Reading: Arrived

It was a tiring journey. Never in my life I traveled this long and far. It started on 20th October at Senai Airport and it only ended today, 21st October at around 6.30am local time. Flight from JHB to KUL was delayed for 20 minutes and making matter worse, my checked in luggage was mis-routed. It was about an hour before they recover the luggage.

Well, perhaps not a smooth start but Emirates flew pretty much on time. The plane was practically full to the brim and since I was seated near to the bassinet, I really expect that possibly some kids will be crying along the way. The plane took off 1930 as scheduled and to my suprise, A380 really exhilarating. The engines were super smooth, I heard only the air-conditioning and not the engines. Took off was smooth, the plane gently accelerate on the runway before suddenly flies. It took of course quite a distance before it flies but it was smooth.

The plane was mostly filled with Middle-easterners perhaps holiday makers making KL as their destination. Nothing much happen during flight. I was seated next to a gentleman who made Bahrain as his base and we chatted once in a while before both resorting to the entertainment system until the plane made it to Dubai.  

I made it clear with the check in staff at KLIA that I'm going to London and I hope by telling them, I shouldn't be bothered with whether my luggage will arrive or not. They gave me their assurance and  I was issued with 2 boarding passes, to Dubai and later connecting with Qantas to London.

Dubai airport to me, is pretty much like KLIA. Surprisingly, the shops are manned with mostly asian.

The procedure for transiting was fairly simple. Just follow the sign and passengers were prompted for security check before been allowed to enter the departure hall. Unfortunately, Qantas flight that night was delayed and instead of flying at 0100, ETD has been shifted to 0230.

In comparison with Emirates, Qantas seems much better. Bigger leg-room and super friendly cabin crews. 2 meals were served during the flight. The moment the plane took off, they served chicken wrap with some other dishes. I didn't care much, perhaps since it was dark. But the food served in Qantas, especially for plane flying off from Dubai is halal. Even the wrap of the chicken wrap confirmed this.

Nothing much, it was 7 hours flight bla bla bla, but the entertainment system fared less compared with Emirates. Well, if you asked me how many movies you wanted to watch in 7 hours, then perhaps it was enough. I didn't bothered much, filled most of my time trying hard to catch some sleeps. It's a red-eyed flight so I was told to sleep whenever I could. But who wanted to sleep on flight bound to London. It's not every year we'll come to London didn't you? but I was defeated. I fall asleep, soundly, and woke up when it's very near to breakfast.

Breakfast was good. At least to me, they gave two options, one is very light cereal where they serve with yogurt. Sound healthy. The other option was omelette, serve with yogurt and some snacks. Well, of course, as you can predict, I resorted to omelette thinking this will be my last halal meal on earth.

Well, why not some photos. Photos speak a thousand word didn't they? I'll include captions whenever I could:

Well this is how it's look like. Just to let you know, if you plan to take the bus to anywhere from Heathrow, National Express is calling from the central bus station. From terminal 3, it's easy, just follow the sign after you pass the custom. It's quite a walk from terminal 3, but you can take the trolley with you all the way to the station. Ticket counters are there both human and machine. As I am heading to Reading, I need to board the Rail Air, but all stands are allocated for National Express. I went in again and asked a very friendly staff of the airport and was told that ticket can be purchased at the national express counter. Buses leave in 20 minutes interval, so there'll be plenty tickets available. 

First taste of UK. Shivering and I didn't know how to switch the heater on! pathetic. I've been stalking this building right beside the apartment, and I think it's an office.

Moment before took off

Landed at Heathrow terminal 3. It was raining that time. Love Qantas, super friendly crews. I am not comparing to Emirates, but yup, they are friendly.

Well, that's it for now. I've been doing an extensive walk for the past 2 days. I got some photos with me and hope to post it out soon.

Kind regards and cheers!