanston Square. While in the heart of Great Britain, we managed to cover the famous Shakespeare Village at Stratford-Upon-Avon and spend good one day there. Crossing the Hyde Park oh so many times that it became our rituals just because it was really nice walking. You dont get it here in KL because its hot and humid and before you know it, you'll drenched with sweats and stinks. Yuck. Whilst in London, the cold weather suit me just fine.

The team. We are TESL-ing!

Ok, Imma stop now. Perhaps in another entry I'll write more. Ciao bella!

[apekTRAVELS]

I survived!

I dunno whether this is true or not. But poking fun at ourselves is always good. Reality check too!

Ok now. In relations to the previous post, I think it's about right to write a little bit more about travel essentials. This time around, Imma write about:

Gila time nih. Just arrived at Moi International Airport, Mombasa. Masa arrived ni la coincide dengan IAAF Mombasa International Marathon. Waiting time: 3 hours. Pastu naik Kenyan Air yang mana sangat scary cos condition of the seat and lighting yang kelip-kelip. Macam dalam twilight zone.

 SURVIVING LONG HAUL FLIGHTS 

[crazy transit, unexpected delay, re-time and everything unimaginable in between]

You gotta remember. Dalam ketawa dan sengih tu kena pahatkan dalam diri yang kita kena berubah. Jangan nak forever last minute packing. Even in previous entry pun I've reminded that last minute packing could cause catastrophe and even more so if you travel in group - your problem would become everyone else problem. Kat airport dah buat hal... that kinda set the benchmark of what to expect for the rest of the trip, provided your group doesn't leave you la kan. hehe. Consider this my other warning. 

happy people, happy time, happening at the Buddha's Bar

Anyway, sharing from my personal experiences, traveling long haul flights are really exhausting. It tire your body and mind and by the time you reach the destination, you'll be half alive or half dead - depending on how you look like upon arrival.  Hiks.

Seriously. I've been to African countries with back to back trip with change of airlines to re-purchasing flight tix on the spot to spending the night at the airport countless times. After a while, you kinda get the hang of it and your body would adjust to the circumstances. 

Muka penat gila sampai kat Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi. Pastu kena tunggu lagi 45 minutes or so for the bus to the city. Bayangkan lah!

For instance, one of my trips to Kenya with 8 hours transit at Dubai and arriving at Nairobi very late in the evening. Spent 2 days in Nairobi then off to Mombassa with another flight before heading to Oman. We did it all in a course of 7 days. 

Well, although it's not a 24 hours long haul flight, the rush and the dash and the run from one airport to another was just insane. All that because of improper planning - this is another story to tell. Nanti-nanti la. You see, I am digressing, AGAIN.

Ni masa flight delay kat Dubai. Stranded kat airport for more than 7 hours. Gila! Dah mcm pelarian.

My point here, with you do not take care and prepare the body and mind properly before arriving, it may screw your travel plan. Pegi jauh-jauh.... in the end lepak kt bilik hotel. Baik tayah gi memana, dok KL je lah. 

Now, rules of thumb when travel. I am sure you've heard of this plenty of times:

1. DRINK LOTSA WATER

Advisable a glass for every one hour in flight to stay hydrated and active. Dah kenapa aku salin ayat atas? Demmit! hahah. Anyway, apart from allowing you to stay active and alert, it'll also prevent your skin from drying out. Dalam flight to air-cond and god knows what else in the confined cabin. Water reduces, if not eliminate any unwanted skin irritation and keep your skin moist. 

Korang mesti nak keluar dari flight looking FLAWLESS and RADIANT and GLOWING and FRESH and what not kan. Barulah cantek and macho. So, MINOM AIR! Tayah fancy drinks. Plain water is enough. Now, go and bother the flight attendant tu.

2. CARRY ON

So, what's a carry on? Well, basically it's the important stuffs you carry onto the flight. This is quite tricky in the sense that I could not tell what you should bring. Well, we are all different and have our preferences. But this,  I just have to shove it to your face. It is that important: BRING CHANGE OF CLOTHES ON YOUR CARRY ON for journey of more than 8 hours (include transit, change flight, etc.). 

To me, headphone or walkman is the utmost important item!!!

We often like to pack all of our clothes in the luggage and have it checked-in. There has been far too many cases nowadays that the airlines mysteriously lost your luggage or it reach to different location and this is a nightmare at its best. 

I've always packed additional clothing in my backpack to carry on flight. This is especially important during long flight and when you encounter delay. Urghh. I know. Annoying.  

Been there. Done that. Once bitten twice shy kaedahnya. Never again. Some individuals even change their attire once the seat belt sign is off. They dash to the washroom and change to pyjamas or track bottom or anything that allows your body to flex its muscle and relax. 

Tapi, jangan la buat camni, huduh sangat!

You want to relax, not to scare the bejezuz out of everyone else! Kang ada yang kena tangkap dengan air marshall pulak. 

Anyway, as long as you are comfortable, to hell with everyone else. I've seen many mat and minah salleh did this. Maybe we ought to give it a try too. Change back to your normal attire before the flight land and you'll be looking all fabulous again.

Your typical day at any international airport. I've been to many airports with many circircumstances and plenty of stories to tell. But, let it be another entry post.

 

3. FOOTWEAR

This may sound cheesy or unimportant but if you observe well, your footwear helps a lot in your travek. In fact, they are the unsung heroes during many of my travels. You gotta choose appropriate shoes for the kind of travel you are embarking in. Pakai Converse to snowy place is a no-no even though you are peminat susah mati. Kang ada yang kene gangren. 

It's cold in Edinburgh. Demi Converse and making mark punya pasal, I braved the cold weather pakai Converse. Pakai two layers of stockings ye FYI. Hehek. Crazy things people do kan!

Same goes wearing heels when you know that you are climbing the Great Wall of China. Walaupun ada boipren sado, agak-agak la nak menyusahkan orang pun. That is not the acid test of your relationship whether he is willing to carry you all the way or not. It's just a plain stupidity and the dumba** is you. Jangan sentap la kalo kena tinggal or worse kene humban pulak nanti. hahaha. You've been warned.

Hi-Tec Sierra. Bought in the UK with the assistance from Julie; friend studying there. Simply because Malaysia does not have this model. It comes with Vibram Technology - reduce foot fatigue. It works!

Ok2, coming back to footwear. I have few, well few is understatement of the year. haha. I've plenty of shoes to fit in my travel style. Before flying off, buat la research sikit on the type of weather you'll be experiencing upon arrival. 

Yup, Nike sandal pun sedap pakai buat travel

For beaches and islands trip, it's always good to bring sandals or buy one. In flight, sneaker is suffice. 

This! Simple, fast and easy. Converse for life. Eh.

 

If you are going to cold places, then boot would be my weapon of choice. But the ones with heat trap so that you won't get cold feet. Like, literally cold feet. I like Hi-Tec. They have range of footwear for travelers going to different type of weather. Visit their site here for range of products:

http://www.hi-tec.com/

Hi-Tec : My weapon of choice when traveling across Europe in 2013

Ingat: KAKI YANG PENAT, AKAN MENGGANGGU PELAN PERJALANAN ANDA. 

Below, some of the footwear that I have over the years:

Ok, selain kasut, flight socks juga equally important. It helps with your blood and muscle circulation especially when you moves too little in flight. Ye la, sitting in the middle or window aisle susahnya lahai nak bergerak fearing you are disrupting other people. So, the answer is, use flight socks. Readily available in travel shops or even Guardian and other pharmacies. A bit pricey but helps a lot. Ala, spend ribu-ribu on tepon boleh. Yang ni cost less than 100 buck je pun. Tamo berkira pls! 

Hah, read below for thorough explanation:

I hope this snippet shed some light and provide some useful tips to you guys (chewah, macam la ada yang membaca. hahaha). Until next post, tata!

[apekTRAVELS]

What to bring? What to Pack? What? What? What?

Urghh. 

"Nak travel lagi sebulan. Satu apa pun tak pack lagi...matila"  

- Anonymous #1

"Ek eleh. Chill la. Nak g lama lagi. Bukan lama pun. Kau tayah nak beriya sangat boleh tak?"  

- Anonymous #2 

Yup.

Ada yang gusar as early as this hehe.

Ramai camni. Ada juga yang sempoi, one day before travel baru terkial-kial nak pack. Well, it is a big OK if you are going to familiar place but for those venturing into new territory, you might want to think again. Prepping for traveling can sometimes create havoc and unnecessary stress.

Anyway, entri kali ni aim at helping you guys cemana nak pack dan apa yang perlu pack. And I credited the images to Encik Google. 

Well, visual communication is far more better than lengthy explanation kan. Cepat dan you guys will absorb the information a lot faster. Heh.

{p/s: click on image to enlarge and view it better}

Follow the color coding 

kepada korang yg suka nau pakai backpack.

[IMPORTANT: Kena ingat, you need to always evenly distribute the weight of your backpack with your body weight.]

 Kena seimbang ye! Ingat tu. 

For guys, above picture should be self explanatory kan kan kan

Dan yang ini the simplest and easiest thing to remember. Checklist is crucial when you are traveling for more than 5 days. For me, journal is equally important for write in anecdotes, snippets or ideas that pop out during your trip. 5-10 year along the road, bila buka and baca balik, it will make you smile of the little thing that you write, doodle or sketch init. 

Trust me :).

Seek. Then you will find me.

 

"Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."

- Gustave Flaubert

Being able to travel opened my eyes ever so widely and made me realize that we are nothing and insignificant in this tiny universe we live in. So much so that I pause and wonder why such cruelties among other livings are still rampant. The world is a beautiful place and it offers a majestic view to each of us. 

My journey to Ireland was truly an eye opener. Despite challenging weather (well, typical Asian I am!), I was in full gear and anxiously ready to go out. The trip to Cliffs of Moher was a highlight and the first sight of it made me scream quietly in admiration of the Almighty's creation. The 3 hours drive through one of the most picturesque landscape was all worth it. The nasi lemak and fiery sambal ikan bilis was heavenly delicious against the cold weather of Galway.

"Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves."

- Henry David Thoreau

We venture into the unknown not to prove that we are adventurous or that we are different or even a thrill seeker. We delve into uncharted territories in pursue of self discovery and discover ourselves. The treacherous road to Mount Merapi was quite scary but it did not match the solemn atmosphere of the shelter camp that killed the villagers when Mount Merapi erupted. It was eerie and you could almost felt the fear and sadness of the deceased. Afar, we saw this huge mass of desolation, a testament of Merapi's wrath. In silence, we wept.    

"Twenty year from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail.Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

Travel is dubbed as escapism and means to free oneself from the torturous life one's lead. But, travel is also a way for us try something new and see the world in different perspectives. Instead of going to densely populated tourist spot, let yourself loose in the midst of locality for that is when the hard truth lies in. There has been far too many cosmetic outlet which offer a glimpse of culture which has not been a true representation of what it should be. Mixing with the locals would make you realize that the real gems are woven at the heart and soul of its people; not the exhibit shown at the tourist center. 

I had the opportunities to dine with the local in Omdurman. We drove into a housing area, not your typical brick house, but aisle of houses made of mud. We stopped at a makeshift tent near the white Nile. There were few ladies busy prepping the food for our lunch. The weather was hot but not humid. In Sudan, you don't sweat but the heat was quite unbearable (imagine the heat of bonfire hitting your face. Yup, that's how hot it was). Well, after 20 odd minutes, the lunch was prepared. No table, no chair and no fancy China. What was served was a grilled lamb in basin, a chilled drinks in plastic cannister and a bowl of jarjil (rocket salad). That was it. BUT IT WAS REALLY DELICIOUS THAT I COULD STILL TASTE IT. So tasty that so far, no Arabs restaurant could match it. And, I've tried so many Arab cuisine.