we're here!

arrived in london this afternoon, exhausted yet exhilared after 27 hours of nonstop travel. we were farewelled by 16 amazing friends at the airport on sunday night, which couldn't help but be a tearful encounter, and took the midnight flight on budget airline airasia x through its hub at kuala lumpur to london. being wedged into the center seat on both 12-hour flights, i slept barely a wink but somehow am functioning well this evening and hopefully won't suffer the horrendous jet lag that lingered for days in auckland. we didn't think we were going to make our connection to london, as the plane was an hour late and check-in was closing minutes from our arrival, but we speed-walked through the surprisingly small transfer terminal (it doesn't look anything like the international hub that it is) and just made it. saw a couple of palm trees and lots of military-looking airport officials, but that's the end of my impressions of malaysia. disembarked on the tarmac instead of directly into the terminal, though, so i'm glad to say i have stepped foot on asian soil. was a bit freaked out by the announcement made over the PA system upon arrival in kl, "passengers should be aware that possession of illegal drugs is taken very seriously in malaysia and carries a mandatory death sentence", as i had just finished a bag of lollies and was concerned that the sugar left in the bottom might look a bit suspicious. guess they can tell the difference between cocaine and candy :)

arrived in london at 3:30 pm but didn't get to our hostel way-the-heck-on-the-other-side-of-town until almost 7:30, involving a scenic train ride through the english countryside, a frantic transfer to the tube in the middle of central london's crazy rush hour, a second transfer up to willesden green station on the jubilee line, and a 10-minute walk. looks like it will totally be worth it, though, as the hostel's in a really quiet and beautiful residential area and seems to be very well managed. we are finding london to be crazy expensive, as everyone has said, but we'll enjoy the time that we have here and hit up lots of those free museums. already wondering if we can work out a way to come here for a year or so...great history, lots of walking tracks and great tramps within a few hours' drive, steady supply of cadbury's chocolate...

-rachel