Near miss

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The bus ride to Kuala Lumpur was mostly uneventful. We passed through immigration early on, having to get off and register with Singapore immigrations when we left Singapore and again with Kuala Lumpur when entering that country. At Kuala Lumpur I had to fill out the customary form. I was mostly finished, having not checked a few boxes on the back when the agent said “Just go ahead. Your bus is waiting.” I was amazed at the lack of concern.

On the ride I spoke a bit with a man named Alan. I believe he is British (at least he sounds that way) and is living over here while he travels back and forth between Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The most amusing part about Alan is that he looks and sounds exactly like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. I hope he doesn’t want to eat me.

One other tidbit - the roads here are much more like an American interstate system than they were in Australia.

Towards the end of the ride things got interesting. We made it into the city then hit traffic. It wasn’t traffic for everyone - just the buses going to Pudaraya Station. They were lined for blocks in a single lane. Unfortunately I only found out about the problem later.

We stopped at the first drop off point and the driver and his co-pilot started working on getting the DVD player working properly. This was really strange since there were still three of us on board who would go to the final stop. My stomach was a bit unsettled from the Indian and Chinese barrage I gave it yesterday (following a month of the blandest foods you can find). I mentioned to Alan that we better get moving. He said it was only a few blocks.

After about 10 minutes of sitting and not knowing what the two jokers were doing with the DVD I finally asked if I had time before we left to find a toilet.

“Toilet. Yes. Yes.” The driver pointed at a tall building.

“And you’re not gonna leave?”

“Toilet. Go.”

I took off with my essentials bag (passport, money, laptops, etc) and went into the building, hoping they wouldn’t chase me away. I found a concierge who politely told me to go to the 14th floor. I squirmed over to the elevator bank and made my way up to 14, apparently the conference area. Quickly making my way back into the men’s room I made it with moments to spare.

I rapidly went about my business so as not to keep the driver and passengers waiting if they were ready to go. When I got back outside the bus was gone.

That bastard left me!!!

I looked around and caught a glimpse of the bus in traffic. I took off, running haphazardly through people with 20 pounds on my back and in flip flops. I saw a hand wave towards me from the left side of the bus. Fortunately, I had Alan on board who futilely let the driver know I was on board. I say futilely because about all he could convince the driver to do was open the door if I caught up, rather than actually stopping to wait. For the first time in my life, traffic proved a blessing and I made it back on.

I didn’t even bother tearing the driver apart - he wouldn’t have understood most of the four letter words I had prepared for him. Besides, relief will calm you down.

It still took about 40 minutes to go what ended up being a few blocks to Pudaraya with the bus traffic. It’s a good thing I got out when I did or else I’d be writing a much more tragic tale.

After checking in I roamed around nearby Chinatown for a bit. The bulk of it consisted of street markets with loads of counterfeit goods for sale. The merchants here seemed less aggressive than those in Singapore.

Tonight, I went to see the Petronas Twin Towers all lit up. I took the metro a few stops and got out right by one of the towers. Circling around it I immediately found myself facing one of the more recognizable sights in the world. As many times as I have seen this in pictures and movies, I still remained captivated by the allure of the towers.

The base between the towers consists of an entranceway and a large mall in the backdrop. Having only had toast all day I went in and found some sushi.

I’m heading to bed early tonight so I can be up to get back to the towers and get tickets for the viewing platform tomorrow before they run out.

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Photos

Petronas Twin Towers
The world renowned towers stand nearly 1,500 feet tall.

Chinatown
Walking towards the street market in Chinatown.

Kuala Lampur Tower
The Kuala Lampur Tower backdrops a portion of Chinatown.

Looking way up
At the base of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Skybridge
The double-deck skybridge on the 41st and 42nd floors.

Fountains
Fountains and a park sit behind the towers.