Hey we're the monkeys!

Tuesday 7th December 2010

MP3 track of the day: Hey hey we're the Monkeys - The Monkeys

Weather: Actually quite nice; it's not too hot today and it's not raining. Still quite humid though.

Waking up around 8:30am I got ready to go to the bus station. Before leaving my hostel I checked my email to see if my accommodation was confirmed at the Cameron Highlands ... it was not; I decided to head to the bus station anyway as maybe my accommodation would be confirmed when I got back (plus, on hostel.com, there were a few private rooms vacant within the Cameron Highlands so I knew that there would be accommodation somewhere).

As I mentioned earlier the main bus station is underdevelopment and all services are moved out of town. After asking the receptionist where the temporary bus station was, it turned out to be quite easy to get to, though it did take an hour and one transfer on the train. Once at the bus station I was hounded by official looking women asking where I wanted to go. I decided to look for myself as I was still a little sceptical of free help. I looked at the information boards and it soon became apparent that I did need someones help due to the illogical and baffling information given. This lady took me to a bus stand where I bought a bus ticket, for tomorrow at 1pm, to the Cameron Highlands, for 35 ringgit (£7). I thought that this was pretty expensive so, after the transaction, I looked around the rest of the bus stalls to see if I had been done like a kipper.

After getting hounded a bit more, it appeared that there was only one coach operator to the Cameron Highlands, and I had booked with them. Feeling a little happier I headed back to my hostel, but first I had to get some lunch. I headed into a shopping center that I hadn't been in before. I stood, jaw wide open, when I noticed that this shopping center had ten (yes ten!) floors with an indoor theme park and roller-coaster. I wondered to myself how can a nation like Malaysia justify such a good set of shopping centers (even better than in the west) when there housing infrastructure is so dire; being a business student I know it's important to attract foreign investment, and retail is a major player in a countries economy.,However theres a huge gap between the facilities of shopping centers and residential developments here; it seems people won't be seen dead without the latest football shirt, but they don't mind going home to a thirty story, concrete 1970's design tower block, with black dirt all over the outside. Bizarre and beyond belief are two words that come to mind. Having been in Malaysia quite a while now I feel that the quality of residential buildings is the most pressing issue.

Whilst looking for somewhere to have lunch I passed McDonald's. The queue was huge, which made me wonder why (is the Malayan food that bad). There was rubbish left all over the tables as the staff struggled to keep up with the huge flow of people. One family of three struggled to find a table; eventually they found one with rubbish on. They moved the rubbish to the side of the table; still not content the dad signalled to a McDonald's work to clean their table, even though the bin was right next to him ... he didn't even say thank you. Now the rubbish shouldn't have been on the table in the first place, but why couldn't this guy put the rubbish in the bin, it's not difficult, it wouldn't take long and the worker was extremely busy. It actions like this that make me think the world would be a better place without the slobish human race seemly unable to clear up after ourselves (I'm also finding that in shopping centers, when food courts are full, it's difficult to get a seat. I keep asking people if the rest of the seats are taken, on their six-seat table, to which the reply is always yes ... I have a feeling they maybe lying).

After lunch I got back to my hostel, checked my emails again to see if my accommodation had been reserved (still no email), picked up my camera and headed out for a ten minute walk to the train station. My destination, the Batu Caves.

'The Batu Caves is an area of Hindu temples with loads of monkeys' - my guidebook stated. However its much more than that. When you approach the Batu caves you are greeted by this huge green statue of some god or other, and a temple with gold coloured carvings on it's roof. As you continue to walk along the path you are greeted by this huge (and I mean huge) god, head-to-toe in a golden colour. It was massively impressive and the sheer size of the statue was unbelievable, it made people look like ants. To the left of the statue was a stair case to the caves; as my guidebook stated that the caves were free, I decided to have a look. As I climbed the two hundred steps into the caves I was surrounded by monkeys, eating and drinking food that they had stolen from people visiting the caves (my guidebook said do not get food out as the monkeys might turn violent as they try to take it of you); they were drinking cans of coke, eating bananas, and crisps, and generally larking around.

I went into the caves; they were really good and created a pretty cool, but humid, environment. All around the cave walls were Hindu statues which were okay. Up another flight of stairs I came to the main temple located in a circular cave with no roof. All around were monkeys running this way and that (there were also quite a few pigeons which you don't see in Malayan cities ... I think it's because there are so many street cats within this country) with one large monkey getting into a flight with several smaller monkeys.

The whole place was great, however it was also very humid and so I left the caves after spending around forty minutes there. On my way back to the train station I looked at all this religious wonder, the buildings, the statues, the caves. This is one of the things I don't like about religion; all the money spent on religious buildings, statues and monuments could have been spent on providing people with better facilities, like better housing. Why do we need cathedrals, temples, mosques to pray in ... why not just a humble structure. I reckon all the money spent on religion could be put to a better use in helping the poor get out of the vicious cycle of poverty that they seem to be stuck in. I loved the Batu caves, definitely a must in Kuala Lumpur, however they did leave a little sour taste in my mouth.

I got back on the train (which cost me one ringgit to get to the caves and two ringgit to leave ... figure that out) and headed back to my hostel. I plan to eat early tonight and then head out, when dark, to the Petronas Towers to get some night shots.

My Cameron Highlands accommodation has been confirmed (hippie ... however I also found out that they have a shuttle service from Kuala Lumpur for the same price as my coach ticket ... doh!). My Guidebook states that a sleeping bag might be required in the highlands ... I hope not.

Toodle Pip!

Back in Kuala Lumpur

Monday 6^th December 2010

(I've fully updated my blog; to get to the start of the update please scroll down three posts)

MP3 track of the day: Christmas time – Cliff Richard

Weather: Taman Negara NP = warm and sunny with the cloud breaking / Kuala Lumpur = heavy rain

Again up early I was glad to leave the hostel. I went for breakfast and I took all my bags with me. A guy there from Han travel asked if I was leaving, to which I replied yes. He wasn't happy; he asked to see my travel voucher which he then pushed into my face and said that I should have confirmed yesterday that I was leaving today. I told him that, as I had booked a two day tour with Han travel, why did I have to reconfirm. He said that some people decided to stay longer to which I replied that surely then I should let you know that I'm staying longer, not that I've decided to leave on time. I was a little worried that I couldn't leave as it looked like no one else was leaving that day. The guy ummed and arred until he said ' do you mind taking the boat back instead of the bus' … mind I thought, great. I quickly eat my breakfast and I was ready to get on the boat with ten minutes to spare.

As I sat there I reached into my back pocket, in horror I found that I still had the dorm key for my hostel. I said to the Han travel agent that I would be back in two minutes and I ran to the hostel, dropped my key off, and then ran back again. I couldn't run all the way as I was out of breathe; it was only a 10 minute run ... was I really that unfit or was it the humidity and air content here, I dunno. I made it back to the jetty on time and a little sweaty.

The boat ride cooled me down; it was better than before because the sun was out and the clouds were dispersing leaving blue sky that surrounded the rainforest canopy. As we were heading downstream the trip took only two hours, I had an hour to grab an early lunch before my coach turned up to take me back to Kuala Lumpur.

I had sometime to eat, read a bit more of my Vietnam book and, when it was time, I was then escorted to my coach. I saw that 'spit a lot' was my driver … wonderful. I was the only one on the coach and so I sat near the front. With only ten pages of my book left I finished my book, which was a mission as the coach jumped and moved around all over the place. After this I saw the same scenery as I did coming to the Taman Negara National Park, but in reverse. I also watched 'spit a lot's' driving; at that point I wish I had more of my book to read as I held my breathe every time the driver squeezed through the smallest of gaps, under-took vehicles and nearly rode thousands of mopeds off the road … and it all seemed normal to the other road users.

Once in Kuala Lumpur the rain was throwing it down; the driver dropped me off in China town and I had to make my own way back to my hostel. Once back I got a bill for the storage of my luggage (ten ringgit, which I felt was a little cheeky considering that I had stayed here six nights). I then re-packed my bags, took a long and lovely shower, changed my clothes and handed in a bag of washing which would cost me fifteen ringgit. This was all done before I sat down, with a mountain of snacks, to update said blog.

I have spent far too much money so far in Malaysia, partly due to me shopping for necessary items and also due to lack of information, and struggling to know how to move around this country. The £200 I got out ten days ago has almost gone resulting in a spend of £20 per day … double what I hoped for. This second part of my Malayan trip I hoped to spend less, however things are already complicated as I can't find a dorm in the Cameron Highlands, only singles … it's so difficult here.

Tomorrow I need to confirm accommodation in the Cameron Highlands, or plan to just move onto Penang. I then need to find out how to get to the temporary bus station here in Kuala Lumpur, do a dummy run and pick up a bus ticket. Only after this can I look at sightseeing; apparently there's a mountain full of monkeys nearby which is only two ringgit and fifty sense to get to ... oh and I quite fancy seeing the Petronas Towers at night.

Toodle Pip!

Day four in Kuala Lumpur

Friday 3rd December 2010

MP3 track of the day: Twelve Chav Days of Christmas (if you haven't seen this then it's a must)

Weather: Hot and more humid than usual

After rather a lazy morning I took the mono-rail to KL Central Station, right at the end of the mono-rail line. My guidebook stated that the train station was quite old, architecturally, and worth a look; plus I hoped to find a bus that would take me to the bus station (when I go to the Cameron Highlands I need to catch a bus there). It was 10am when I boarded the mono-rail and it took thirty minutes to get to KL Central Station. I looked around the station and I couldn't find the bus to the bus station ... I saw a couple of signs but then, like all signs, they disappeared. Neither could I work out what was so great about the train station; I looked at my guidebook and realized that I had come too far; the station my guidebook wanted me to visit was a ten minute walk back the way I had come.

The walk would have been okay if it hadn't been for me having to cross Malaysians equivalent of Spaghetti junction, with no pedestrian crossings. Finally, a little sweaty, I made it to the train station which was nice, but not that great. After this I continued heading back the way I had come and into the colonial heart of the city.

My first stop was a post office to post home my dad's shirt before walking down the main colonial street in Kuala Lumpur. This street was actually really nice and the buildings were lovely; along here was supposed to be the 'Malaysian Historical Museum' where the story of Malaysia's history is told ... however I couldn't find it. All I found was a museum about Malaysian textiles which sounded as fun as punching your own face.

After walking down the colonial street it was time for lunch before having look around China town. When I say town it was actually just a street and again I wasn't sure if I was there or not; no signs, no Chinese gate only a couple of buildings with Chinese looking names ... oh and a Chinese hospital. None of this mattered as by now it was around 1:15pm and I had to head to the Thai embassy to get my passport back ... oh and hopefully a visa.

As I had plenty of time (the embassy didn't open until 2:30pm) I decided to walk to the embassy, taking in new sights that I hadn't seen before. It was all okay, however I was really hot, and so I stopped at the Petronas Towers shopping center, again, to get a drink.

I continued my walk to the embassy and by the time I was there I was ready for another cool drink. I met two guys I had seen yesterday at the embassy and we chatted as we waited in a long queue for the embassy to open. At 2:30pm the embassy opened and it was a straight forward procedure of handing in a ticket number and getting my passport back. I was so glad to get my passport back and lucky me I had a three month Thai visa as well ... bonus, all sorted then.

After the three of us got our passports back we were all very thirsty and so we headed to the nearest McDonald's for an ice cream and orange juice (hard core). I left one of the guys in the McDonald's as he was killing time before traveling to the airport; a Finnish guy and I headed back into town where he talked a lot. As it turns out it looks like the three of us will be in the same region of Thailand for Christmas and new year, which maybe handy (Facebook details were exchanged).

Once we got to the nearest mono-rail station I said goodbye to the Finn as I headed back to my hostel. Before going into my hostel I, yet again, stopped at a shop to get a drink (and shock horror, I got a smile from the cashier and she helped me back my bag). Once back at the hostel I confirmed that the lady had booked my trip to the Taman Negara national park and another two nights here when I return. All had been done as so I handed over 200 riggit! (about £40.00).

So tonight will be a mix of chilling, packing my bags for the jungle tomorrow and getting my other bag ready for storage (as I will only be in the park for two days I only need a change of clothes, medical kit, camera and my wash bag ... maybe a book too, so why carry all my stuff around for nothing?).

So I've spent a week within Malaysia now; I've spent a whopping £160.00 in seven days. Take away the £40.00 spent on activities and accommodation for next week and it comes to £120.00 - about £17.50per day - which is a lot more than my daily budget. However this has to be put into context; I've purchased large items (bags, shorts, books, camera memory cards etc) that will keep me going for a long time; there is at least £50.00 worth of stuff there and so that drops me back to £10.00 per day, my budget. Having said that I reckon that I will be slightly over my budget anyway; accommodation in Malaysia is around £4/5 per night and with the humidity you end up spending a £1 every time you want a drink and an ice cream. At the moment I currently think that £12.00 is a more reasonable budget for here.

Currently Malaysia is my least favourite country to travel in, mainly because of the people. I started to count how many people were staring at me today and I was all ready at eight before I boarded the mono-rail. Ticket staff never, ever speak (which has resulted in me going up to the counters with a big loud 'hello' to try to get some reaction ... still nothing) and generally people expect you to know where to go without any information. Driving is fun; driving is on the left hand side of the road ... most of the time. Traffic moves on a green light, traffic moves on a red and mopeds go all the time, even taking the pavement if the traffic on the road is dense ... it's crazy.

I don't really like Kuala Lumpur; my advice to anyone visiting here is go to the Petronas Towers, go to the colonial district and then get out. Melaka, on the other hand, I really liked as it was chilled and the owner of the hostel, Sam, has been the nicest Malayan I've met so far (and a few of the stall owners within the town were nice too).

As I'm off to the jungle tomorrow I can't see there being internet access, therefore I reckon this is me signing off for a couple of days. I'm really looking forward to the Taman Negara national park; it's meant to be the oldest rain forest in the world. It has one of the longest rope bridges in the world and I hope to see lots of wildlife. If it's not very good, or the accommodation is rubbish, then it's only for two nights so no big deal. It's going to be hot and apparently there are lots of leeches ... lovely.

Toodle Pip!

Jobs Day

Thursday 2nd December 2010

MP3 track of the day: I wish it could be Christmas everyday - Wizzard

Weather: Humid, with a huge down pour of rain at 5:30pm (i.e. now)

With another early start I made my way to the Thai embassy - again looking at the British consulate offices fondly as I walked past - with my passport and a passport photo, from four years ago. This was the first time that I have ever been in an embassy and it wasn't that exciting. I was handed a visa application form when I checked in, but no directions, or words, that would be too difficult for the security guard. I had forgotten to bring a pen however I didn't think that this would be to much of a problem; as everyone had to fill out an application form I thought that there would be desks with pens to help you out ... no.

I eventually borrowed a pen and then joined the queue. Queuing seems to be the thing to do in Kuala Lumpur and it took me from 9:15am until 11:00am to get served. As I was waiting I met a Finnish bloke; we were both a bit worried because the application form demanded two passport photos which had to have been taken six months ago. We only had one old passport photo each, but we decided to try anyway. My number was called out and all my papers were taken, including my passport. Again the woman said nothing to me so I have no idea if, when I come back tomorrow at 2pm, I will get a visa or anything ... the people here are really starting to annoy me.

Once out of the embassy it felt a little weird not having a passport; I must go back tomorrow and retrieve it as the embassy is closed at weekends. To add further problems Monday is a national holiday in Thailand and Tuesday is a hoilday in Malyasia (so they might not be open until next Wednesday). I went past the Petronas Towers again and headed in to purchase a polo shirt for my dad ... job done.

As it was the middle of the day I decided to head back to my hostel to decide what the hell I was going to do next. I know where in Malaysia I want to go, Taman Negara national park, Cameron Highlands and Penang but how to get there I didn't have a clue. Also I needed to sort out some accommodation for Christmas as I'm sure that would get booked up pretty quickly.

Okay so the first thing I researched was getting to the Taman Negara National Park; from looking at my guidebook, and sources of the internet, I needed to get a bus to Jerantut (19 ringgit), stay overnight, and then get a boat to Kuala Trenggan (25 ringgit) and then find some accommodation there (which I couldn't find on the internet and so I reckon it would cost around 25 ringgit per night). I can't go onto the Cameron Highlands after this and so I would need to head back to Kuala Lumpur first. This meant that the whole trip there and back would cost 140 ringgit ... and a travel company was offering the same service, hassle free, for 160 ringgit (£4 more).

I decided that I would book with the travel company as they would pick me up from my hostel ; I also hoped that they may drop me back off here as I am planning to book a further two nights on my return (which means maybe I can leave some of my luggage here) to sort things out to get to the Cameron Highlands.

Next I looked at Thai accommodation for Christmas; as I feared a lot of places had been booked up. However I found a private room at, Khoa Lak, which seems a nice little town along the south-west coast. The description form the hotel states:

"...tucked away in southern Thailand on the coast of the beautiful Andaman sea, gate way to the well known top ten dive sites of the world.
Greeting from Seafan Guest House

We are situate in Khao Lak just 200 meters away from beautiful Khao Lak Beach. Khao lak is a tropical rain forest area,

Seafan Guest House offers twin and double accommodation ensuites. Enjoy free tea - coffee and free broadband internet can be accessed through the guest house computer and wireless broadband is also available.

We offer trips to beautiful beaches in Similan Islands one of the most beautiful dive sites of the world, go scuba diving snorkeling swimming or learn how to scuba dive. Only 5-10 minutes walk to Khao Lak Beach where you can laze on the beach and await to watching sunset or bushwalk through National Parks and forests and a coastal trek along beaches and rock shelves. You can visit the unique Khao Sok National Park, go canoeing, elephant riding, cruise the Khao Sok Lake, go cycling, motorbike.

Walk less than a kilometre to the nearest supermarket and a vibrant town life of pubs, clubs and cheap eats..."

It all sounds a bit perfect. The cost is £11 per night which might not be expensive for home, however it's double what I'm used to paying and nearly all of my daily budget. However I don't really fancy doing a lot over Christmas (and walking to the beach and rain forest will be free) and new year; instead I plan to chill, read my books and watch films (there is a cinema in the town too).

It was now 2pm; to do something with my day I headed out to an area of Kuala Lumpur called the 'Golden Triangle' (well I think I did, there wasn't any signage saying I was there). After walking around for a while (and seeing a notice stating that a storm was on it's way) I decided to head back to the hostel; the golden triangle wasn't actually worth looking around, just a load of skyscrapers with 'slum like' buildings in between.

I'm now back at my hostel; I don't like Kuala Lumpur, mainly because of the people. I only have two nights left here, then off to the jungle and then back here for two nights, before heading to the Highlands ... I can't wait however I have no idea how to get there, its so hard.

Not liking South East Asia.

Toodle Pip!

Petronas Day

Wednesday 1st December 2010 (white rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits)

MP3 track of the day: White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Weather: Humid with a huuuuuuge downpour of rain right in the middle of the day

I woke up early, but I didn't want to, and it was a little later than I had planned. I skipped the free breakfast at the hostel and headed out as quickly as I could; my destination, the Petronas Towers. I arrived at 7:50am and the queue was already huge, with people camping on the floor (I was told later that some had arrived here well before 6am). Before joining the queue I went into the local convenience store and bought a 'snack breakfast' consisting of crisps and biscuits.

It took two hours of queuing before I eventually arrived at the ticket desk; all the while, in the queue, I could see a monitor that displayed tour times and, as people booked their tickets, the amount of tours started to disappear. For tickets to the 'sky bridge' you have to queue early; like I said I got to the towers at 7:50am however forty minutes later, after a guy had come around asking how many tickets each person wanted, the line was closed as all 1,000 tickets for the day had gone.

Once at the desk I booked a ticket for the earliest tour, which was at 2pm at that stage. Reluctantly I paid the 10 Ringgit (£2.00) and then I toured the small Petronas Towers museum before going to the gift shop. My dad wanted a polo shirt of the Petronas Towers and to my amazement there were some, but not many. I had a look and the burgundy shirt was perfect, except for the size. I asked the lady behind the counter if they had anymore polo shirts in different sizes however she was more interested in talking to her work colleges. She basically told me no, which I didn't believe as I couldn't accept the fact that the Petronas Towers didn't have a stock of souvenirs. I had to come back at 2pm for my tour so I decided that I would pop back in and ask someone else.

This is the problem with the Malaysian people; most, not all, but most I've found to be pretty rude (Having a cashier at a mono-rail station, on her mobile phone talking to her mates as she serves you, isn't a rare occurrence) and I find it difficult to trust the Malaysians as I feel that they are trying to squeeze all the money possible out of me. Added to this that the general Malayan public keep staring at me (and not in a good way) I'm starting to really dislike Malaysia. The problem is that I keep comparing things to Japan; you would always get the full attention of a Japanese member of staff in a shop, they would always be polite and never try to rip you off ... it's such a different and better culture.

It was now 11:30am and, with only two hours until my tour, I decided not to wonder far. Not giving up on the quest for my dad's shirt I decided that I would look around the shopping center, within the Petronas Towers, to see if there was another souvenir shop. But first I decided to head out, into the nearby park, and take some photos of the towers.

The park was lovely, but rather hot; as it was around lunch time (and I was a little sweaty) I decided to head back into the air conditioned Petronas Towers and search for said shirt.

Well I didn't find any souvenir shops but I did find a massive book shop with a military history section. Just like in Canada I like to read some history about the places I visit, when I visit ; for South East Asia I've chosen the Vietnam War as I don't know much about it. I ummed and arrred over the price (£15); eventually, after much internal debating, I decided to buy it as a) it's such a specific topic that I think I'll have to purchase a new book 2) the books are imported so they won't be any cheaper than at home and d) in the Melaka book shops there weren't any military history sections so I may not have another opportunity. This did mean that I was now carry three books; still I had posted home three guidebooks (and throw another two away) and so I could carry the extra weight ... also Christmas is just around the corner so a couple of books might be handy.

It was now 1pm and I had a quick lunch before heading down to the ticket office of the Petronas Towers for my 2pm tour. Having arrived a little early I decided to start to ready my book which, from the introduction, seems very good indeed. Soon the gates opened and on my tour there seemed to be me and one huuuuge Malaysian family. Again some of them kept staring at me; I don't know if it's because I'm white, tall or because I have a stupid hat ... it certainly isn't looks as my hair is very greasy today.

After a short film about Petronas I went through a metal detector and into a high speed lift (which ascends, and descends, a floor every second) to the 42nd floor. Here we had fifteen minutes to walk along the sky bridge, taking photos and generally having a look at the view. A few members of the Malaysian family wanted to have their photo taken with me, which was all very nice, however I only had fifteen minutes up here and I wanted to look around. After two photos I politely walked away from the photo shoot and took a few photos myself. The Tour guide asked if I wanted her to take a photo of me and I said yes (wish I had washed my hair this morning); she was very nice and it put a little bit of my faith back into the Malaysian people.

After this we headed down and I went to the gift shop, still no joy. Was the sky bridge worth the three hours queuing, having to come back and generally mess up my entire day? No not really. Was the sky bridge worth doing just to say that I had walked along it? Yes I think so, this is after all Malaysia's iconic symbol (though I was gutted that Catherine Zeta-Jones wasn't there in her cat suit ... not sure what I'm on about? Watch the film Entrapment).

After this I headed to the Thai embassy, about a fifteen minute walk east of the Petronas Towers. As I past the British embassy I gave a little salute back to blighty (and a little bit of me wished I was back at home in the snow). I made it to the Thai embassy but disaster, the Thai embassy only accepts visa applications between 9:30am - 11:30am. I thought how stupid however a gentleman did speak to me and said that the turn around for a visa was only24 hours, so I can pop back tomorrow ... which is a pain, but okay.

I decided that, at 3:30pm, today had been quite a full day and so I started to make my way back to my hostel (giving another salute to blightly on my way past). After ten minutes walking, the skies had darkened and drips of rain were starting to pour down; I erected my umbrella just in time for the biggest downpour known to man. I made it to a tax shelter where, mostly moped drivers, we sheltering too. I thought twenty minutes and it'll all be over however the rain just kept on coming, more and more ... I've not seen rain like it (certainly not in the UK). After an hour I raced between shelters making my way to the Pertonas Towers shopping center. My plan was to have a hot chocolate, and read my new book, whilst the rain poured down and then leave after.

When I arrived at the towers the price of the hot chocolate, compared to a meal, was so high I didn't bother. Looking out the window the rain had stopped and so I headed back to the hostel. On the mono-rail I saw two girls being chatted up by some Malaysian guy. The girls were certainly western, and looked like they were travelers. The whole situation look uncomfortable for them and so I stood near to them making sure they were okay. As it turned out they were heading to the same hostel as I and, even though I reckon they could have handled the situation by themselves, they did see what I was trying to do and thanked me ... which was nice.

Tonight I need to wash my hair and get something to eat. Another early night I reckon as I need to get up early to get to the Thai Embassy. It's actually quite nice walking around here in the morning as it isn't too hot; in future I might get up early, then head to a shopping center for the middle of the day, I dunno.

Toodle Pip!

Arrived in Kuala Lumpur

Tuesday 30th November 2010

MP3 track of the day: The Way I Are - Timberland

Weather: Hot, rainy and humid

I woke up a decent time and, due to buses leaving Melaka for Kuala Lumpur (KL) every hour, I decided there wasn't any rush. In the morning I met a Northern Irish couple (Ross and Amy) who were also traveling to KL today, and had booked into the same hostel as I; we therefore decided to travel together.

I wasn't looking forward to traveling, I knew that I would get very hot and sticky with my bags strapped to me. I was tempted just to stay in Melaka as things were now 'safe' there (I had good accommodation, I knew where to eat, I knew where to go) and it was chilled; however I also knew that if I didn't leave Melaka today I might not ever leave, in fear of what might turn up later on. I headed out, at around 11:00am, with the Ross and Amy to the bus stop.

Things went well at the beginning; the bus stop to catch the bus to the main station in Melaka wasn't too far away and so I boarded my bus to Kuala Lumpur quite refreshed. Things were going swimmingly and I sat in my comfortable chair awaiting my arrival within Kuala Lumpur.

This is where things 'going swimmingly' took a sharp dive south; the first problem was that the main bus station within KL was under heavy construction and so they had set up a temporary bus station waaaay out of town and off any of our maps. After talking to 'locals' , who wanted to take us this way and that, we eventually got on a bus to the city center, or that's what it said on the bus.

I knew we were going in the right direction as I saw the Petronas Towers out of the window. However, where the bus dropped us off, had very little signage and it took us a while to find the entrance to the nearest mono-rail station. It turned out we had arrived near the 'Plaza Rakyat', which at the time meant as much to me as it does to you. I stopped and thought to myself; travelling within Japan was much easier than it is here and in Japan they hardly speak any English at all. In fact there lettering system is totally different and yet, they have made the signage for transport so easy that any idiot can find their way. In Malaysia, where English is a national language, no chance. I have to say that I was glad to be travelling with other people.

We found a ticket office and eventually worked out that we needed to travel one stop, change monorail lines and then a further six stops to 'Chow Kit', our stop. Once there the heavens had opened and I've not seen rain like it. Experience from my limited time within South East Asia has told me that this downpour shouldn't last to long and so we waited checking our maps so we knew which way to run to our hostel.

The rain died down and we legged it. Luckily I was following the Ross and Amy; if I had been directing we would have gone a longer way. We made it to our hostel, which was okay and clean, without getting too wet and we put our stuff in our dorms and then headed out for something to eat (it was now 4:30pm; it had taken us four hours to get to our hostel in KL and I had only eaten breakfast ... I was starving). We stumbled by an Indian restaurant (being located within 'little India' it wasn't much of a shock) and we had a rice meal, which was okay.

We then headed back to our hostel to chill. As I've had my lunch late I might just snack for tea (there's a stand selling corn on the cob outside ... yum) before having an early night. Tomorrow I need to head to the Thai embassy to get my Thai visa; I also want to go up the Petronas Towers and to do so I have to queue up for a ticket early (as there are only 1,000 tickets per day) therefore tonight will be an early night to I get up early tomorrow. It's all fun!

Toodle Pip

P.S. Just found a brochure offering a three day trip to the Taman Negara national park; I'm really tempted to book on this as it's quite difficult to get to the national park on your own. It's £30 for the three days, but only two nights, and that's without meals. It sounds cheap but in Malaysia that's my daily budget ... I'll have to have a think.