Summer sale is on


Free sushi i bring home every day


Mamma Mia on stage


Fame on stage


Chicago on stage

The past week has been totally chaotic, what with Tony Blair stepped down and Gordon Brown come on stong with his new cabinet, things are really changing for me...i know im not a political person, ask me anything about it and chances are i'll merely give u a blank stare...but really, people are pretty enthusiastic bout it here...how nice to able to criticize your new PM on national television and newspaper? the freedom of speech here is a wonderful thing...

my information bout all the happening events come from the free newspapers from the tube station everyday, the vendor will shove one into your unsuspecting arm when you happen to walk by them, and if you miss them, there are papers everywhere in the train, and reading them has become my daily past time in the tube...it can get pretty boring underground...

so how do all these changes of political power affect me? for one thing, in conjunction with the new PM taking over the throne, some Al Qaeda freaks decided to share the lime light by planting a Merc full of explosives at Picaddily Circus...and yeah, they bloody suspended the tube line because of the scare, the entire area has been cordoned off...

I never knew my life is gonna be threatened here in London until another bomb scare hit me earlier on the Northern line, some 'suspicious' packages have been found in the tube and now the line has been closed for inspection...just when i needed to get home! and no, the weather hasnt been the finest lately, i ended up walking on the street under the rain to look for the appropriate bus stand...talk bout the worst day here in London...did i mention im having a bad toothache and migraine?

I've come to rely on the weather forecast here, albeit it is pretty predictable, if it is not cloudy and gray, it is pouring, so go figure...saying London has a bad weather has got to be an understatement of the year...

Furthermore, with the new PM now in place, some folks are taking the opportunity to come together and go on strike...yeah, that's a pretty common phenomenon here...what do you do if you're not happy with the government? yeah, make your voice heard! some hundreds of tube employees have come together to protest for a pay rise, along with the post service crews stopped delivering mails today to ask for a five-workday-a-week amendment...just when im waiting for my debit card to be delivered...so how am i not affected?

on a positive note however, London is going smoke free from tomorrow with the smokeban in place! what a relieve! imagine having no more puffing billy in the pubs and bars! yeah, and my working place too... :p

The summer sale is on and i went on my first shopping spree after three weeks here...Oxford street has gone completely mad, and i mean, the entire place is simply packed! Queueing up to pay is a real hassle, and i thought the Isetan presale in KL was bad...i got some really good stuff from Gap, Topman, and Von Dutch...at a very good price too.. so luvin' it...

oh yeah, i went to a free musical weekend at Leicester square last week, most of major West End musicals and plays have given up their matinee shows to come to showcase their talent here, for free!

guess that's all for now...more london post to come while im still here...

Yay, i found this internet cafe that charges an unbelievable price...you would never guess how cheap it is...it's even cheaper than KL!

so far, ive seen charges as expensive as £8 an hour, yeah, that's just plain daylight robbery, other places normally offer £1 for one hour's usage...

and my secret place? £1 for unlimited usage....wahahaha....no, i do have life here apart from hanging around internet cafe, just needa settle some errands online, that's all...

Working as a sushi maker aint the toughest job in the world, but it can take its toll on you...looking on the bright side however, i get to eat free sushi! an average sushi box here could cost you around £7, and a komachi set around £12, yeah, it aint no fastfood...

liquor, on the under hand, it's relatively affordable...one pint of beer at the bar cost around £3, but if you get it at tesco, think the same price for five cans...

it's summer so the drinking is on...lotsa music festivals are taking place and ppl are hanging out late...sunrise at 4am and set at 10pm ish...oh btw, today is the longest day in UK...

'Lord of the Rings, the musical', premieres yesterday at West End, apparently it's one of the most expensive West End productions, and it suffers some very bad reviews from critics...

I'm thinking of cathing a series of theatres while im here but it'll hafta wait till perhaps next month, just needa stock up the bank account first...

in the mean time, i'm interested to visit the places in London featured in the Monopoly board game, starting from Pall Mall and ending at Mayfair...of course, ive already been to Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Oxford street and the like and all the train stations in the map, but it'd be cool to walk down all that spots that inspired the game creator...

guess that's all for now...

The London Underground has gotta be one of the most complicated, busiest, oldest, dodgiest, and so on, in the world...

first time users might find it daunting at first, upon entering the tube you'll feel as though you're in a labyrinth, and im not kidding! one station could link up to four lines, imagine finding your way to the right one...

despite that, being the smartass that i am, i've got it all under control, the system is in my finger tips now...let's just say ive been using the tube like every single day since ive got here, and pretty much have covered most of the stations in every lines, zone 1 and zone 2...aint i the traveler?

but really, the underground is not a pleasant place to hang around...it is dim, stuffy, pulluted, HOT, and full of weird people, and i dont mean the 'underground performers', most of them are pretty talented really, just the other day there was this fiddler playing Vivaldi's, and it was so good that i actually stopped to listen to him play...

the government is currently undergoing some massive refurbishment to the underground and adding new lines in time for Olympic 2012, yeah, it's a huge thing here, the paper talks bout it every day, and the current debate is on the london2012 logo...apparently everyone hates it and are trying to get them to redesign...personally it wasnt very appealing, i dont get the message of the logo at all!

one thing i like about the transportation here is that it is so convenient, it gets you literally everywhere! and when the new high speed train is ready in august, i can be in scotland just in a blink of an eye...

the roads in central london are very narrow, nothing like the three lanes we have back home, but the side walk is just so wide! yeah, the londoners do like walking a great deal, and they have every reason to be...the congestion charge in downtown london is £8 per day, not too expensive in their standard, it's equivalent to rm 8 back home...would it deter you from using the car in KL if you have to fork out rm 8? i dont think so...

no, London is not my favourite place, and i'll say it again...there are lots to see and do, dont get me wrong, but it is really too crowded for my liking...walk down the street and chances are you'll see lotsa immigrants, everyone speaking in their own tongue...and yeah, the brits hate london, and most of them stay away from it if they can help it...

will let you guys know when i leave this place...


Underground map

Covent garden


British Museum



Meal prepared by Shila


Well, it's been a week now, and im still alive and well, that has to count for something, right?

Started working as a Sushi maker and earning national minimum wage, after tax i only get about £220 per week....cant complain really, at least i'll be able to support myself now...

yeah, i know ive been bitching bout london being overcrowded and all, but i really needa stick around and save some pounds first before i can move on...i hate to travel with the money i brought with me...

went to Hillsong Church on Sunday and it was a real blast! i truly did enjoy the service and felt God's presence...

was at Hyde park yesterday and we went looking for the glamourous people at Kensington, apparently you can always spot some celebs around...im considering moving to Notting Hill, they say being a waiter there can earn you hundreds of pounds a day! now that's really something...

weather's gloomy lately...

London Underground

Art galleries everywhere


Theatres everywhere
Chinatown


Malaysia Week


Trafalgar Square


Tower Bridge


Summer time


London Eye

London, Tottenham Court Road


Phew...this place is insane, and by that i mean the entire city is pretty generic, the roads, the buildings, the people...im not sure i like it...

arrived safely without any hiccups and immediately my travelers' instinct came to me (it's a gift... :p)...i quickly got myself an oyster card and hopped into the tube at Heathrow...i alighted the train here and went to consult the banking officer to set up a Barclay bank account...

Once i've settled my financial task, i went to collect my Simcard, just like that, im accessible to anyone in town with a UK phone number...

met up with Phenny and Furnny and we went sightseeing for a bit, they told me of all the major attractions and where all the theatres are located...

this place is like a wonderland for theatres freak, every other corner sits a theatre in what seems like just a normal building, nothing like the Theatre at esplanade, singapore...I was delighted to see Les Miserables playing at Queen's and some other favorites like Chicago, Evita, MammaMia, LionKing, Mary Poppins, you name it, they have it...

im not sure if i have all the funds yet to catch the shows and other attractions, everything is just so expensive here...we went for a drink at the bar and the cocktails are priced 6 pounds and above...

transportation is costly too, to get a weekly tube pass i needa pay £23...how can i not work? of course, the accommodation is a killer, cheapest room in a flat requires at least £100 a week...

weather is heavenly at this time of the year, it's supposed to be a hot summer but it's still kinda chilly for me at 18 degrees...

i will get some pictures up and running before long...needa get myself settled down first...im still contemplating whether i should leave london or not...

Oh yeah, it's Malaysia week in central london at the convent park, we witnessed some malay cultural dance there and savoured some malaysian food...they are selling teh tarik for £1.50 and satay at £1 per stick, aint that daylight robbery? it's just so funny traveling thousands of miles to see all the malaysian food here...

quite honestly, i miss home already....the people here are so distant from one another, havent met any backpackers yet, and i dont think i will staying in london, more than half the people here are foreigners...

missing everyone back home...

It's just so hard

to say goodbye...

First pit stop - London

It's getting too hard to ignore...

for the past few weeks ive been evading the idea of leaving the comfort of home and to embark on a journey to one of the most expensive countries in the world, especially so for us who's using RM, just think of your money being divided by seven, that's how poor you're gonna become...

eventhough living the life of a pauper is not something new for me (i havent been working for two months now, go figure...), i shudder to think of my plight in downtown London when im penniless and homeless...will i end up sleeping in the park? good thing it's summer now... :)

As of now i've yet to arrange any lodgings for myself, and i have no head or tail what's it gonna be when i arrive at Heathrow, i will be totally lost for sure...

Looking on the bright side however, this wont be the first time im doing this, experience is a valuable thing when it comes to traveling, i will have no problem pestering passers-by for directions and advice, and somehow i'll be able to make friends along the way to travel together, yeah, im charming that way... :)

It's about time i sent out emails to all my contacts in the UK, friends are crucial when you're in a foreign land, and i have no doubt they will put up with me under any circumstances...did i mention that everybody loves Marcus? lol.

This is the life that i've chosen, as envy as i could be seeing everyone around me earning the big bucks and driving nice cars and buying big houses, i know i have to do what im about to do, how many times in your life will you be able to live as a 25 y/o? once...

im not concern of my future undertakings, i mean, not yet...and i'm sure i'll manage it when it comes...havent i always been carefree? now that's the spirit...

So right now im just gonna put on a positive attitude to my rather bleak future and look forward to all the uncertainties and challenges ahead of me...

I'll make an effort to update my situation in this blog as frequent as possible, just to let you guys know that im still alive and well...start worrying if you havent heard from me for a while...

:p