08.10.10
What a surreal feeling. In the last week, I have finished up with ANZ, rented out my house, sold my car and had a farewell. I can't believe how smoothly everything has gone so far. Last night was the last time we would see our friends Billy, Tay, Geoff & Bee. We met for a drink at the courthouse hotel in Southport. As usual, one drink with our friends turned into many with Bianca ending up driving me home. There were a few tears when saying goodbye and both Zoe and I had a very uneasy feeling in leaving our friends. I returned home to my last home cooked dinner from mom for a very long time. We had pork and vegetables. After months of planning, making lists, checking lists and crossing off actioned items, we were ready to go. The last tasks included arranging an international driver's licence, travel insurance and getting Zoe's car serviced. By the time I had gone to bed, I was exhausted. Tomorrow is a big day.
09.10.10
I was woken up by my mom and dad at 5.10 a.m this morning. Zoe and I were scheduled to leave for an 8.5 hour flight to KL at 8.40 a.m from Coolangatta. Both of our families joined us to say farewell and wish us well for our adventure. We had pre-booked 60KG worth of luggage which we thought to be fair given that we would be living abroad for 12 months. We were 2KGs over our limit and we were devastated. We had a choice, we either could have unlocked our bags and either throw away clothes, or add more to hand luggage or what we were wearing. Instead we decided to pay $20 for the additional luggage (This infuriated Zoe). After a skinny flat white a few hugs and a teary goodbye we were on our way. The flight was amazing on Air Asia X. Best seats ever!! Lots of legroom, leather seats, high headrest, excellent service and smooth flight. I could be the face of Air Asia I loved it so much! Zoe had made a budget for KL during the flight. We had $140.00 for both of us for two nights. This involves no tipping, no drinks at meals and sharing portions but I think we did well on our first day. Our biggest expense was the taxi ride to our 5* hotel (30 Rm). This was after Zoe was abused by a Malaysian resident after trying to haggle with him over the cost of the ride. He said "You have asked everybody on the street, F%*&K off and go away" He was crazy!! This followed a 9 Rm bus trip from the airport to Central on the Air Asia X Skybus. The bus was very unsteady, highly unroadworthy and was bouncing while driving. Eventually we made it to the hotel after a taxi driver had tied his boot down with a cable tie to secure our excessive baggage. We dropped our luggage off and went to the Pavilion shopping centre. The centre is equipped with the absolute top shelf retails shops such as Versace, Prada Louis Vuitton etc... We weren't there for the brands, we were dying for Nando's after a small plane meal earlier in the day. We then went grocery shopping for the remainer of our time in KL. We ended up spending 15 Rm ($5) on yoghurt, milk, water and fruit (Now that is budgeting!). Too bad my mango yoghurt was off. It really has left a bad taste in my mouth. I am falling asleep now while I write this in bed. The second last night of luxury!!! To be continued.
10.10.10
10.10.10 - symbolic for a day of new beginnings. We woke up excited for the buffet we travelled to Malaysia for. It didn't dissapoint. We took it easy this time, but still managed to make our way through maple syrup waffles, guava juice, yoghurt, fruit, omelettes, mushrooms, toast, sausages, hashbrowns and a number of pastries including donuts and muffins. Zoe even spoilt herself and indulged in some fruit loops. Although not taking full advantage of all the worldwide cuisines the buffet had to offer we knew that we needed a good feed as the days ahead would get tough! After our breakfast, we made our way to the shopping centre nearby where they had a special offer for internet usage. The deal was 10c for every 10 mins from 10 a.m until 10 p.m on the 10.10.10. This was very useful as we needed to arrange the next leg of our trip. We managed to book a bus from Stanstead airport to London the day after we arrive on the 11.10.10. We will be staying at Days Inn which is in close proximity to Stanstead airport the first night we arrive. This cost 45 pounds. We also managed to book a night in Milan, Italy for the night of the 13.10.10. The hostel/motel is called Hotel Sabatini. This looks nothing like the luxury we have become acustomed to, however theres not much more you can get these days for less than 35 euros per person per night. We quickly acknowledged that a 70 euro accomodation would make a significant dent into our 100 euro per day budget. Ce la vie! After we checked our banking, facebook, emails and planned our travels, we had already forgotten about our breakfast. We had a 15 ringett budget for lunch ($3). We decided to go with the Subway 6 inch sub deal. We were in luck! The special was for chicken teriyaki! It was a little different to what we were used to in Australia to say the least! Firstly, italian herbs and cheese bread was not available, choice of cheese was not offered, the bread was toasted (no questions asked) and there was no southwest sauce! Zoe and I have adapted incredibly well to the concept of cheap travel. We walked around the supermarket sampling all the sample food. We even went back for seconds! The cream puffs were our favourite! We have done incredibly well with our budget in KL. We had $140.00 available for 2 days for 2 people. This was to include transport food and absolutely everything else! It is the night before we are due to leave and we have approximately $60 remaining. After we make our way to the airport tomorrow, we will be able to treat ourselves to coffee/entertainment on the plane trip to our new home London. I asked Zoe about a million times today whether we can go to the gym at the hotel. After a lengthy swim at the hotel pool we went to the gym for a workout. We are trying to avoid the Heathrow injection that everyone has warned us about. We have photos to prove that we went! Later we decided to take a walk to the Petronas towers. There is a large shopping centre at the base that was a hive of activity. We couldn't believe the amount of money being spent and the hoards of people making their way through the centre. We definitely did not contribute to the group spend at the centre. We decided to have dinner at a Teppanyaki restaurant. We both chose the Teppanyaki beef with chilli sauce and soy sauce. The meal was served with a serving of rice and stirfried vegetables. It was decilicious! At 12.90 Rm each, we could even afford a bottle of water each and share a New Zealand Natural gelato. After a pretty full on day, we retreated to our luxurious 5 star hotel to enjoy the time we had left in a large, clean room with all the extras. We spent the majority of our time washing our dirty clothes and packing to avoid an excess baggage charge again. We are now ready to watch a movie and enjoy a 6 hour sleep before waking up for our last delicious buffet and a 14 hour flight to London's Stansted airport.