Michael Goes to London

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Firstly ....NO, this posting is not about a new music group like Michael Learns to Rock .... :-)

Instead this is a continuation from our Grand Reunion of 23 Dec 2009. On that marvellous evening, two lucky "boys" won the top prizes of Air Asia return air tickets to London - Michael Kong and Tan Yoke Hai.. This is the story of what happened next.

Michael and his family made the London trip in mid March 2010. This posting is excerpted from MK's recent email to me, describing their interesting trip ...

Photo (1): Aaron, Gabriel, Teresa and Mike at Buckingham Palace

Hi James,

How're you and your family in beautiful sunny S'pore? Wishing you all in the pink of health with the Lord's blessing as always.
 
Ben informed me to provide you some interesting news from our London stay - 15th-21st March.

Ah, where do i begin.......the british are predictable lot but the weather is not ...a normal yet memorable trip for us. Before the journey, gave Tan Yok Hai a token of appreciation for passing his share of air passage to us since the weather was too cold for his wife and the expiry date for the sponsored trip was 23/3/10.

The NST town house is very comfy to stay and is within walking distance to Oxford Street, Baker Street and Hyde/ Regent parks. Maryleborne Station is the closest tube station.

Reaching Liverpool street station around mid-nite on 15th March from Stansted airport, my family was shaken by the winter cold (previously, they never experienced any winter travel). The black London cab was the most inviting place to be on that cold nite. However, the driver was unsure of the place,Wyndham Mews, so we had to peel our sleepy eyes to help find the address, despite the jetlag. We were quite lost even on reaching the area.

Strangely when i suggested he took a u turn at the end of a block, there we saw the address sign. Feeling relieved and pleased, the driver asked for only 20 pounds even though the meter charged 26 pounds.Well, unlike in KL, where only one taxi driver(out of 6 guys we asked) knew where Jln Riong was (ie.NST office in Bangsar), we were charged rm20 for a short journey without a meter.

That London being part of the old world and able to sustain the brand of the premium tourist destination,is indeed itself a wonder.If only Malaysia could take a leaf to learn from its professionalism and commitment of the profitable tourism industry.

Londoners can be a caring lot as we crossed path with a young lady who gave my wife a pack of plasters at a tube station on seeing my wife's bleeding ankles due to walking without socks and just disappeared before we could say- thank you.

Londoners and foreign tourists like to stretch their pounds by shopping in Primark, a dept store retailing cheap ready- to-wear items from China,India,Thailand and other far-east suppliers (so-called sweat shops). The scenario was almost like a typical great sales of S'pore promotion,packed with shoppers and very stuffy inside.

About stretching the $, we ate fast food for lunch,yes,enough of Mac and Subway meals but enjoyed cooking breakfast and dinner at NST residence.

As you may have experienced, when staying abroad as a tourist, we appreciate simple meals and common sundries.Much like we are trying hard to travel as light as possible( i know, sometimes not to our liking),we could cope with a few necessities plus a lot more inconveniences like fast walking( with aching feet), hunger pangs and wearing winter clothings and looking like walking laundry bags!

So hopefully, after this trip, my two younger sons will be inspired to study harder (and smarter) after visiting London University even though i don't have a deep pocket for their full time UK education. Most of all, we as individuals,must learn to put up with any inconvenience and be brave to venture outside our comfort zone............

We are very grateful for NST's hospitality & company sponsorship of the excellent facilities, in particular, Dato' Anthony Bujang.

Many thanks to all our fellows making the Big Fifteers' memorable December evening possible...as well as to you, James, the one and only Website Jaga.

Cheers:)


Best Regards,

Michael Kong, Teresa Bong and the boys, Aaron and Gabriel


Thanks for your excellent report, Michael. We are very glad you all had an interesting trip. I now include a collection of photos you took on the trip. I won't be able to provide much commentary on them, so will leave MK and family to give their added inputs later.

Photo (2): Frontage of house they stayed at

Photo (3): Feathered friends at Hyde Park

(WJ: What an absolutely lovely shot!)

Photo (4): Baker Street - the home of Sherlock Holmes

Photo (5): MK in front of Big Ben (not Wong! :)

Photo (6): The London Eye

Photo (7): View of Westminster from the London Eye

Photo (8): In front of St Paul's Cathedral

Photo (9): Ayam Brand in the British Museum

Photo (10): Sarawak heritage at the British Museum

There are many other photos, but I thought I'd put these up first so you can enjoy them, and later this weekend I'll put up some more ...

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