I double checked I had my ticket voucher today and set on my way. This time I just went straight with the Skybus, no messing around their slogan is ‘we’ll get you there’ so I put a little faith in that I guess.
Sepang flower arrangement
Indeed we got there ok, and was clearly informed this was the track get out now, so I went along with the horde to the ticket counter. I looked in my bag for the ticket voucher and couldn’t find it. I have no idea why I pretty much emptied my bag and it wasn’t there. I didn’t fancy another round trip back to the hostel so just asked if I could collect my ticket by name. The woman at the counter could not find my ticket so said to go to the welcome centre as it may be there instead. For some reason if you book through the F1 website they are kept there, but all the other random booking companies get you to go to the ticket counter as it turns out.
I found the welcome centre ok and enquired at customer service (completely missed the ticket pick up spot). The woman seemed confused and told me to wait as they were attending to some other man who looked pretty fed up. There was 3 Malaysians looking and pointing at a computer trying so solve whatever his problem was. I waited behind then another couple waited behind me. Another member of staff gave me a ticket and told me to take a seat.
Sitting down for another 15mins or so I turned around and spotted the tiny ticket pick up, I thought I’d just try my luck there as the customer service was taking forever. She had my ticket and with my name, recalling the ticket I had and a flash of the passport (good thing I carried that with me!) I had my ticket. I gave my customer service ticket to the couple who waited behind me, I guess they would be sitting there a while still though.
F1 driver was trying to hard
I had another look around outside the grandstand area and found a stall selling mini monitors which showed the drivers camera and had updated statistics, very handy but it was expensive 5x more then the price of my ticket to get in so I gave it a miss, it was a rental too.
Walking further out the grandstand area I headed towards the shuttle bus (a bus which is free and circulates the track so you can jump off at your stop saving walking around the 4-5mile track). There was a video playing in the bus to show what stop to get off at. Of course I went past my stop before the video showed when I had to get off, so I ended up doing a lap around the track.
Back at the start again I just stayed on the bus, this time there was much more people trying to get on, so from this point onwards people stood up as well as sat down, its only a 10minute drive around the track anyway. A Finnish guy sat next to me, he looked like a typical old hippy. He was on his own and we talked for a bit, turns out he is not even a big fan of F1 just thought it would be something different and was in the cheap stand like me, so we got off together.
Onto the viewing position we went. I knew from yesterday I wasn’t allowed to bring a drink in, so I brought along my water bottle (with built in filter) empty. When I got in I went to the toilet and filled it up, so I had water in track that I didn’t pay for to avoid the extortionate costs that Bernie thinks he can charge the F1 fans for water. AdventureRob 1 Bernie Eccleston 0.
Still you can beat a cold drink in that sort of heat so I bought a drink anyway, but it was more a treat then neccessity today.
Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren
I found a seat next to a Malay family, the children kept looking at me which was a bit offputting. What was even more off putting was whatever was biting my right love handle. I pulled off an ant, this thing had quite a bite for its size. A minute or so later I was bitten again in exactly the same spot. I pulled off another ant. This happened about 5 times in a row over the space of 6minutes, and I was getting rather annoyed. One of the family near me child jumped up and pointed at something, the dad scooped it up and told the child to put it in a bin, I was worried what I was sitting on now. I then turned around and saw this black thing crawling at me, it was a strange small caterpillar, enough for me to pick up my bag and find another spot.
I walked the other side of the hill where I was permitted to go, this area had a view of a projector screen so was a bit nicer anyway, although I couldn’t see much on the screen, I could spot the car colours so it should help see things. There were some ants here, but I never got bitten by them luckily enough. I watched the GP2 Asia and Formula BMW qualifiers and waited for the next F1. A couple of Malaysian guys sat near my and used their coats to sit on. This is the point I realised I had a waterproof jacket with me, so I got it out and used it as a ground sheet, life just got that bit better. Travelling is all about minimalism and adapting, I clearly still have a lot more to learn.
Ferrari on track
Just a note I also went for my first midday pee since I’ve been here too! Thanks to the umbrella keeping me cool I didn’t sweat so much so was able to build up enough spare water for a change!
The F1 qualifiers went on, I had no idea who was ahead or what was happening, but on the screen saw Jenson Button jumping about, I guess he done well then?
That was the end of that then, I got on the bus to go around the track, an Australian man was complaining he just done a lap of the circuit unnesserily, I guess I’m not the first to make that mistake and certainly not the last then. I got on a bus home ok and traffic moved in the normal way traffic does, fell asleep soon after I got in, it seemed like a long day. I emptied my bag to charge up camera batteries and my ticket voucher fell out. Where the hell was that earlier?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
lmao sounds like you had fun XD
Looks like a good track, how was the weather looks overcast
Ruddy hot was what the weather was, I burnt that day.