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Dummies guide to London..

Malaysia

Bring a windproof jacket because England is quite cold at this time of the year.
Expect to arrive in Heathrow in about 12 hours. The time difference between Malaysia and UK at this time of year is 7 hours. Remember to adjust your watch.

If possible, ask someone to wait for you at the airport. You might get confused, especially for first timer, and an extra hand to carry the luggage is always welcomed, right.

Things people usually forget to bring from Malaysia
" duvet cover, pillow case and bed sheet !!
" Your favourite hair cream. Except Brylcream.
" santan powder and ikan bilis because they are extremely expensive here.

Heathrow
Don't expect anything close to KLCC. Heathrow is an old fashion metropolitan airport with a queue as long as .. Be prepared to be stuck for an hour or two upon arrival.

Things not to forget to be included in your hand luggage
" x-ray of your chest ONLY ( beware of its expiry date )
" financial support ( if you are a sponsored student ) or a bank draft for GBP 10,000 pounds.
" letter of acceptance from the university
" a small change of British Pounds, GBP 100 is recommended ( no euro !!
" of course, your passport.

Transport from Heathrow to London
The best way to get to zone 1 London is you are travelling in large group is to hire a taxi or book a car. The black cab is expensive and if you are travelling with a large group, Heathrow Express (15 minutes to zone 1 via a special tube ) can get quite expensive. One of the recommended taxi service is Airport Direct. They only charged GBP 18-26 per car to take you to anywhere in zone 1. Advance booking is necessary though.

The other way is by direct bus to zone 1 London. The cost is around GBP 8:00 per person but the bus is spacious and can easily accommodate all your bags. It will take around 30 to 45 minutes to zone 1.

Of course London Underground is an another option, but it is not recommended as it is quite tricky for first timers, and with all your bags, it will be really uncomfortable.

Accomodation in London..

The best option is Malaysia Hall, but recently it has been closed down for renovation. Bad luck ! The best thing is to stay for a while in seniors house before moving in to the university hall. For first year, it is really recommended to stay in a residential hall because it is really cheap (compared to other room in Zone 1) and you would not get the chance again in 2nd year or 3rd year.

If you couldn't get some one to stay for a while, B & Bs are scattered throughout London. You can get one as cheap as GBP 10-20 per night. Please contact us, akmatys_online@hotmail.com if you have got any problem with accommodation. We might be able to find someone ( your patron !!) to stay for a while.

Calling Malaysia ??

Don't call Malaysia by using the normal method. The best way is by using International telephone card. A lot of shops in London sell the card, and the most recommended one is Number One telephone card. The usual price is GBP 16-17 for a GBP 20+7 worth of calls. Alpha Blue is quite ok too. Just follow the instruction on the back of the card.

Get Around

A tube ticket in London cost form GBP 1:50 to GBP 3:00 according to which zone are you travelling to. For the first week, it is recommended that you buy a one week travel card which cost around GBP 15:00. As it is unlikely that you will travel to zone 3,4,5, buy the zone 1 and 2 travel card. The travel card will entitle you to one week unlimited ride on bus and tube. Travel card can be bought at the tube station, or the participating shop which has the London Transport sign.

After that, you might consider to buy Carnet, where you can buy 10 zone 1 to zone 1 tickets for GBP 11:50, which is a little cheaper than usual.

Almost everyplace in London, especially in Zone 1 and 2 are connected through underground. It might be a little bit trickier, you might have to change tube more than once. Get a free travel map form the tube station and plan your journey first before making it.

Shopping In London

Well, you might want to do some shopping in London. Here is the list of places that you might consider to go

" Argos. To shop for home items, Argos is the best place to go. It is a kind of catalog shop, where you don't have the luxury of examining the things that you want to buy. You can only browse through their catalogs, jot down a few numbers and then go to the counter to pay and hey presto, here is the things that you have ordered before. Argos has practically everything. Don't worry about the quality of their product, every shop in UK usually have the 'peace of mind' gurantee which means that you can return any items that you've bought form the shop in 14 days after purchase and will get a full refund without question. Things to buy here :- duvet + cover, pillow + covers, plate, spoon.

" One pound shop. Before going on a mass shopping fever, visit the shop first because you might find some bargains here. Everything is priced at one pound here. The downside is most of the products are imported and might be of low quality. Things to buy here :- cheap plastic plates ??

" Oxford Street . Oxford street is the main shopping area in London. Here you can find a wide range of shops, ranging from affordable to the very expensive. A few recommended shops are Next, Gap, Debenham, Shoe Locker, JJB Sports . Things to buy here :- all kinds of fashinable shirts, jackets, shoes.

" High Street Kensington . Another main shopping area of London, but smaller in scale compared to Oxford Street. The best place to shop for outdoor equipments.

" Chinatown, tube station Piccadilly Circus. A place in central London where you can get all kinds of Malaysian rempah ,kicap, chili sauce and maggie!
Bayswater . The place is full of halal food restaurant. Try Nandos, a favourite among us. It may a little bit trickier to get there, just call anybody in MARA hostel to ask for direction.

Bank ??

There are a few banks in UK, each of them gives a different offer for student account Natwest last year for example gives an option either an extra GBP 30 pounds in your account or a free cd player worth GBP 50. But remember, usually you can only open one student account only, irrespective of banks. They will ask for your admission letter from the university to prevent multiple student account. Open an account in a bank that is near either to your home or university.

You might want to open an HSBC account, but it is quite strict in UK. You have to open an account in Malaysia first, and then tell the bank in Malaysia that you are going to UK. HSBC is the only bank that can be found in Malaysia and UK, so it is easier to transfer money between UK and Malaysia if you have the account.

It is quite hard to get a credit card on your first try, even though it is not impossible. Debit card (almost the same as credit card, but the withdrawal is debited straight form your account) is a certainty though. The disadvantage is the card is only usable in UK.

Eat out ?
" The cheapest place for Malaysian food is Malaysia Hall Canteen, which a meal for student cost only GBP 2 pounds. It is also the meeting place of most Malaysians, so don't be too surprised to see some old faces here !!

" Kebab shop, which is usually halal (look for halal sign) are everywhere !! The best are Lolita, (which is near Mara House (different from Mara Hostel) . The nearest tube station is Piccadilly) and Bhosporous Kebab, which is in South Kensington. A price of chicken kebab in Lolita is GBP 2:40 and in Bhosphorous is GBP 4:00.

" In Edgware rose, there are Selasih, Mawar and Sate House for Malaysian food. It might a little bit pricey for student, though. Expect to pay for GBP 6:00 per meal here.

" For Chinese food, try to go to China town and Leicester Square. There are scattered around the place.

What to do in London ?
" Watching live football match

London is a haven for football fans. There are more than 10 football clubs in London,. famous ones are Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, and Fulham. The ticket is a little bit expansive, ranging from GBP 24:00 to GBP 35:00. The ticket only open for sale about 2 weeks before the match. Have a look at heir website to know the method of booking the ticket. Usually, booking through the website is the best option.

" Anyone for theatre ?
o London is also a haven for theatre. There are more than 20 shows going on at the same time, and some of the shows have been going on for more than 10 years. recommended nes are The Phanthom of the Opera, The Lion King, and les Miserables. The cheapest ticket is GBP 12:00 but it is not recommended as the seat is on the highest platform. You can get better price ticket if you come 1 hour before the shows . Sometimes, for only GBP 12:00, you can get the best place. The place to look for is West End. Tube station Leicester Square.

" Movies
o Cinema in UK is very expensive compared to Malaysia. The ticket is around GBP 5:00 pounds / view compared to RM 10 in Malaysia. Odean in the end of Edgware road and Oxford Street, Whitely in Bayswater and High Sreet Kensington are the more usual ones.

Places to visit

" Buckingham Palace :tube station Victoria or St. James Park
o The first place to go for many of the tourists is the residence to Queen Elizabeth II. It was opened to the public for the first time in 1993 in order to raise money for repairs to Windsor Castle. Building dates back to the early 19th century, and the facade is Edwardian. From here, you can easily walk to Trafalgar Square (through the Mall), which is about 1 km away

" Trafalgar square, the most famous square in London is one of the place you would not want to miss. Actually, it is more like 'Indah khabar dari Rupa '. There is nothing special about the place, except the Admiral Nelson's statue, and a lots of dove. A lot means really a lot !! Facing the square is the National Gallery of England, which is worth a visit because it is free. There are a few works by Van Gogh and Renault there.
From Trafalgar square, you can walk to the Westminster, the centre of administration of England. Along the way, you can see the London Eye, which is on the other side of the river. A few interesting landmarks here are Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and The house of Parliament.

" Westminster Abbey is one of the most visited churches in the world, it is the resting place of the royals. It was founded in the 7th Century, although first records only exist back as far as 970. The entrance fee is about GBP 5:00

" A lot of people from Malaysia always mistake Tower Bridge from London Bridge. Tower bridge is actually the one that can be put on and off, meanwhile London Bridge is a normal bridge. The nearest tube station to tower bridge is Tower Hill. You might as well visit the nearby Tower of London

" Tower Hill. According to Shakespeare, the young princes and heirs of Edward IV were killed here by their wicked uncle, Richard III. In 1066, William the Conqueror erected the first wooden fort on this site, which was replaced by a stone keep, later known as the White Tower.
University

" As it is quite difficult to describe about the universities, you might have want to ask a few seniors from the university itself. Here are the contact numbers of the seniors.

Imperial College
" Zulkifli Salim
Malaysian phone no : 03-77293339
UK phone no :
email : kadol@yahoo.com
" Aini Haryati
Malaysian phone no : 03-86566042
UK phone no :
email : faery88@hotmail.com

University College London
" Muhammad Azwan Arshad
Malaysian phone no : 04-9174960
UK phone no :
email : drazwan@hotmail.com
" Hannah Ahmad Rosli
Malaysian phone no : 03-77282343
UK phone no :
email : hannah_147@hotmail.com

King's College
" Faezah Nor Japar
Malaysian phone no : 06-6112325
UK phone no :
email : faezahnor@hotmail.com

London School of Economics
" Ahmad Abd Halim
Malaysian phone no : 016-3043501
UK phone no :
email :
" Nik Yazmin
Malaysian phone no : 03-77282343
UK phone no :
email : hannah_147@hotmail.com
"
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