Friday 18 April 2008

The Journey to the Caribbeans

The clock on my laptop says 18 April 2008, 12:09 AM. The clock on my mobile phone reads 17 April 2008, 11:09 AM. I honestly feel like I'm working in the office in the middle of the night when it's actually a bright shinning day in Jamaica!

It's been a long, looooong journey to get here but I've actually enjoyed every minute of it!
[Note to self : check feet for more tahi lalats tonight]

In the past 48 hours, I've flown accross half the globe. Experienced the thunderstorms of Malaysia, the cold winds of early spring in London and the Caribbean sunshine in Jamaica. But let me start from the begining - my first 13 hours flight from KL to London.

KL to London Flight
I was in a rush so I forgot to make sure I got an aisle seat for the flight (easier to go to the lavatory and walk about for a stretch). So I ended up with a window seat beside a couple with a baby and the first thing that I thought was, "Oh Crap, I'm gonna suffer through the flight with the baby screaming in my ears". But as it turned out, the baby was one of those rare kinds that slept through most of the flight and when he did wake up, was very adorable. And the window seat was a blessing in disguise because the skies were clear throughout the journey and I could see the landscape changing from Kuala Lumpur right up to London. When we flew over Afghanistan, the view of the mountain range literally took my breath away! It seemed like the mountains stretched out to the ends of the earth, as far as my eyes could see and their peaks were covered with snow. (My first look at snow). The striking contrast of the dark brown earth of the mountain agaisnt the white snow, for miles accross the earth is definately one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

1 Night Stay in London
My Uncle picked me from the airport and we set off to his house which is about an hour away from Heathrow. I could hardly pay attention to what my Uncle was saying because I was too busy looking out the window at the scenery passing by. Oh I just love London. I grew up with Enid Blyton stories and later, novels, mostly English romances and classics and even the Shopoholic series. So UK has been a part of me for so long and to actually be there - I just wished I could stay longer but sadly I couldn't. Because : a. I'm broke and b. I had to catch the flight to Jamaica the next day.

London to Jamaica Flight
My first preview to Jamaican culture because the plane was full of them. And I reliased they're very expressive people. They call everyone either "Darling" or "Love" or "Lovey" or "Dear". Like when the lady behind me accidently bumped into me, she appologized saying "Oh, sorry Love". And when the pilot executed an execellent landing, the whole plane burst into spontaneously clapping and cheering. I found it so cool! I mean, in Malaysia, if the pilot lands badly, we'll all start complaining and if he does a good landing - so what, that's his job.

I haven't had a chance to explore the country yet but what I've seen so far is good. A hilly island town with houses all over the hill sides. To me, it's like if Kundasang was beside the sea. I haven't ate any of their local food yet unless I count this morning's breakfast at the hotel - weird bread, weird scrambled eggs, weird sausage and weird food. I hope my lunch will taste better than my breakfast!

So that's a summary of my journey so far. The pics will come soon :)

By : Anya

2 comments:

Pink Scalers said...

oh my.. oh my... im so happy for u.. yet im so jealous of u... hehehe... have lotsa n lotsa fun dear! n come back with tonnes of stories.. im freaking bored!! hehehe...

-lilo

Pink Scalers said...

Finally an entry from Anya! :)
(me thinks u MUST stop-over in London masa balik lah..)

n btw, when i read your "view from plane" part, it brought back memories of the 1st time i saw Holland frm the plane. i had no idea how beautiful our planet really was.. n it is FLAT:)

Cow, post pictures!!

Eagerly awaiting,
Margie