I've enjoyed a very lengthy spell of unemployment, but I ended this wonderful time with vacations to the best places in the world (thanks to my Dad). I've just got back from two of the holiest sites in Islam and if I start talking about that, I probably won't stop, so I think I'll start to write chronologically.
Earlier, I went to Liverpool for the sole purpose of watching Liverpool play at Anfield. This has been a plan for me for like I don't know how many years, but since the start of last season, I knew I can't just keep on dreaming; I had to realized it. And so does another friend of mine, so we took it seriously - very seriously. (I knew I won't be having the money for the trip, so I planned to make a loan from my Dad, but he sponsored me anyway, haha.)
I'm not going to talk about what I did there (OK maybe a little), I'm going to write here on how others can fulfill their dreams just like me.
(Oh by the way, this step-by-step guide is if you wish to do everything by your own, which can cut you considerable cost with great planning. There are travel agents which offers stadium packages, but it might be more costly.)
0. Have a credit card
Things are much easier to plan from far away, thanks to online services. But you need a credit card to make transactions. So have one. If you don't have one, make one. Or borrow one. And another thing, print out every single transaction that has been completed (confirmation slip) and bring it with you there.
1. Stadium tickets
The most important thing (and also the most difficult thing) is to obtain the stadium ticket. First of all, you surely want to watch your first match at home (unless it's a cup final, which would be a near impossibility). Note which fixture you want to go, and plan everything else around it. However, tickets are usually only opened for sale around three weeks before the match, so you would probably want to settle other things first.
2. Passport (and visa)
Make your passport. Can't elaborate much here. Just find a passport centre and make your passport. Be ready to queue for the whole day (I don't know if things are much more efficient nowadays, but just be mentally prepared if it requires you to be extra patient). It should cost you RM 300.
To enter a some countries, you need a visa (entry permit). For short stays, UK allows entry without visa. If you wish to stay longer (say, probably you decide to work there after the match) then you need to obtain a visa. I'm not sure how to obtain it, but I believe you need to ask from their embassy here in Malaysia.
3. Flight tickets
The next important thing (and should be the most expensive) is the flight ticket. Flying is very affordable right now, that's the main reason why now we can dream (and more importantly realize our dream) to watch live footballs. Airlines now sell tickets at usually very cheap price if booked very early ahead of schedule, like around 3 months or even earlier. So if you plan to watch the match in late spring (which is the warmest part of the season - football season that is) like I did, book before January or February.
You need to book for the return tickets, too, so be sure how long you are going to stay there. Make sure you can get your off-days approved by your boss (and do include the flight days).
And take note where you airlines will take you. MAS lands at Heathrow while AirAsia lands at Stansted (neither of which is exactly in London - it is like KLIA is to KL although the name is KLIA). You can also consider other airlines that might get you even closer to your destination; for example, KLM lands at Liverpool while Etihad lands at Manchester (but at the time of my trip, none was cheaper than AirAsia). (Probably you might be a non-English club fan, so the same applies. Otherwise, take AirAsia to UK and from there take RyanAir to whatever it is, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan etc.) From then on you will need the next thing:
3. Transportation tickets
Once you arrive in UK, you need to get to your destination. Probably you can wander around London if you wish, but I do recommend you to sleep in the city of your destination at least the night before matchday. There are two methods: train or coach (bus). I find the train to be far more comfy than coach (and much less travel time), but you probably want to consider the cost as top priority. Go online to find the best promotions on the cheapest trains or coaches. Try National Rail or National Express, feel free to try other lines if you find any. Once transaction is completed, you'll get a confirmation number. For train tickets, you can get them once you arrive there using their machines. Just put in the credit card you used to make the online purchase and they'll print out the ticket for you. For coaches, just print out the confirmation slip. In any case, just print them out and bring them.
4. Accommodation
I would highly recommend you to find hostels to stay, as they are way cheaper than hotels. Remember, we need to convert their pound to our ringgit, and we are approaching 6 on that. Or even better, if you have friends still studying there, stay at their place if they don't mind. Again, do everything here first. You can search for hostels at hostels.com (or just google it) and in Europe it's abundant.
Be extra cautious on security, though. You might be sharing rooms with other people, so take care of your belongings and try not to leave your valuables while going out.
5. Muslim preparation
To live as a Muslim in a non-Islamic country, I believe you only need to take care two major things: solah and eating. For prayers, you'll need what I call as the praying kit: a bottle, a praying mat and a compass. The bottle is for the ablution (wudhu'); you can wet your face, hands and head at the sink, but it would be less pleasing to be seen wetting your feet at the sink, too. And they don't have water pipes in their toilets, so fill up your bottle and wet your feet at the toilet bowl. Use the compass to find the qiblah (together with the knowledge of where the qiblah direction is - you can download the Azan software here, from IslamicFinder). Then lay out the praying mat and pray. It might be, at first, a little awkward to pray outside an enclosed place as we used to, but don't worry, Europeans are very respectful to other people's practices, plus, there are much more Muslims out there than what you might expect, so it won't be a very special thing for them to observe. Still, try to find a secluded corner, though. Don't pray in the middle of a busy pathway.
And eat halal food. If you wish to eat outside, just eat vegetarian food (and to be even more cautious, make sure the vegetarian meal was not cooked with alcohol). Seafood should be okay, too, provided, again, cooked without alcohol or any animal-based oil. The safest would be to cook yourself, and if you're going to UK (I'm not sure about the rest of Europe) there are plentiful of halal stores selling halal meat and meat products like hotdogs and burgers. If not, eating bake beans, scrambled eggs and toast are good enough for me. If you're lucky enough to find a Muslim community, probably they have a restaurant where you can satisfy all your savage meat cravings there.
1. Stadium tickets
OK those should cover everything. But even if you can settle everything 3 months before the trip, you would still have one thing to do: buy the stadium tickets. First, be aware of your club's policy on ticketing. For example, Liverpool only open league ticket sales to members, and Champions League home ticket sales to season ticket holders and regular attendees (cup and exhibition matches are open to everyone, though). Note which fixture you want to go (of course you have done that, that should be the ultimate number one thing on the planning).
Take note on the date and time of the sales launch. UK uses GMT in winter (-8 from Malaysia) and BST during summer (-7 from Malaysia). Save the ticket sales office number in your phone. Be ready around half an hour before the sales launch. If there are online sales, be ready with a decent internet connection. Log in half an hour before the sales launch, and keep on refreshing the page. Be ready for some relentless engaged and busy lines for hours.
However, it is sad to dash your hopes and say it might be very unlikely for you to obtain the tickets through the proper channels. So, next resort would be to buy from the 'ulat-ulat'. These tickets might cost you around a hundred to a couple of hundred pounds, so for security reasons, try to opt for cash-on-delivery deal. There are websites offering these tickets (again, you can easily google them), if you trust these websites, you can give them a try. Or, if you're willing to take the risk (of being empty-handed) go to the stadium on matchday without a ticket, and find these illegal ticket sellers on site. If you find them, you might get much cheaper than making a pre-deal online, because the closer it is to kickoff, the more desperate they get to sell off their tickets. However, if you don't find these sellers, you might have to settle watching at their local pub (after all you've been through).
And I almost forgot, most stadiums have stadium tours, so do check that out, too. Probably it is more suitable to tour the stadium before the matchday, so that the matchday is your ultimate climax of your experience.
OK that's all I guess. If any of you have anything to add, I would be glad to include it. Anfield was one of my greatest experiences in life, so I hope I could share it with others, so that one day you'll get your chance, too. Good luck.
Earlier, I went to Liverpool for the sole purpose of watching Liverpool play at Anfield. This has been a plan for me for like I don't know how many years, but since the start of last season, I knew I can't just keep on dreaming; I had to realized it. And so does another friend of mine, so we took it seriously - very seriously. (I knew I won't be having the money for the trip, so I planned to make a loan from my Dad, but he sponsored me anyway, haha.)
I'm not going to talk about what I did there (OK maybe a little), I'm going to write here on how others can fulfill their dreams just like me.
(Oh by the way, this step-by-step guide is if you wish to do everything by your own, which can cut you considerable cost with great planning. There are travel agents which offers stadium packages, but it might be more costly.)
0. Have a credit card
Things are much easier to plan from far away, thanks to online services. But you need a credit card to make transactions. So have one. If you don't have one, make one. Or borrow one. And another thing, print out every single transaction that has been completed (confirmation slip) and bring it with you there.
1. Stadium tickets
The most important thing (and also the most difficult thing) is to obtain the stadium ticket. First of all, you surely want to watch your first match at home (unless it's a cup final, which would be a near impossibility). Note which fixture you want to go, and plan everything else around it. However, tickets are usually only opened for sale around three weeks before the match, so you would probably want to settle other things first.
2. Passport (and visa)
Make your passport. Can't elaborate much here. Just find a passport centre and make your passport. Be ready to queue for the whole day (I don't know if things are much more efficient nowadays, but just be mentally prepared if it requires you to be extra patient). It should cost you RM 300.
To enter a some countries, you need a visa (entry permit). For short stays, UK allows entry without visa. If you wish to stay longer (say, probably you decide to work there after the match) then you need to obtain a visa. I'm not sure how to obtain it, but I believe you need to ask from their embassy here in Malaysia.
3. Flight tickets
The next important thing (and should be the most expensive) is the flight ticket. Flying is very affordable right now, that's the main reason why now we can dream (and more importantly realize our dream) to watch live footballs. Airlines now sell tickets at usually very cheap price if booked very early ahead of schedule, like around 3 months or even earlier. So if you plan to watch the match in late spring (which is the warmest part of the season - football season that is) like I did, book before January or February.
You need to book for the return tickets, too, so be sure how long you are going to stay there. Make sure you can get your off-days approved by your boss (and do include the flight days).
And take note where you airlines will take you. MAS lands at Heathrow while AirAsia lands at Stansted (neither of which is exactly in London - it is like KLIA is to KL although the name is KLIA). You can also consider other airlines that might get you even closer to your destination; for example, KLM lands at Liverpool while Etihad lands at Manchester (but at the time of my trip, none was cheaper than AirAsia). (Probably you might be a non-English club fan, so the same applies. Otherwise, take AirAsia to UK and from there take RyanAir to whatever it is, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan etc.) From then on you will need the next thing:
3. Transportation tickets
Once you arrive in UK, you need to get to your destination. Probably you can wander around London if you wish, but I do recommend you to sleep in the city of your destination at least the night before matchday. There are two methods: train or coach (bus). I find the train to be far more comfy than coach (and much less travel time), but you probably want to consider the cost as top priority. Go online to find the best promotions on the cheapest trains or coaches. Try National Rail or National Express, feel free to try other lines if you find any. Once transaction is completed, you'll get a confirmation number. For train tickets, you can get them once you arrive there using their machines. Just put in the credit card you used to make the online purchase and they'll print out the ticket for you. For coaches, just print out the confirmation slip. In any case, just print them out and bring them.
4. Accommodation
I would highly recommend you to find hostels to stay, as they are way cheaper than hotels. Remember, we need to convert their pound to our ringgit, and we are approaching 6 on that. Or even better, if you have friends still studying there, stay at their place if they don't mind. Again, do everything here first. You can search for hostels at hostels.com (or just google it) and in Europe it's abundant.
Be extra cautious on security, though. You might be sharing rooms with other people, so take care of your belongings and try not to leave your valuables while going out.
5. Muslim preparation
To live as a Muslim in a non-Islamic country, I believe you only need to take care two major things: solah and eating. For prayers, you'll need what I call as the praying kit: a bottle, a praying mat and a compass. The bottle is for the ablution (wudhu'); you can wet your face, hands and head at the sink, but it would be less pleasing to be seen wetting your feet at the sink, too. And they don't have water pipes in their toilets, so fill up your bottle and wet your feet at the toilet bowl. Use the compass to find the qiblah (together with the knowledge of where the qiblah direction is - you can download the Azan software here, from IslamicFinder). Then lay out the praying mat and pray. It might be, at first, a little awkward to pray outside an enclosed place as we used to, but don't worry, Europeans are very respectful to other people's practices, plus, there are much more Muslims out there than what you might expect, so it won't be a very special thing for them to observe. Still, try to find a secluded corner, though. Don't pray in the middle of a busy pathway.
And eat halal food. If you wish to eat outside, just eat vegetarian food (and to be even more cautious, make sure the vegetarian meal was not cooked with alcohol). Seafood should be okay, too, provided, again, cooked without alcohol or any animal-based oil. The safest would be to cook yourself, and if you're going to UK (I'm not sure about the rest of Europe) there are plentiful of halal stores selling halal meat and meat products like hotdogs and burgers. If not, eating bake beans, scrambled eggs and toast are good enough for me. If you're lucky enough to find a Muslim community, probably they have a restaurant where you can satisfy all your savage meat cravings there.
1. Stadium tickets
OK those should cover everything. But even if you can settle everything 3 months before the trip, you would still have one thing to do: buy the stadium tickets. First, be aware of your club's policy on ticketing. For example, Liverpool only open league ticket sales to members, and Champions League home ticket sales to season ticket holders and regular attendees (cup and exhibition matches are open to everyone, though). Note which fixture you want to go (of course you have done that, that should be the ultimate number one thing on the planning).
Take note on the date and time of the sales launch. UK uses GMT in winter (-8 from Malaysia) and BST during summer (-7 from Malaysia). Save the ticket sales office number in your phone. Be ready around half an hour before the sales launch. If there are online sales, be ready with a decent internet connection. Log in half an hour before the sales launch, and keep on refreshing the page. Be ready for some relentless engaged and busy lines for hours.
However, it is sad to dash your hopes and say it might be very unlikely for you to obtain the tickets through the proper channels. So, next resort would be to buy from the 'ulat-ulat'. These tickets might cost you around a hundred to a couple of hundred pounds, so for security reasons, try to opt for cash-on-delivery deal. There are websites offering these tickets (again, you can easily google them), if you trust these websites, you can give them a try. Or, if you're willing to take the risk (of being empty-handed) go to the stadium on matchday without a ticket, and find these illegal ticket sellers on site. If you find them, you might get much cheaper than making a pre-deal online, because the closer it is to kickoff, the more desperate they get to sell off their tickets. However, if you don't find these sellers, you might have to settle watching at their local pub (after all you've been through).
And I almost forgot, most stadiums have stadium tours, so do check that out, too. Probably it is more suitable to tour the stadium before the matchday, so that the matchday is your ultimate climax of your experience.
OK that's all I guess. If any of you have anything to add, I would be glad to include it. Anfield was one of my greatest experiences in life, so I hope I could share it with others, so that one day you'll get your chance, too. Good luck.
ok now, i neeed to know Everything about the match you went to !!
ReplyDelete:S
plsplsplsplspslpslspsplsplspslpslpslsplsplspslpslps
huhu...nice and almost detailed explanation mie...juz wud like to add some stuff...as a student,please bring along ur matric card as students get a lot of discounts at most of the place,including the stadium tour!!
ReplyDeleteokeh man, gud point, tq
ReplyDeleteto raje, ape ko nak tau? hahah
aku malas la tulis ape aku wat
i watched liverpool v spurs, it finished 3-1
pe lg kau nak tau? =P
pictahsssssssssssss loads, loads of em!!
ReplyDelete