Malaysia was a blast!

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 24th in the early afternoon. The weather was quite humid and I was a little tired, but at the same time I was ready for yet another S.E. Asian adventure, so I boarded a bus from LCCT airport (Air Asia’s exclusive airport about 1 hour outside of the city) to KL Central, a major public transportation hub right in the center of Malaysia’s capital city. Once I reached KL Central, I was approached by a taxi driver who quoted me a price that was a lot more than I was willing to pay and even though I was tired of carrying my backpack, I was not about to be ripped off, so I wandered about until I found another driver who quoted me a price that was about half of what the first driver tried did. I told him to take me to the Binton Royale Hotel and within seconds we were speeding through the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur. When were were within 1 block of the hotel, the driver asked if he could let me out there and I firmly said, “No. I am paying to take me to the door, so that is where I would like to go. Thank you.” Once inside I was very impressed by the decor of this fabulous hotel, but when I handed the person behind the counter my passport she could not find my name in the reservation system, so I opened my computer and realized that I was at the wrong hotel…lol. I was supposed to be at the Binton Garden Hotel. I asked the clerk if she knew where it was and she did not, so she asked one of the hotel’s emplyees who happened to be standing a few feet away. He told me my hotel was located about a block away on the opposite side of the street, so I grabbed by bag and left in search of the Binton Garden Hotel. I walked about 2 blocks and I still did not see it, so I asked 2 security guards who were standing nearby and they pointed me in a direction that my instincts told me was way off, so I stopped in a travel agency and the receptionist told me exactly where it was. I walked about 1 block and there it was, this tiny little budget hotel sandwiched right between a restaurant and a souvenir shop, right accross the street from a 7 eleven and several other convenience store. I said to myslef, “Self, this is a cool area. I think I will like it here.” You know how some cities just have a certain vibrant energy and you know immediately if you will like it or not, well Kuala Lumpur has it and I knew I was in for a good time in this city with a population just shy of 2 million inhabitants.

I ended up checking in, dropping off my belongings and hitting the streets and my first impression of this city was spot on; it was vibrant and full of excitement. I went back to the room and tried to get online, but there was a problem with the internet, so I had to take my computer down to the lobby where the wifi was working. I logged onto Facebook and I updated my status. After spending placing a few calls with Skype and responding to some emails, I took a nap. A few hors later I went down to the lobby and the manager asked if I was going to go out to Bukit Bintang to celebrate Christmas eve. Bukit Bintang is the street where the hotel was located and once I exited the hotel I noticed the street was jam-packed, I mean there were people everywhere and everyone was in a festive mood. There were cans of fake snow, cameras, and even a marching band-it was a massive street party full of people celebrating Christmas in what is a Muslim country. I was shocked that Christmas was celebrated on such a large scale there. I assumed that most of the people there were young Muslims just taking advantage of an opportunity to party hard and party hard is absolutely what they did. I walked around with my camera around my neck taking pictures and shooting videos and taking some fake snow to the face. Yeah, I was sprayed a few times right in the fae, but it was all in good fun and I just laughed and walked speedily by as I protected my camera of course. I stayed out until about 2 AM before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep, so I could be prepared to check out of the hotel at noon. At 4 PM later that day I was supposed to meet a Malaysian friend from New York and we were going to head to Singapore together for a few days.

I rolled out of bed at about 10 AM, showered and packed my bag. I checked out of the hotel, but I sat in the lobby until about 1:15 PM using the internet and chatting with Nina, the receptionist. As I left I told Nina I would see her in a few days after my Singapore trip and I asked her where the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal was. She advised me that it was about a ten minute walk from the hotel and she pointed me in the general direction and told me it was near the Times Square building. I figured when I made it to the Times Square building I would ask for more detailed directions. So after grabbing a bite to eat I reached the Times Square building and I asked for directions and time and time again I was told that I would need to take the monorail to the other side of town to the bus terminal. I repeatedly said, “No, the bust terminal is close to the Times Square building.” But everybody I asked (no fewer than 20 people) including someone inside the booth at the monorail station told me that I would need to go to the other side of town, so against my better judgement I took the monorail and as I sat in the bus terminal a feeling came over me and I knew I was at the wrong place, so I asked a stranger he told me that the bus terminal I was looking for was near the Times Square building. I was hot and sweaty and I really wanted to just cancel my trip to Singapore at this point, but I am not a quitter, so I could not stop until I found the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal. I spotted a taxi driver and I asked him how much he would charge me to take me there and he said 30 Ringit and I walked away. I knew the price was inflated and I just didn’t feeling like being taken advantage of, so I found my way back to the monorail station and finally made it back to the Times Square building where I found a pay phone and called my friend who was supposed to meet me at the bus station. The pay phone was out of service, so I set out to find another and it was also out of service. Drenched in sweat, frustrated and annoyed I asked someone else and as I had done previously I showed him the name of the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal written on a piece of paper and he told me that I needed to take the monorail tot he other side of town. I said, “No. I just came from there and the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal is close to this building.” Well I ended up walking away and asking someone else who told me the same thing. Finally, I stopped a foreigner, Chinese I think and she told me she had no idea where the terminal was and seconds after I walked away she called out to me and said, “Ya know, I just remembered seeing a bus terminal in that direction, but you may want to stop in that hotel and ask just to be sure.” I walked and I spotted 2 police officers, so I asked one of them if he knew where the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal and he said, “Go straight, turn right.” I said, “Where do I turn right?” And he answered with, “Straight, straight, turn.” I decided to go with my instincts and I walked until I saw a bus and then another bus, so I figured the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal was near. I asked a group of teens and none of them spoke English, but I was able to use sign language and I pointed ot a bus and said, “Singapore, Singapore!” And they pointed, so I walked for about 5 more minutes and I spotted my friend there on the sidewalk freaking out because she thought I wasn’t going to make in time. Check-in was at 4:00 PM and departure was scheduled for 4:30 PM. I arrived at 4:20 PM and the first thing out of her mouth was, “Oh my God, you are so skinny.” I explained that the malaria prophylaxis caused me to get very sick and loose a lot of weight. Then she said, “You look like you just stepped out of the shower, but you forgot your towel.” Sweat was pouring off of me and I was exhausted…

The 5 hour ride to Singapore was relaxing and very comfortable. All the chairs on
the bus were almost like first class airplane seat and they were all equipped with massage pads that were activated with the touch of a button.

Here are some picture from the Christmas eve festivities in Kuala Lumpur…

Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,

a1globetrotter