Day 17 - Kuala Lumpur and No Longer Walking Upside Down

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Once again we were up at work o'clock to get ready for our flight back to the northern hemisphere. He still had to finish his packing and I was trying not look like death warmed up, so were were ready at exactly 7am on the dot. We had the usual for breakfast, tea and toast, and the taxi driver picked us up from reception.

We drove to the airport. Both me and Daniel were convinced we were going the wrong way at first, and were bemused when we arrived at the airport. It was quick through security and check in, but as we approched the departures area for immigration, a woman in the booth told us we had to pay 100,000r airport tax! We didn't know this, and didn't have enough cash left. Daniel had to go all the way back through security to get more. Once again, we felt a little cheated, as people charging extra money that they haven't notified or forwarned you about was beginning to become a common theme in Indonesia. Anyway, he got back through it all and we went through immigration (more stamps!) and waited for the plane to land. Meanwhile, he updated the blog and I watched a ridiculous 'drama' on tv, which was very high camp and easy to follow, even if it was in Indonesian.

Finallly, a little late, the plane arrived so we could embark the flight back to KL. And 2 and a half hours later we were touching down.

We breezed through all the airport stuff and decided to take the shuttlebus to KL Sentral Station. For 9 Ringgit, the hours journey is worth it. Then we had the quick monorail journey to the hostel in Bukkit Bintang. Sunshine Bedz is a nice place and the staff were very friendly and showed us where we coud grab a bite to eat, as it was way past lunch.

So we dumped the bags in the room and headed to a dodgy little eaterie for chicken and rice, which for 7 Ringgit was lovely and a bargain. Then back to the hostel to chillout and discuss what everyone was up to with their evening. We got to know some of the other residents, Sami and Simon, and had a couple of beers before changing and setting off out as a small group for Food Street. We approached the higgledy piggledy maze of plasic tables, stools and chaos and ordered some food and beers. Now the trick on Food Street is that when something comes, and it will all come at different times, you pay for it on the spot so the waitresses can keep track of orders. Allt he while you're sat there with the constant whiff of Durians in the air. Anyone who has been to Malaysia will instantly be able to tell you about this local 'delicacy'. The smell that emanates from them is impressive to say the least. However, it is a fairly unpleasant smell all told. Think rotten onions and unwashed feet. Not like the smell of some of the more appealing street food unfortunately. No wonder the signs on public buildings say:

No Smoking

No Drinking

No Pets

No Durians

After this we walked to a bar for more drinks and converstation. A few beers, cocktails and tales of misfortune later and it was bordering on bedtime. So back to the hostel for one more beer and a game of Monopoly Cards. Which Daniel detested and stopped playing after about 3 minutes. I on the other hand, like card games and rarely get to play them, so i carried on playing till Alex, one of the staff, thrashed us all. By this time it was past midnight and we knew we were up at 7, so we went to bed.

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