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Published: December 6th 2009
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Melaka, 3:45 am
Left home 3:30 pm Sat, Param drove us to RDU. Changed planes in Houston, changed planes in LAX, EVA Air 13+ hours to Taipei, hung around there for a few hours, then 4 1/2 more to KL. Once there we had to figure out how to buy a SIM card for the GSM phone Melody bought on EBay, get some cash from the ATM (ringgets, about 3 to a dollar), clear customs (long line).
After that came the harder part: find a bus to Melaka. We still don't know whether there is one, a carefully guarded secret, or not. We ended up taking the scenic route: local bus to NiLai, local bus to Seremban, then the last express bus of the day to Melaka. Finally a taxi from the bus station to the Kancil Guest House. We arrived at 8:30 pm.
All of that took longer to figure out and execute than we expected. The good news: it only cost $20 total, and we did make it.
Malaysia is 12 hours behind NC, so I got that figured at 41 hours door to door.
On the way, the kids did really great. Clearly they're
excited by all the novelty and anticipation - as we hoped. I woke up at 3 am so I'll write to Dear Diary for awhile.
The guest house is small but very clean and has plenty of character, including an old Victrola in the front room. However no A/C, no soap or toilet paper, shared bath, no closet or other clothes hanging apparati. This tropical heat takes some getting used to - we'll see how fast we can adjust.
It was kind but stupid of both Melody and me to let the kids have the window seats from LA to Taipei while we tried to sleep in the middle seats - for 13+ hours! Now we know better for the trip back.
A mosquito just buzzed my ear. TSA in RDU confiscated my contraband 6 oz. aerosol can of Deep Woods Off with 20% DEET. Rumor has it from my friend Adrian that DEET is not sold in Malaysia. I'll find out after sunrise.
I wonder when the stores open.
I forgot to pack shorts, swimsuit, and T-shirts. At least that kind of stuff is easy to find and cheap.
Travelling light is great.
We can jump on a bus with all our stuff. Being mobile gets us out of the bubble. More rewarding. When we bought the kids backpacks at REI it was to go literally backpacking, in the woods. We did that exactly one night. Ever since they take them instead of a suitcase on every trip.
I want coffee. Maybe not hot though.
In the past two weeks we've pushed the kids pretty hard, getting ready for the trip. Get this shot, help us clean, don't play inside with your friends lest you get swine flu right before we leave. (And sure enough, in KL they had infrared sensors pointing at all the deplaning passengers). Then the marathon journey. I had ideas of pushing them awhile longer, to eat local. But even the airplane and airport food challenged them. On second thought I'll let up on that.
I want it to be morning.
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