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]

Songs That Remind Us of THAT Moments

Hah. 

psssttt... my all time favorite song, Yellow by Coldplay.

Songs play major part in my life. I do not have any particular genre when it comes to preference, as long as it suits my ears and seem right at that particular moments and encapsulate the essence of the experiences; i am all go. whenever i travel, the most important item i bring is the Sony mp3 player. This one-lah: 

i had two of these. lost one and bought the second one. it's 2gb and you could store about 200 songs init.

that was JO, kak milo and kakyat. we were facilitating a camp at Sungai Congkak.

The ultimate 90s song.

Prior to this, i resorted to Sony handphone and songs are stored there. yea, way back when sony ericson handphone was the talk of the town, before Apple and Samsung, right after Nokia lost its touch. Personally, I think that the walkman handphone series was great for traveling whilst you could store up to 1gb of songs, the quality is compared to none. 

coolness comes in small package. i wish Sony could come out with this kind of phone. It's their niche. 

 

Happy days. Kebajikan Camp at Port Dickson.

 Anyway, back to topic. Shoot, i digress a lot, ain't i? hahaha. anyway, my first trip oversea was in 1996. We went to UK. It was direct 13 hours flight using Malaysia Airlines. And, without KLIA, we departed from Subang International Airport. True. Tak percaya ke? eheh. I still remembered, the departure time was about at 4 something in the evening. We were so excited. And in the plane (no handphone yet this time), these two groups were just being introduced to local music scene. OASIS and SPICE GIRLS. I listened to it continuously. Among my fave are Don't look Back In Anger, Roll With It, Champagne Supernova. And of course, from the delicious Spice Girls, the ultimate Wannabe was personal favorite. 

Oxford Street, London. The year, 1996. weehoo

Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1996. Pardon the quality, we were still in flimstrip back then

with good friend Safuan (he's a Doctor now!) and aetone (punya, hehe). This was taken on the way down from Brinchang Hill, Cameron Highland.

Ok, fast forward. in campus, i traveled a lot. well, mostly local. eh not mostly, all of it local. eheh. student being a student, where got money meh to travel oversea. plus, flight fare wasn't as cheap as today. and definitely, no Airasia. The only carrier that we knew of was Malaysia Airlines, and god were they expensive. so, travel dalam negara sudahhhh. 

Why so serious? Of course la, we were at Leadership Camp and I was in charge as Quarter Master.  This was taken at Lanchang, Pahang. *a kind of forest reserve cum camp site cum chalet. Very near to Elephant Sanctuary, Kuala Gandah.

Anyway, hahaha see! I'm digressing again. 

This was in Kelantan during High Risk '01 activity. I think it's it Dabong, Gua Musang

Ok, I was quite (well quite was the way to tone it down. Very is the most appropriate) active in the campus. Prior to holding any position, I was just happy running around and a lil bit of culture shock (I was from Johor, that's south of Malaysia), I got distracted a lot. I frequented Modestos, Bali, HRC, etc. etc. heheh And when I decided to turn my life around, I involved a lot in college activities. There I get to travel around Malaysia. IT WAS FUN traveling with friends, wholly sponsored by the University. In fact, my highlights and best memories in the university was busy with these sort of activities.

MTM Retreat at Seri Juliana Chalet, Cameron Highlands, again.

I remembered Matchbox Twenty, Smashing Pumpkins, Everclear, Backstreet Boys (as much as I love to deny it, well, let's face it! haha), Incubus, Lenny Kravitz, Jewel (oh Jewel!), Jamiroquai, are among few of the artists that hogged my playlist. I still remembered we were traveling to Sungai Besar, Kuala Selangor for Kampung Angkat Project and As Long As You Love Me became the ultimate road trip song. From UPM to Kuala Selangor took us about 2 and a half hour, driving Anim's kancil. 

Facilitator Camp to welcome new freshies to the college. We had it Kuala Gula, Perak. This is a place for bird watching as gazillions of different species of birds come flocking this area. Kinda R&R for them migrating from the Siberia.

this was taken at Blok Helang common room. We were preparing for inter blok video clip contest. A true hard rocker, our blok chose Knockin on Heaven's Door by Guns N Roses. We lost. But we had fun!

This was during Ramadhan. We had this inter blok competition for Bubur Lambuk and Dessert.

I bought Matchbox Twenty cassette (yup, you read it correctly, freaking cassette heh!) at Mines. Their first album entitled You, Yourself or Someone Like You. The best ever!

Tadaaa. My room back in college. Fancy eh.

Eh, forgot to attach any photos. Wait aaaa lemme find some for you viewing pelasure.

With Bbt/Sharhan. A junior which in many many many years after that, becomes close friend. *that many years are now.

The lots of us at the backstage of Experimental Theatre, UPM  for inter college Drama Competition.