Leaving On A Jet Plane
I had planned on going to the
Arsenal-ManUre match after learning the skunk had sold his soul to the devils
and bought the ticket to London in early September 2012 as soon as the Premier
League schedule for 2012-13 season was released. The rest of the trip was
finalised along the way - and I had to strike off some destinations as I wasn’t
sure of the public transportation available at those destinations.
Friday, 26 April 2013
I took half-day off work today and
rushed home after a brief stop at Isetan. Well, there was a members’ sale and I
wanted to get a few things. I was so exhausted from everything and wanted to
leave after 5 pm; the downpour which started at 4 also meant I couldn’t leave
earlier even if I wanted to.
Abah offered to drive me to Ampang
Park and from there, I took the LRT to KL Sentral. Dropped my water bottle in the
car in my haste. Ditsy me.
The flight took off slightly later
than scheduled: I saw some people still wandering around looking for their
seats when we were supposed to have taken off. As for me, unfortunately I was
seated next to two Middle Eastern men. The oaf next to me hogged the armrest
throughout but of course. Stupid inconsiderate selfish idiot.
At mealtime, I asked for water and
apple juice while the guy by the window asked for 7-Up. When the cabin crew
gave me my drinks, the guy reached over and took my water, thinking it was his
7-Up. I was so shocked that I gaped at him then asked the cabin crew loudly for
another cup of water ‘because he took my water’ while pointing at him. What an
idiot. Sure, both water and 7-Up are colourless but soda fizzes. You fool. I
hope you enjoyed your water. I only wished I had taken a sip before you took it
away. Then the cabin crew handed him his precious 7-Up. Like I said, dumb fool.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
We landed in Abu Dhabi and it was a
sleepy transit before I embarked on the next flight to London Heathrow. Landed
in Heathrow on time and was out fairly quickly. Took the tube to Green Park for
the simple reason that it has lifts and from there, I walked to Old Bond Street
and New Bond Street before emerging into Oxford Street. The sun couldn’t decide
if it wanted to be out or stay behind the clouds and the rather windy morning
made it seem much colder.
I browsed some stores and was tempted
by some of the clearance offers but didn’t buy anything as I was going to fly
the cattle airline a few times. No can do. I then made my way to the easyBus
stop and waited for my bus to London Stansted.
We reached Stansted an hour later and
I went to perform prayers at the multi-faith chapel. Funny I didn’t realise the
existence of the chapel before. Joined the queue for check-in and there were
such long lines (Stansted is a major hub for RyanAir). Luckily, we got to join
a different queue as the time was drawing closer for our flight. Then there was
another queue to join at the security check.
I slept prior to take-off and got up
about 20 minutes before landing. Chatted to the elderly chap next to me. He
told me he runs a pub in north London (apparently close to the Emirates!) but
when I asked, he said he didn’t support Arsenal because he didn’t watch
football. Oh well. So long as he didn’t support the scums.
Took the Eireann Bus no. 51 to
Galway. Return ticket cost €22 (I later checked and found that a single ticket
cost €17!). We reached Galway about 105 minutes later. I walked down to my hostel
and checked in.
Went out to check out the area and
bought some water at a nearby convenience store. Had a simple dinner before
retiring for the evening. I was woken up a few times by the loud drunken voices
of my fellow hostel guests.
OK, I did say I wanted to catch the
Arsenal-ManUre match, right? Well, I would have tried my best except that the
match was subsequently rescheduled to start on Sunday instead. At 4 pm. I
wasn’t keen to remain in London for an extra night (I wouldn’t have minded one
night in London had the match proceeded as scheduled on Saturday) so I decided
OK, I would have to miss the match. And probably a good decision too because
ManUre were the champions (how it pains me to type that) and Arsenal were
having the guard of honour for them. Ugh.
Sunday, 28 April 2013
I woke up for prayers and again at 7.
Showered then went to have breakfast. After breakfast, I went for a walk around
the city centre before getting directions to the coach station (not the same as
the bus station). I had booked to join a tour with Lally Tours to Connemara
today.
There were some 34 of us and we all
piled into the smaller bus (the company’s other bus which was bigger was bound
for the Burren tour). We drove through the range of mountains and lakes,
passing the Quiet Man Bridge (featured in the John Ford film ‘The Quiet Man’
starting John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara), the Maam Valley, Killary Fjord before
stopping at Kylemore Abbey. We stopped at Kylemore Abbey and Victorian walled
garden for two hours. It is a beautiful 19th century house now run by
Benedectine nuns. The vegetables used in the complex’s restaurant are purportedly
from the Victorian garden itself. The weather seemed to change every minute:
sun, fleeting clouds and rain alternating quickly.
We reached Galway at 5:15 pm and
tried as I did with the numerous pubs that the city has, I couldn’t find any
which was screening the match. Had to go back to the hostel and find out the
results online. Aud and Zack helped to text me the results. We drew 1-1 with ManUre.
To be continued
|