Made it to Malaysia

So my computer gave it a good fight, but it has officially died.  I plan to buy a new one once I return to Melbourne, but in the meantime I won't be able to post any photos and will only be able to add new posts when I am able to get access to a computer.  Right now I'm in a library in Sydney where I'm technically only supposed to be doing "internet research."  Let's hope I don't get caught.

To make my way from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia just over two weeks ago, I first took a seven-hour bus ride to the Thai border town of Hat Yai and then took an overnight train from Hat Yai to Malaysia.  I should have known how things were going to go when my bus broke down just about 200 meters away from the Phuket bus station.  It took them about 30 minutes to get it fixed during which time I debated running back to the station to try to beg for my money back and catch a bus with another company.  Luckily we finally got going and just after nightfall we made it to Hat Yai. 

Once we got into the city, I took a moto ride with all my bags to my flea bag hotel where I had my very own dirty little room.  Let me tell you... Hat Yai is a craphole.  Trying to find some food that night and walking around the next day, it just struck me as very rundown and depressed.  It really had no redeeming charm anywhere that I could see.  It didn't help that I had about $15 in local currency for dinner on the night I arrived and all my meals the following day.  I barely scraped by without having to get more cash out.  I really couldn't get out Hat Yai fast enough.  I actually arrived at the train station two hours ahead of time because I was confused about whether my train was at 2:00pm, 3:00pm or 4:00pm.  Turns out it was at 4:00pm.  At least I was on time.  And some very nice Malaysian people shared some of their fruit and Malaysian candy with me while were were waiting.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur at the very early hour of 5:00am local time, 4:00am Thai time.  Needless to say that when I finally made it to my hostel at about 7:00am, I took a nap on the floor of the lounge (since my bed for that night was still occupied at present.)  After I got up, I did the grand walking tour of Kuala Lumpur.  I was staying in a trendy shopping district in Bukit Bintang.  From there I walked to Chinatown, down the Petaling Street shopping arcade, through the Central Market, past the Jamek Mosque to Merdeka Square.  It was in this square that the British flag was lowered and the Malyan flag was raised for the first time in August 1937.  It's also the site of the tudor-style Royal Selangor Club who used the green as a cricket site.  They still play cricket there as some people were doing informally when I was there.  The sun was setting as I left Merdeka Square so I took the monorail back toward my hostel.  On the way I stopped at the Berjaya Times Square, which unlike (or perhaps just like) the Times Square in New York City is just a huge shopping mall.

The next day I walked the short distance to the Menara KL Tower, took the shuttle bus to the bottom (since apparently it's too hard for tourist to actually walk up hill) and made my way through the maze of pony rides, zoo animals and souvenir shops to the ticket counter.  I had planned to go up, but then I found out the ticket was $15 USD.  I knew I could get one for about $8 from my hostel so I decided to come back another day.  I walked (for shame!) down the hill and then made my way over to the Petronas Twin Towers.  I didn't even bother to try to go up to the observation deck there because I had heard it wasn't worth it.  However, just as I was getting close to the building, it started to downpour.  I went inside to the mall area and just wandered around until the rain finally let up.  Then I walked around the KLCC park for a while before returning back to my hostel for the night.

The following two days were the weekend so I spent those with a family friend, Lim, his wife and two sons. My parents had played host to Lim when he came to take a course at UConn about 16 years ago.  No one in our family has seen him since, but my parents have always kept in touch.  It was the first time anyone in our family had visited him in Malaysia or met his family.  On Saturday, he and his wife picked me up at my hostel and brought me first to the Batu Caves after we ate a traditional Indian breakfast of roti jala.  We walked up the many sets of stairs to the Hindu temples hidden inside the cave walls and then drank fresh coconut water straight from the coconut after making our way back to the bottom.  Along the way, we had to battle the crazy monkeys that would jump out right in front of you looking for food as you climbed the steps.

After leaving the Batu Caves, we picked up Lim's younger son and then had a Chinese lunch of chicken and rice.  Lim then brought me to where he works in Putrajaya, the new administrative seat of the federal government.  The way it was set up reminded me a lot of Washington, D.C.  On one end of a straight two-kilometer road is the Prime Minister's office and the pink Putra Mosque and on the other is the Putrajaya Convention Center.  The whole "island" is surrounded by a manmade lake and crossed by nine bridges, each with a unique modern design.  Lim pointed out the Ministry of Finance building where her first worked after the government moved to Putrajaya and the building where he works now for the consumer affairs department.  We donned pink robes so we could go into the pink-painted Putra Mosque and then took a boat ride around part of the lake to check out the king's palace, Prime Minister's house and some other notable government buildings.  We then had a traditional flavored ice treat before going to the convention center.  After we left Putrajaya, I checked into my hotel and then met up with Lim's family again for a dinner of traditional Malay chicken satay.

On Sunday, Lim picked me up and brought me to his house were we had a traditional Malay breakfast with his wife and two sons.  The first course was a rice dish with an anchovy paste cooked in a banana leaf.  I then tried a bunch of different kuih, cakes and pastries often made with glutinous rice flour and coconut milk.  Some of them were really good and by the end I was pretty stuffed.  We spent the next few hours at Lim's house before going out to a Chinese restaurant for lunch and then driving back into downtown Kuala Lumpur.  We went to the Central Market where Lim insisted on picking out some souvenirs for me and my family.  He then brought me back to my hostel and it was time to say goodbye.

The following day, I bought a ticket at my hostel for the KL Tower and this time went all the way to the top.  There was a nice view of the whole city and the surrounding area, including all the way to the Batu Caves.  Using binoculars, I was able to find the area in Bukit Bintang right near my hostel.  After going back down, I then walked down through the rain forest preserve that surrounds the tower hillside.  I then walked back to the KLCC area to get some photos before calling it a day. 

On my last day in town, I had intended to the Lake Gardens to the west of the city center, but after packing up and getting organized I decided instead to head right to the Central Market where I spent a few hours crafting "Christmas" presents for several people.  I don't want to ruin the surprise so I won't tell you exactly what I made, but I will say that it involved a traditional painting technique that I was able to try out at one of the local market shops.  By the time I had finished my crafts, I had to race back to the hostel in order to get to the post office on time to send back the gifts and several other souvenirs.  I shipped it by sea so I have no idea if the package will actually arrive any time before the New Year.  Whoops!

I had an overnight flight that night to Melbourne, Australia, so after returning to the post office I picked up my bags at the hostel and got ready to leave for the airport.  When I told the hostel owner what time my flight was, he was like "you need to leave right now!"  I thought he was overreacting and assured him nonchalantly that leaving three hours before my flight was plenty of time.  Of course, then I got on the monorail going the wrong direction since I raced onto a train without checking which way it was going and had to go back an extra stop the other way.  I also just missed an express train to the airport when I got the central station and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one.  I still thought I was totally fine with 1.5 hours to spare when I got to KLIA.  Then when I tried to look for the Air Asia check-in desk, I was informed that Air Asia left from LCCT--20 minutes away!  I was nearly out of Malaysian money so I tried to take a bus, but it was a good 15 minutes before the next one left.  I raced to a cash machine then jumped onto the taxi line only to be informed I had to pay at the counter inside.  Luckily my cab driver understood my distress and drove like a speed demon to the other terminal.  I arrived an hour before my flight and they had already closed the check-in booth for Melbourne.  The lady looked at me like I was crazy when I told her where I was going.  Luckily she checked me in, I passed quickly through security and made it on board.  Another close call, but who knows what will happen next time.  I need to start getting to the airport more than a hour before departure!!