How It All Began

It’s time to turn back the clocks again and revisit my maiden trip to Europe from 10 to 24 October 2009. This trip was very special for a number of reasons: it was my first time visiting Europe, it was the furthest I had travelled away from home, and it was the longest self-planned, free-and-easy trip I had ever done till that point (15 days).

I would say this trip was important because it set the foundations for my later trips, especially my 30-day Incredible Asia backpacking trip in 2012 and my 100-day Grand Adventure in 2018. This trip also gave me the confidence that I could plan well and travel safely in an independent manner.

There were a few things that led to this trip taking place. Firstly, the whole idea came about because I had wanted to go to London to watch Michael Jackson’s This Is It concert at the O2 Arena in the summer of 2009. When the tickets first went on sale, I camped on the Internet but they were all sold out in a matter of minutes. Even when the number of shows was increased from the initial 10 to 50, I also didn’t manage to get any tickets. Feeling desperate, I even considered buying the crazy expensive tickets from resellers. However, before I could execute my plan, MJ tragically passed away on 25 June 2009.

With my idol dead and concert plans scuppered, I decided that I would still like to visit London. One of my best friends KP and I had talked about travelling together for some time, and he happened to have a gap in his busy schedule in October. His wife was also going to be in London for an exam during that period so it was a good opportunity to visit.

Furthermore, KP and I had two mutual friends, QM and TH, who were working in Paris and England at the time. They had very kindly offered to let us stay in their apartments. TH could even travel with us for a few days, so the timing was perfect.

In terms of the routing, we decided to focus on Paris and London, since it would be our first time there and we wanted to see everything the two great cities had to offer. We also planned a trip to Manchester, since both KP and I are fans of Manchester United Football Club. Along the way, we would spend a night at TH’s apartment in Coventry, and also drop by Oxford to visit my cousin YS, who was studying there.

The more I researched on London and Paris, the more excited I became. There were so many iconic sights I wanted to see – the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Tower Bridge, London Eye and so much more. There were also many things I wanted to do – witness the Changing of the Guards Parade at Buckingham Palace, watch musicals at the West End and of course, shop for CDs at HMV and other record stores. By a stroke of luck and good timing, I also managed to obtain tickets to watch Green Day’s concert at the O2 Arena. Lastly, with TH’s help, we managed to secure tickets to watch a football match at Old Trafford. The trip was shaping up very nicely indeed.

For my air ticket, I snagged a good deal on Emirates and paid only S$925 for my round-trip ticket to London, with a transit at Dubai for both legs. For travel between London and Paris, KP and I booked the Eurostar train, with the tickets each way costing £29.50. Just for reference, the currency exchange rate during that time was around £1 = S$2.35 and €1 = S$2.07. With everything planned and our tickets booked, we were ready to go!

For this series of posts, I shall attempt to write as much as I can, but it will mostly be pictures supported by captions. Some of these pictures were taken by KP, used here with his permission. Bear in mind that back in 2009, mobile phones were not as sophisticated so all the photos were taken using compact digital cameras. The picture quality was good in bright daylight but not so good for night shots. It was also more of a hassle to use a digital camera, and definitely not as good for selfies!

I hope you enjoy this throwback to 2009 as much as I do. Here’s a short post on Day 1!

Day 1: 10 October 2009, Saturday

I departed Singapore at 1:40am on Emirates flight EK405, with a three-hour transit in Dubai. There, I transferred to flight EK001 for the onward journey to London Heathrow. I was travelling solo because KP had flown earlier on a different flight. I then arrived at London at 12:15pm local time and took the Tube to my accommodation at Palmers Lodge Hostel, located at 40 College Crescent, Swiss Cottage. My one-night stay in a 14-bed male dorm room cost £17. I booked the room through Hostelworld. Back then, there was no Airbnb and hostel options were quite limited.

After checking in, I packed my stuff and took a short rest before going out again. I contacted KP via SMS (mobile data was expensive back then) and made arrangements to meet him at Notting Hill. He was staying at an apartment at Willesden Green with his wife and a couple of her friends, who were also there for the exam.

The first place we went was Portobello Road Market at Notting Hill. As it was a Saturday afternoon, the street market was packed with locals and tourists going about their shopping. I just remember the excitement KP and I felt at that time. It seemed unreal to finally be in London on our own, so far away from home.

There was so much to see we felt like one pair of eyes wasn’t enough. We walked past a shop selling all kinds of posters and street signs. I was immediately drawn to a holographic poster of Michael Jackson performing the Billie Jean routine at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. It was a beautiful poster and I knew I would regret if I didn’t buy it, so I did. As it was a holographic poster, it was made of plastic so it couldn’t be rolled up in a compact way. I had to carry it with me for the rest of the day and find a way to fit it into my suitcase for the journey home. It was barely a few hours into the trip and I was already saddled with a bulky item!

For dinner, we went to Gold Mine restaurant at Bayswater, said to be one of London’s best Chinese restaurants. There, we met up with KP’s wife and friends. Gold Mine is famous for their roasted duck, so we ordered that, alongside other dishes. It was an authentic Chinese restaurant and the duck was superb!

As it was our first day, we were quite tired from the long flight so we didn’t do too much today. After dinner, we headed back to our respective accommodations to have an early night. Tomorrow, KP and I would be travelling from London to Paris, so it was going to be an exciting day ahead. And that’s the end of Day 1!