Every morning on my 20 minutes journey to work, I would see a flock of birds in the sky and they always fly in a pattern. It is beautiful. It reminds me of the beautiful hadith that says "If you all relied on Allah with due reliance. He would certainly give you provisions as He gives it to a bird who issue forth hungry in the morning and comes back full"
When I went back to London for a little while...I was able to directly compare my life in UK and my life in Malaysia. There were a lot of pros and cons but I realised there were many things and people that I missed in UK. This is no surprise as I spent so many years of my life there. I never felt that I was a 'foreigner' but instead I felt that I was part of a growing Muslim community in Britain who have chosen to practice Islam and to hold on to the values of Islam despite being bombarded by daily accusations of being 'extremist' and 'terrorist'. I felt that I was contributing to the society with my medical skills and I wanted to help the people as much as I could because that is what Islam expects of me. To me, my identity was as a Muslim. I was not anything else, my race, my colour, my language didn't matter. I am what I am in my race, my colour and language because Allah made me that way but it had no bearings on who I am, I am a Muslim and that was enough. My strength was Islam and my confidence came from Islam.
We can learn so much from every community and pick the best characters from them. When I came back to Malaysia, I started to compare the life even more...and although I believe my conclusions have been correct but I was forgetting one thing...that Allah puts us where we ought to be. Yesterday, I spoke to some students and talking to them about motivation and Islam reminded me that I have been sent here for a purpose, which is to pass on whatever little bit of knowledge that I have acquired, that I ought to be grateful for everything that Allah has given to me.
I have learned so much from the community here too...the true meaning of tawakkal, believing in Rizk and ajal. The overwhelming love and affection for Islam...and gratefulness.
Alhamdulillah
Showing posts with label Visiting UK comparing the two places. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Visiting UK comparing the two places. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
What went through my mind as I left for Stansted Airport
I said my goodbyes to my aunt and uncle and drove to Stansted in my wonderful little silver VW Polo, getting slightly lost initially. My auntie told me if ever I get lost, I should park up and read al Fatihah and inshaAllah, I will find my way so, I stopped at Tesco carpark and looked at the map and then I read al Fatihah and Alhamdulillah i found my way back on the M11 and reached Stansted, fuelled up and found my way to the car rental returns. Alhamdulillah. My short visit here had been a fruitful one achieving all the things I needed to achieve.
There are a few things that I will truly miss about Britain when I return to Malaysia; for one the 24 hour news BBC and al Jazeera. I know that these channels are available on satellite but it is not easily accessible to everyone and you have choose for the news package to get access to it. How many people in Malaysia would choose News package over movies or entertainment? Emm...let me not offend anyone. For too long, I feel that the masses of the Malaysian society have lived in the dark, excited only by the news reported in Metro. It is unhealthy. So, these are some of the changes that I would like to see in Malaysia.
1. More responsible driving – maybe people should realise that they need to be responsible drivers. Put some order into things and not just turn into a wild beast as soon as they get into a car.
2. More 24 hour news – I know you can get it from Astro but not everyone has Astro and I would like to see news more available to ordinary people. For example with the new Unifi TM, you can subscribe for Cbeebies but not BBC News 24. Why?
3. More political analysis – I would like to see the news reporters actually discussing the news rather than just regurgitating the news that they have received from newsagents such as Reuters or Bernama. Is that a bit lazy reporting? There should be more analysis and more discussion and more critical thinking although I respect our journalists who risked their lives onboard the Marv Marmara to bring us the story from Palestine.
4. More people reading – definitely reading should be encouraged and I'm not talking about reading romantic novels but rather intelligent reading. Newspapers should stop reporting gossips and trash but there should be evidence based reporting, process of verifying news before it goes to print.. If the people demand for better quality news, I'm sure the news agencies will have to succumb.
5. People who simply gossip and say things like 'I heard from such and such and such and such that person x did this' should really be told to shut up and get a life. There should be no room for hear say and chinese whispers rather, any form of corruption should be discussed with evidence and political awareness.
6. Quality control - there should be a tight control over the quality of things that are sold especially when it is presented as a luxury item. Sometimes the price certainly does not reflect the quality of the thing. There are so many Western owned supermarkets in Malaysia but the items sold are not as good as the ones sold in the same stores in Western countries and that includes even something as simple as nappies. You start to wonder if the conspiracy theory of rejected items in the west are being sold in developing world for profit is actually true. Cetainly cars are over priced. I have seen 2nd hand BMWs being sold for less than RM50,000 in London and the car I was driving in UK was indeed one of the most precisely immaculate engineering. Yet, some cars around here are like cardboard on wheels.
I'm sure there are other things I can think of but I will not bore you and I don't want to make people feel defensive. I shall refrain from my complaints but there are many things about Malaysia that are wonderful, like the sunny weather, even the rain and thunderstorm just reminds me of the greatness of Allah, the sound of Adhan, the places to pray all over the place, the facillities to make istinjak, the pasar tani, pasar malam, kedai mamak, the people are friendly and they are often grateful to Allah, gratefulness also equals happiness and tranquility. So, I love it here really but improvement is never a bad thing.
There are a few things that I will truly miss about Britain when I return to Malaysia; for one the 24 hour news BBC and al Jazeera. I know that these channels are available on satellite but it is not easily accessible to everyone and you have choose for the news package to get access to it. How many people in Malaysia would choose News package over movies or entertainment? Emm...let me not offend anyone. For too long, I feel that the masses of the Malaysian society have lived in the dark, excited only by the news reported in Metro. It is unhealthy. So, these are some of the changes that I would like to see in Malaysia.
1. More responsible driving – maybe people should realise that they need to be responsible drivers. Put some order into things and not just turn into a wild beast as soon as they get into a car.
2. More 24 hour news – I know you can get it from Astro but not everyone has Astro and I would like to see news more available to ordinary people. For example with the new Unifi TM, you can subscribe for Cbeebies but not BBC News 24. Why?
3. More political analysis – I would like to see the news reporters actually discussing the news rather than just regurgitating the news that they have received from newsagents such as Reuters or Bernama. Is that a bit lazy reporting? There should be more analysis and more discussion and more critical thinking although I respect our journalists who risked their lives onboard the Marv Marmara to bring us the story from Palestine.
4. More people reading – definitely reading should be encouraged and I'm not talking about reading romantic novels but rather intelligent reading. Newspapers should stop reporting gossips and trash but there should be evidence based reporting, process of verifying news before it goes to print.. If the people demand for better quality news, I'm sure the news agencies will have to succumb.
5. People who simply gossip and say things like 'I heard from such and such and such and such that person x did this' should really be told to shut up and get a life. There should be no room for hear say and chinese whispers rather, any form of corruption should be discussed with evidence and political awareness.
6. Quality control - there should be a tight control over the quality of things that are sold especially when it is presented as a luxury item. Sometimes the price certainly does not reflect the quality of the thing. There are so many Western owned supermarkets in Malaysia but the items sold are not as good as the ones sold in the same stores in Western countries and that includes even something as simple as nappies. You start to wonder if the conspiracy theory of rejected items in the west are being sold in developing world for profit is actually true. Cetainly cars are over priced. I have seen 2nd hand BMWs being sold for less than RM50,000 in London and the car I was driving in UK was indeed one of the most precisely immaculate engineering. Yet, some cars around here are like cardboard on wheels.
I'm sure there are other things I can think of but I will not bore you and I don't want to make people feel defensive. I shall refrain from my complaints but there are many things about Malaysia that are wonderful, like the sunny weather, even the rain and thunderstorm just reminds me of the greatness of Allah, the sound of Adhan, the places to pray all over the place, the facillities to make istinjak, the pasar tani, pasar malam, kedai mamak, the people are friendly and they are often grateful to Allah, gratefulness also equals happiness and tranquility. So, I love it here really but improvement is never a bad thing.
Driving in UK is systematic. Driving in Malaysia is 'tunggang-terbalik'
One thing I love and will surely miss about Britain is driving. Driving in the UK is a wonderful experience Alhamdulillah.
People flash their lights at you to give way, they stop when you step on the zebra crossing, they let you go pass when you signal, they give you way in a tight space. It is completely different from driving in Malaysia.
I was driving on the M2 motorway to Deal, Kent. It was a 2 hour journey from South London to visit my in-laws and it was a beautiful experience. Slow vehicles on the left lane, fast overtaking vehicles on the right. People give signal when they want to overtake. It was pleasant. The scenery too was beautiful. I used to take the countryside for granted but Allah has made the whole world beautiful. It was winter and the trees were either bare or covered with brown leaves. either side of the highway were fields of meadows.] It was freezing cold and some parts of the way were foggy but it was nice.
Even though cars were driving fast but they behaved themselves. I wonder to myself, why do drivers in Malaysia have to be so reckless? What is there to be proud of driving like a lunatic. People drive with their egos, they leave their brains behind and they're proud about it? Is it a good thing to be proud of something that kills others, that takes the lives of children, parents, husbands and wives? How can pride be more important than the live of another person.
That's when the scary thing hit me...I don't think people think at all. They enter a car, a machine and they shut their minds. Are we really ready for modern progress when our mentality is still stuck in the times of horse carts and 'kereta lembu'? It is an attitude problem and that needs to change if any improvement was going to happen on the roads.
It just feels like in Britain, the traffic was civilized. I really felt that I was driving in a civilized environment but what does that makes us in the so called 'developing' world, uncivilized? I think people can see that very clearly and they don't tell us but they form an opinion about us...and because we have no value for our own lives then, others do not value us. Our life becomes cheap and they don't even care when millions of people in the developing world die of something or another...accidents, earth quakes, bombs etc...etc...
Our attitude has to change and it should change because we are Muslims and Allah has made life sacred. We have to value life as sacred, a gift from God. Then, we need to develop our Islamic personality which means developing responsibility and accountability. We are responsible for entering a car, turning on the engine and driving it on the road. We are responsible to drive safely and carefully and not to endanger the lives of others and ourselves. Why? because we are accountable to Allah and we will face Allah on the day of Judgement and we will be asked about every single thing we do including how we drive a car.
We need to develop mercy, tolerance and generosity on the roads because a Muslim has mercy, has tolerance towards others and that tolerance is towards the mubah behaviour of others NOT the haraam. We should not tolerate haraam but we should tolerate mubah so, give people right of way, let the pedestrians cross the roads, and pedestrians try to cross the roads quickly instead of 'terlenggang-lenggok' like you're carrying a turtle shell on your back. Be generous on the road. it will not kill you to give way but it might kill you to drive recklessly.
We should truly feel ashamed by the jungle, survival of the fittest mentality on our roads.
What upsets me....
I am so grateful to Allah that He has made my heart love two different places. I lived in UK for 17 years and memories is what makes us who we are. I felt at home there, familiar and as soon as I landed in Malaysia I felt familiar too. I have been able to experience two very different places in the world in terms of its weather, the people, the food and the culture.
I can't explain the feeling I had when I met up with the sisters again. It was surreal. I have yet to meet anyone like my sisters in Britain. They are warm, they are generous, they are fun and we can have good conversations about the world politics.
Still, I have seen some other things in Britain that has made me very angry and sad. I have seen how people can be so arrogant and how even some Muslims have been affected by a mentality of 'I deserve such and such'. People believe that they deserve a perfect life, they deserve the house, the car, the job, the husband, the wife, the children, the health and as soon as something goes a bit wrong...like if they suffer from something not very serious such as having a cold or diarrhoea which are self-limiting or if they have some chronic benign illness like dysfunctional bowel then, they think that they have been robbed of their 'perfect life'. I have heard Muslims wearing himar and jilbab saying things like."I can't go on like this for the rest of my life" saying it with such arrogance that I wonder whether they truly have eman. There is no humility, no acceptance of the Qadr of Allah, no saying 'I know this is from Allah'. Rather, it is I came to see the doctor and you're telling me I haven't got anything serious but I am not having perfect health like other people and you have to fix me no matter what...' and as if God does not exist. I have heard people who have been suffering for years from arthritis due to old age, have complaint about every single treatment that they have received under the NHS, have had every single investigations in the world, refuse to accept any advice and still say after so many years to the doctor, "So what are you going to do for me?" In other words "doctor, sort out my miserable life".
No amount of medical knowledge or psychiatry or psychology is going to sort out misery. If a person is miserable, if a person has negative thinking, if a person believes that they deserve better than what Allah has already given him, if a person is ungrateful then, there is no remedy for him except...to reflect, to realise and to repent to Allah swt.
There is a difference between demanding for our rights given to us from Allah swt e.g. as what the people in Egypt are doing today, demanding for a just and fair system, demanding for the implementation of Islamic rule. It is okay for a husband to demand his rights from his wife or that a wife to demand for her rights. Allah has given us certain rights as an ummah, as citizens, as mothers, fathers and children. That is different from demanding from Allah the kind of life that we think we deserve. It is Allah that decides our Rizk, our Ajal, our health, our future, our past.It is Allah who decides how many children we have or if we have any at all, it is Allah who decides if our children are intelligent or have an impairment. For these things we cannot demand, we can only be grateful for the things that we have and make dua to Allah to alleviate us from any suffering or to increase us in goodness.
I can't explain the feeling I had when I met up with the sisters again. It was surreal. I have yet to meet anyone like my sisters in Britain. They are warm, they are generous, they are fun and we can have good conversations about the world politics.
Still, I have seen some other things in Britain that has made me very angry and sad. I have seen how people can be so arrogant and how even some Muslims have been affected by a mentality of 'I deserve such and such'. People believe that they deserve a perfect life, they deserve the house, the car, the job, the husband, the wife, the children, the health and as soon as something goes a bit wrong...like if they suffer from something not very serious such as having a cold or diarrhoea which are self-limiting or if they have some chronic benign illness like dysfunctional bowel then, they think that they have been robbed of their 'perfect life'. I have heard Muslims wearing himar and jilbab saying things like."I can't go on like this for the rest of my life" saying it with such arrogance that I wonder whether they truly have eman. There is no humility, no acceptance of the Qadr of Allah, no saying 'I know this is from Allah'. Rather, it is I came to see the doctor and you're telling me I haven't got anything serious but I am not having perfect health like other people and you have to fix me no matter what...' and as if God does not exist. I have heard people who have been suffering for years from arthritis due to old age, have complaint about every single treatment that they have received under the NHS, have had every single investigations in the world, refuse to accept any advice and still say after so many years to the doctor, "So what are you going to do for me?" In other words "doctor, sort out my miserable life".
No amount of medical knowledge or psychiatry or psychology is going to sort out misery. If a person is miserable, if a person has negative thinking, if a person believes that they deserve better than what Allah has already given him, if a person is ungrateful then, there is no remedy for him except...to reflect, to realise and to repent to Allah swt.
There is a difference between demanding for our rights given to us from Allah swt e.g. as what the people in Egypt are doing today, demanding for a just and fair system, demanding for the implementation of Islamic rule. It is okay for a husband to demand his rights from his wife or that a wife to demand for her rights. Allah has given us certain rights as an ummah, as citizens, as mothers, fathers and children. That is different from demanding from Allah the kind of life that we think we deserve. It is Allah that decides our Rizk, our Ajal, our health, our future, our past.It is Allah who decides how many children we have or if we have any at all, it is Allah who decides if our children are intelligent or have an impairment. For these things we cannot demand, we can only be grateful for the things that we have and make dua to Allah to alleviate us from any suffering or to increase us in goodness.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
How life is back in UK
After having a lovely chocolate cake from ASDA, I got ready to leave my auntie’s house and got into my new VW silver Polo computerised manual nipply little car. It is such a nice car to drive. The engine is smooth and when I go into neutral, the engine switches off automatically and restarts when I press on the clutch. How cool is that? Love it! Love it! Wish I could get one of those. I was looking at car prices as I drove past some 2nd hand car shops and you can get 2nd hand BMW as low as GBP4000. There was one gorgeous silver sports BMW for GBP9000. Wow!!! I wonder why I didn’t bring one of those back to Malaysia.
Anyway, I was driving along and it was a nice orderly traffic and I went down through Blackwall tunnel and it felt so familiar, driving along the A2 and took the exit onto Lewisham. I remembered my old hospital, Lewisham University Hospital. There were such fond memories. Anyway, I went to my mother in law’s house. We chatted and chatted and went to bed.
The next day I left early for an appointment and managed to visit my old workplace. The receptionist greeted me with hugs and some of the patients were asking me to come back for good. I told them I can’t leave my parents now and I have to look after them. Had a bit of a chat with the practice manager talking about the politics of the NHS and the changes brought in by the new government. So, doctors are back to becoming managers again with the middle men out of the picture. There’s a lot of fear, more work, more responsibility but also more opportunities for young GPs to be part of the steering group or even opportunity to be part of the postgraduate training. I knew I always had that opportunity but it was my family issues that kept me back, raising four children with no help...in a land where you felt you couldn’t trust anyone...it was hard but look at me now, I have travelled half way round the world leaving my kids on the other side...have I changed? Have my mentality changed or is the reality different? What would happen if I were to come back, would I grab these opportunities and still have the mentality of complete reliance on Allah (Tawakkal) for the safety and development of my children or would I feel guilty, fear...and the need to control everything? Slowly...slowly that would probably be the case as society shapes the way we feel and think. It would be the pressure on me telling me I am a bad parent for ‘choosing’ career over parenthood. I wonder why British society tries so hard to make mothers feel inadequate, probably a subtle way of subjugating women.
Then, I went to Croydon town centre to do some shopping. I was just grabbing stuff like a wealthy Arab. I have to say shopping in London is great especially if you know where to look for bargains. For lunch, I had baked potatoes with cheese filling. Hmmm.... then I went to visit another friend of mine and evening, I went with one of my friends to a sister’s party. It was the best thing ever...to meet up with all my old friends eating, chatting and playing some games. They are such a rowdy and competitive bunch but Alhamdulillah in an atmosphere of emaan (ehem...) but they surely know how to have a good time in a completely halal way. I said to them “sisters...I left you for one year and what has happened???” it was fun! I miss them all soooo...much. I doubt you can find anyone like these sisters anywhere else in the world. We stayed chatting and drinking tea until 2am and finally went home.
Anyway, I was driving along and it was a nice orderly traffic and I went down through Blackwall tunnel and it felt so familiar, driving along the A2 and took the exit onto Lewisham. I remembered my old hospital, Lewisham University Hospital. There were such fond memories. Anyway, I went to my mother in law’s house. We chatted and chatted and went to bed.
The next day I left early for an appointment and managed to visit my old workplace. The receptionist greeted me with hugs and some of the patients were asking me to come back for good. I told them I can’t leave my parents now and I have to look after them. Had a bit of a chat with the practice manager talking about the politics of the NHS and the changes brought in by the new government. So, doctors are back to becoming managers again with the middle men out of the picture. There’s a lot of fear, more work, more responsibility but also more opportunities for young GPs to be part of the steering group or even opportunity to be part of the postgraduate training. I knew I always had that opportunity but it was my family issues that kept me back, raising four children with no help...in a land where you felt you couldn’t trust anyone...it was hard but look at me now, I have travelled half way round the world leaving my kids on the other side...have I changed? Have my mentality changed or is the reality different? What would happen if I were to come back, would I grab these opportunities and still have the mentality of complete reliance on Allah (Tawakkal) for the safety and development of my children or would I feel guilty, fear...and the need to control everything? Slowly...slowly that would probably be the case as society shapes the way we feel and think. It would be the pressure on me telling me I am a bad parent for ‘choosing’ career over parenthood. I wonder why British society tries so hard to make mothers feel inadequate, probably a subtle way of subjugating women.
Then, I went to Croydon town centre to do some shopping. I was just grabbing stuff like a wealthy Arab. I have to say shopping in London is great especially if you know where to look for bargains. For lunch, I had baked potatoes with cheese filling. Hmmm.... then I went to visit another friend of mine and evening, I went with one of my friends to a sister’s party. It was the best thing ever...to meet up with all my old friends eating, chatting and playing some games. They are such a rowdy and competitive bunch but Alhamdulillah in an atmosphere of emaan (ehem...) but they surely know how to have a good time in a completely halal way. I said to them “sisters...I left you for one year and what has happened???” it was fun! I miss them all soooo...much. I doubt you can find anyone like these sisters anywhere else in the world. We stayed chatting and drinking tea until 2am and finally went home.
UK blues...
Being back in the UK is really strange. It is not easy to be away for a year and come back and simply fit back in. When I was living in UK and going back to Malaysia for a holiday, it felt like going back home even though things were strange and different but it felt familiar but coming back to UK doesn’t completely feel like home. I guess it is because home is where my parents are. Still, it is such a nice feeling to see family again and I can’t believe I’m here.
This morning I had a big breakfast, 2 sausages, egg and real whole meal bread. I felt so full afterwards I couldn’t eat anything else for lunch. I’ve had so much cake today that I’m feeling slightly nauseated. This is the reality of living in this world, this is NOT jannah and you can’t have too much of the things that you love whereas in Jannah there would be no such thing as too much...
Having a shower was a challenge. It was so cold even though the water was heated and it was really warm but everything else was cold. I was feeling cold. I can’t believe how I manage to wake up every morning, have a shower before going to work.
One good thing about England is driving. People actually give way. I really miss that. They stop at zebra crossings...wow!!! Driving is a much more pleasant experience. The polo I rented is pretty cool. It is diesel and the engine automatically saves energy when the gear is in neutral and as soon as I press on the clutch, the engine switches back on. It is a manual car but with a lot of computerised features. I wish I could bring it back to Malaysia and it is such a small nippy car. CUTE!!!
People talk very slowly and precisely, always choosing the best word to express how they feel and think. It is these things that I miss. Things just seems more refined...
This morning I had a big breakfast, 2 sausages, egg and real whole meal bread. I felt so full afterwards I couldn’t eat anything else for lunch. I’ve had so much cake today that I’m feeling slightly nauseated. This is the reality of living in this world, this is NOT jannah and you can’t have too much of the things that you love whereas in Jannah there would be no such thing as too much...
Having a shower was a challenge. It was so cold even though the water was heated and it was really warm but everything else was cold. I was feeling cold. I can’t believe how I manage to wake up every morning, have a shower before going to work.
One good thing about England is driving. People actually give way. I really miss that. They stop at zebra crossings...wow!!! Driving is a much more pleasant experience. The polo I rented is pretty cool. It is diesel and the engine automatically saves energy when the gear is in neutral and as soon as I press on the clutch, the engine switches back on. It is a manual car but with a lot of computerised features. I wish I could bring it back to Malaysia and it is such a small nippy car. CUTE!!!
People talk very slowly and precisely, always choosing the best word to express how they feel and think. It is these things that I miss. Things just seems more refined...
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Returning to UK - getting there in one piece
Sitting there...inside the plane waiting for the flight to take off was one of the hardest moments of my life. Doubt started creeping in...what am I doing? Why am I here? Why am I doing this? Leaving the children behind...13 hours of sitting in this confined space ahead...I felt my breathing getting slower...and slower...and my pO2 level was reducing....and I thought to myself the next stage, I would start hyperventilating and the gas-exchange in my blood will deteriorate and I was near a panic attack stage. I tried to calm myself down. I thought about breathing in a plastic bag but that would only alarm the other passengers. The sight of a hijabi behaving strangely is not good in a plane full of white people, with all the scaremongering of plane-hijacking and suicide bombing...I would definitely cause a scene.
So, I tried breathing slowly and deeply. I felt slight light headed and I thought if I was to faint now, I wonder if there's another doctor in this plane that can do something. The pilot gave an announcement that they were having problems doing the head count. I wonder why they needed to do a headcount but anyway, it meant there was a delay and I was struggling to remain calm.
Finally, the captain announced that we were ready for take off. As soon as the plane started moving, all my fears and doubts disappeared. The flight journey was usual and I tried to stay awake as much as I could watching movies on e-player but I kept falling asleep half way through the movie. Plane journeys are never comfortable especially for a 13-hour flight but it was bearable. I tried to control my motion sickness by having some anti-emetics. It seemed to do the trick. After my fourth movie and intermittent cat naps...we were finally there. The plane landed with a bump and soon, we were off the plane onto the airport. The temperature outside was 3 C. It was freezing!!! I hadn't eaten much on the plane but I wasn't feeling hungry.
I got into the wrong queue at the passport counter cause these was no signs to say 'foreign' passport or UK passport only. The immigration officer says "you're in the wrong queue". The trick to embarrassing situations is not to apologise and just walk away and pretend nothing ever happened and that it was not your fault or you could make a quick witty remark. The most important thing is...try not to attract attention and if you have to, then do it in a way that you're blaming others and not yourself. Anyway, went pass the immigration counter still feeling a bit whoozey from the flight. Got to the car rental counter and was given the car keys. I was given directions to pick up the car from the rental car park and there I was at 11 pm, walking in freezing temperature with my luggage along a darkly lit coridoor towards a deserted car park. There was still someone at the car rental office. I told her, "I'm here to pick up the car" and she said "sure, go ahead"...and I thought, right! just pick up the car and go. I found the car...it was a cute little silver Polo. I loaded my suitcase in the car and sat in the driver's seat. I didn't even know how to turn the bloody thing on...the word 'clutch' was flashing before my eyes so, I pressed on the clutch, turned the keys and voila! it started. I started flicking all of the switches searching for headlights, wipers, heaters. It took me 15 minutes to work everything out. Then, I was off on the M11 towards London. I thought to myself, independence and self-reliance is the key to surviving in the UK.
So, I tried breathing slowly and deeply. I felt slight light headed and I thought if I was to faint now, I wonder if there's another doctor in this plane that can do something. The pilot gave an announcement that they were having problems doing the head count. I wonder why they needed to do a headcount but anyway, it meant there was a delay and I was struggling to remain calm.
Finally, the captain announced that we were ready for take off. As soon as the plane started moving, all my fears and doubts disappeared. The flight journey was usual and I tried to stay awake as much as I could watching movies on e-player but I kept falling asleep half way through the movie. Plane journeys are never comfortable especially for a 13-hour flight but it was bearable. I tried to control my motion sickness by having some anti-emetics. It seemed to do the trick. After my fourth movie and intermittent cat naps...we were finally there. The plane landed with a bump and soon, we were off the plane onto the airport. The temperature outside was 3 C. It was freezing!!! I hadn't eaten much on the plane but I wasn't feeling hungry.
I got into the wrong queue at the passport counter cause these was no signs to say 'foreign' passport or UK passport only. The immigration officer says "you're in the wrong queue". The trick to embarrassing situations is not to apologise and just walk away and pretend nothing ever happened and that it was not your fault or you could make a quick witty remark. The most important thing is...try not to attract attention and if you have to, then do it in a way that you're blaming others and not yourself. Anyway, went pass the immigration counter still feeling a bit whoozey from the flight. Got to the car rental counter and was given the car keys. I was given directions to pick up the car from the rental car park and there I was at 11 pm, walking in freezing temperature with my luggage along a darkly lit coridoor towards a deserted car park. There was still someone at the car rental office. I told her, "I'm here to pick up the car" and she said "sure, go ahead"...and I thought, right! just pick up the car and go. I found the car...it was a cute little silver Polo. I loaded my suitcase in the car and sat in the driver's seat. I didn't even know how to turn the bloody thing on...the word 'clutch' was flashing before my eyes so, I pressed on the clutch, turned the keys and voila! it started. I started flicking all of the switches searching for headlights, wipers, heaters. It took me 15 minutes to work everything out. Then, I was off on the M11 towards London. I thought to myself, independence and self-reliance is the key to surviving in the UK.
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