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Published: October 13th 2011
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Eclipse Hostel
Settling in to our tiny new room We've arrived!
Preparations leading up to our departure were frantic despite the prior month of free time.
Moving out of our house, renting out our house, studying for an exam, rebuilding a touring bicycle, relocating from London to Manchester, researching a camera, catching up on Dentistry, Optometry, General medical practice, not to mention travel innoculations does tend to eat up the time apparently.
I did make a discovery that I'm sure is universal.
If you're ever in need of a replacement battery just tidy the house. We found somewhere in the region of 70 unused batteries of various sizes once we were done packing up the house.
Unfortunately I have no pictures of preparations, packing or the long journey to Kuala Lumpur as my hoped for camera did not arrive in time. Just for info, I don't think BigNorman.com could deliver even if it were Kerry Katona's midwife.
Now that we're here I'm reluctant to get out my replacement camera as it's so expensive and we're worried about motorbike thieves. As this is my first camera, yes
ever, if anyone has suggestions for when and where it's safe to flash a camera or tips on how to use cameras or good subjects to photograph then let me know.
At some point I'll do a kit list for the cycle-touring afficionados out there and maps will hopefully make an appearance.
I'm also going to add some stats on our ride so far, well, once I find a replacement battery for my cycle computer. For now I don't even need it to give some stats:
Distance ridden today: 0 miles
Distance ridden in total: 0 miles
Average Speed: 0 mph
Today's ride time: 0h 0m 0s
For now we're sidelining the bikes to allow us to see Kuala Lumpur. The centre is so small it's easy enough to walk. The pavements are a little tricky though. They regularly just stop, or are filled with little food stalls or parked mopeds.
Many people have warned us against cycling in KL. From what I've seen so far it's pretty tame. It's certainly a lot calmer than riding into the City of London of a morning. The mopeds are the equivalent of the fixie riders in London; they ignore lights and pedestrianized areas and come out of nowhere, but just pay some attention and you'll be fine. I guess that it's easier for us Brits since they drive on the left in Malaysia.
The price of stuff is quite varied and inconsistent. I'm sure this is all down to buying from the right people at the right times.
We ate out for 38RM (£7.70) last night in a pretty ropey looking restaurant with tables and chairs out on the public pavement. The food was good but we were jealous that everyone else seemed to get even better looking food from the menu. Though we didn't brave the eels, crabs or lobsters sitting still live in tanks at front of 'house'.
We've been to a few shops were a 1L bottle of coke or mountain dew (I was pleased to see this blast from my past) were 4RM (80p) which seems quite high in comparison. However, this morning we've been out for a wander and found that the stalls selling to commuters in the business district sell lunch for 1RM (20p) and it's good food (that's where we'll be going in future for our lunch).
The hotel (Tang City - 100RM per room/night) last night was a nightmare, the neighbours are extending their street canopy and we had the drilling and tile cutting keeping us awake from midnight to 5am; obviously the best time to do building works. We're far too polite to argue any sort of refund but we moved out immediately this morning to the newly opened Eclipse hostel down the road offering a room for 50RM (£10.15) a night and bike storage of 5RM per bike per night. It's a pretty flimsy building and we did like the room and shower in the previous hotel but this place seems really nice so we'll be giving it a try.
This morning Kathryn made her first gaffe. We were walking through the city taking in the sights and sounds wandering pretty aimlessly. Occasionally (really!) we're accosted by a taxi driver or merchant trying to convince us to part with some money but on the whole we're left to our own devices. As we pass into the area called Little India Kathryn is waved down a channel of the pavement away from the building ahead, Kathryn takes a glance down and sees shoes in boxes lined up at the base of some steps and thinks "No I don't think I like any of those shoes, thank you" and begins her ascent of the steps. As the cries of various people hanging around get through to her she realises she's walking into a Hindu temple on a holy day still wearing her shoes. I hope it's not an auspicious start...
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