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I had arrived in Kuala Lumpur, acquainted with some burly characters I met on my 12hour Air Asia flight who had made it a fun and laughable journey not to mention unforgettable.
The climate hit me straight away as soon as I stepped off the plane, it felt heavy and pressed down onto my skin and smothered my face. It definitely felt good coming from a snowy climate in Whitstable. I wasn't hassled when I got off the plane and everyone surrounding me was polite and respected my personal space. The people I encountered at the airport were friendly polite and everyone had big smiles on their face.
Me and my three merry foes from the airplane headed to Newtown (also known as the Golden Triangle) in a taxi. Micheal produced a bottle of Vodka and 3 cups of Lemonade and we got drunk quite quickly in the Taxi.
The journey from the airport into the city was long and took close to 2 hours; this was mainly because we got stuck in traffic for half an hour. The taxi wasn't that cheap and cost near to £30. So I would recommend getting the bus or tram into town and they cost next to nothing.
In the end I crashed at a hotel in Newtown, I was too shattered from the flight (and now slightly drunk) to go exploring for cheaper accommodation. I stayed in a newly built modern hotel which was expensive for one night, it cost me £60 for one night…… RIP OFF!
After a good nights sleep I wanted to move to the old town and be hit by what all the guide books described an authentic Malaysia with market stalls selling all types of various living or dead objects. This is exactly what hit me when I arrived. Newtown wasn't the best part of the city for me as it was a very built up area and I got the impression of immediately being in a Western City.
I stayed at a nice Hostel called the Birdnest Guesthouse right in the centre of Chinatown. It is located behind the market stalls on JALAN PETALING Road (Street or Road not sure they use either in KL) I stayed there because the guy who ran the Hostel came out into the street to ask me so politely in an non-hassle manner whether or not I needed a place to stay. This was obvious because I had my bag on my back and was sweaty from walking around with it and just generally looked like a traveler with a hint of busy tourist, so I took him up on his offer.
I want to give a shout out to my darling Sister Jess (Miss Joke) for lending me her flexible metal cage. It made for many Icebreakers and jokes thrown my way for how ridiculous it looked. Never-the-less better to be safe than sorry. Also with my bag safely locked up on my back it and my mind at ease I nearly forgot I was carrying a half a ton of weight! NOT.
The Hostel was cozy, welcoming and quite basic as expected though for the bargin price of RM15 that is only £3.04…….. 3 squid! Just Amazing. The dorm sizes were as big as a small room in England. Birdhouse had there own pet cat and Lizard (Lizard was kept in a cage) which was a nice touch. They also had free coffee and tea. As the Hostel contained many small rooms there was single sex and mixed dorms. Perfect also if you are traveling with a small group of people.
Willy was the name of the guy who ran the Birdnest Guesthouse he also ran another Hostel around the corner. Willy was very friendly and put me at ease straightaway. We went for some food on his recommendation, which was epic. It was around the corner to a place where all the locals eat. You could buy a plate for RM4 and load your plate up with loads of colourful delights such as curried green beans, curried chicken, fried fish with rice the choices were endless.
After we stuffed our faces we headed back and I settle up and grab my folder extract my passport and my flight plan falls out. I hear Willy say the date is 17th Feb there's a flight written down on the paper for this day and apparently it left in half an hour. The paper was right I was wrong. I had missed a flight already! Being delayed at Gatwick for 24hours had thrown me off. Blind panic precede until I realize nothing can be done and I book another one for the same time tomorrow for the lovely price of £50. Thank God for AirAsia.
(Sorry Charlie for waking you up at 3am in the morning, you were so patient, helpful and lovely! BIG UP!)
I went and had a well-earned sleep in my dorm after realizing I could quite possibly be jet-lagged and hung-over. I wake at 11pm and go into the dinning area to find some friendly Swedish people. We drink beer and go to the Reggie bar; with pictures of Bob Marley all over the wall I thought a night of good Reggie music was in order. Wrong again the music was recent pop music in the charts, not the best and the drinks were very expensive. The bar had a pumping atmosphere and seemed the place to be……. But not for me.
In the morning I got a Taxi to the airport. But this can be confusing as there are 2/3 airports in KL.
KLIA is the main airport in KL it has two terminal complex's. The main terminal is used by most airlines EXCEPT budget airlines. My flight plan stated this airport but not the complex so I arrived at the main terminal. As my flight was with AirAsia I needed the low-cost-carrier terminal that was 20km south of the main terminal. As luck would have it my taxi driver knew short cuts to each airport and managed to get me to the "low-cost-carrier" terminal on time, needless to say he got a very good tip from me.
Subang airport is the third airport and is now only used for flight with Firefly, Tiger Airways and Berjaya Air. So guys don't make the same mistake I did and make sure you get the correct airport and terminal.
KL was lovely and I didn't spend enough time there, 1 day wasnt enough! Kuching here I come.
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