Memories of Merdeka

I'm not going to pretend that I'm a patriotic kind. But having lived abroad for a big chunk of my student life did put things into perspective somewhat. And for Merdeka Day, most of the students used to congregate at the High Commissioner's Residence in London for a quick get together and food, clad in their traditional costumes.

I guessed that made things felt rather different from the ordinary routine.

The first and only time that I joined in - making a trip to London from where I was based was rather tricky - was soon after I first arrived in 1990. I remembered that the High Commissioner's house was just outside Central London. We took a train there and then a short walk from the station. From afar you could see your fellow Malaysian in their Baju Melayu and Baju Kurung. Quite a sight in a foreign land.

We were ushered in, plenty of food at the garden this being late sunmer when the weather was still warm. A few of the students happened to be children of well known parents from back home and were known personally by the Commisioner or his staffs. They got to be introduced around, while us ordinary folk just mingled around looking perplexed.

We then decided from then on that maybe hanging around and meeting friends at Malaysia Hall was a better idea. Elitism can be stuffy .......

A Quick Stop

It took about 15 minutes before the counter could issue a boarding pass for me. The problem? My first name was too long. Hopefully that was not a bad omen. It was soon sorted out when the supervisor arrived to verify things. Boarding pass issued, and off I went to the terminal floor. The shops were just about to be opened then. It was just after 6 in the morning local time after all. Around 2 back home.

A quick phone call to Anita. She had just arrived at Cameron Highlands - a trip planned for the boys, plus her mother. She was about to check in there. They got lost a couple of times, but managed to sort the directions out in the end. The children were behaving themselves I hope.

I was skipping breakfast since I had one earlier on the plane. I'll probably take another nap on the Trans-Atlantic flight. I'll give Anita a ring again before I board. Hopefully, there won't be much issue at the immigrations. I really could do with a nice shower now.

More on my Atlanta trip here.

First Leg Done

Just arrived at Terminal 4 at Heathrow, got myself organise just to find out that the counter for my connecting flight was yet to be opened. Cold outside. Minus 3 degrees, but was not exposed to the elements inside the terminal. The flight in was comfortable, although the turbulence and air pocket woke me up a couple of times. Managed to catch a couple of movies and around 4-5 hours of sleep.

Certainly A380 lived up to the comfort level, but I would blog about that a bit later. Time to get something to drink, wait for the counter to open. Retrieve my boarding pass, and then wait for the next leg of my journey. I'll probably browse for a book or two while waiting. Will blog later.

More on my Atlanta trip here.

Checked In

So, I arrived early, checked in and off I went to sit at the lounge. The flight was just before midnight and it was just after ten now. Anita prepared a heavy dinner for me earlier, so I wasn't exactly hungry. I had a cup of hot chocolate, settled into the seat and enjoyed the free internet.

I managed to check in my luggage straight to Atlanta but upon arrival at Heathrow, I had to get another boarding pass before the next flight. Praying that there won't be any delay hopefully as I was sure in would be right tired then. I wasn't planning to get much sleep for the flight into Heathrow. I would leave that for the Trans-Atlantic leg.

Maybe, I would force myself to watch a movie or two. After all, it would be my first experience onboard an A380. I got the upper deck seat, and requested for an aisle one rather than a window. In was a night flight. I'll go for the window one for the return leg when it would be during sunlight.

The lounge was recently renovated, but I did not see any changes since the latest time I've been in. Food was OK, but being full, I didn't have much. Maybe I have something light after the take off. I didn't recognise anybody else on the flight so far, so I reckon most of the other Malaysian delegates did the sensible thing and took the flight via Seoul. I liked to be difference. So, London, here I come. Even if it was only for a few hours.

More on my Atlanta trip here.

Dato' LCW, we salute you!

Another gutsy performance by our Datuk, but yet again he came up short. This time by the finest of margins. He could have easily taken the Championship at 21-20, but it wasn't to be. He tried. And he again made us proud. The question now is who to fill his shoes when he finally call it a day?

The rest of the Malaysian contingent has been disappointing, especially the Koo-Tan partnership which carried the nation's hopes in the doubles. Apart from them, we had nothing much to show for in the major competitions.

Time to take stock, learn and look to the future. I didn't think Chong Wei would be the force he was today after next summers' Olympics. He had almost single-handedly carried the nation's hope for the past few years. And he did us proud. We had to get the next generation of players to step up to the plate and be counted.

So, here's to Chong Wei. Well done. A true Malaysian hero!