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Published: March 13th 2007
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Not All Cities Are Alike
Getting Away from Thailand Isn’t Always Easy We had planned to fly directly from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur which seemed like a really efficient and stress free way to get from Thailand to Malaysia. Boy, were we wrong about the stress free part! To get from Koh Phi Phi to Phuket’s airport takes first an hour and a half long ferry and then an over an hour drive. With our flight scheduled for 1:30 we felt that we would have a ton of time to get from point A to point B but there are always complications that you don’t think about.
After scheduling the ferry for 9:00am, we figured we’d be set and have no trouble traveling the 2 plus hours to the airport in time to catch our flight. Complication Number 1: The boat left promptly at 9:00am but then stopped in the middle of the bay for more than a half an hour to transfer passengers over from a boat from Ko Lanta. Thus our schedule was falling behind from the get go. Complication Number 2: When loading the boat everyone was asked to put their
baggage below deck in the front section of the seating area - the opposite end from the one door and ladder up to the main deck and off the boat. Everyone loaded their bags in a pile at a dead end at the end of a vary narrow aisle between all the seats. When the boat got to the dock everyone made a mad rush up the aisle to get their bags. Once the first wave of people started to leave with their bags back down the same narrow path, they collided with all the people who still needed to get their bags. This poorly laid out path created immediate gridlock as small sorority girls with big packs on collided with big frat boys who hadn’t gotten to get their bags yet. Kel left with our carry-on bags and I decided to take an unorthodox path to get our bags. As people cleared out of their seats I started stepping from one seat to the next until I got to our bags. By this point they had opened a door at the dead end so I was able to escape out to the front of the boat carrying both Kel’s
pack and mine (seriously heavy). Complication Number 3: Now that we had gotten to the minivan which would take us to the airport (it’s now 11am) we had to wait until the van filled up with people before we could head off. At this point I’m doing my best to remain calm and figure that everything will be all right. Thankfully the bus driver was fast and we made it to the airport at exactly 12 noon. We had it made…or did we. Complication Number 4: Once we got to the Thai Air Asia counter it was packed and moving very slowly. After 40 minutes in line and another 25 in customs we finally made it to the gate with about a half hour to spare.
While the rest of our trip was relatively easy it was unfortunate to have spent almost a whole day traveling. Its' kinda crazy how a day which consists of mostly sitting around in a bunch of different places can really wear on you. We both felt completely drained after getting to our hotel.
Kuala Lumpur: A Very Different City The first impression of Kuala Lumpur is that it is
much more orderly than the other Asian cities we’ve been in. Unlike Bagkok, people actually stick to their traffic lanes and drive rather sanely. Our taxi driver was a bit of a maniac, but that was my fault for opting for a non-authorized airport taxi. I’m sure that it would have been different if we had used a taxi that was associated with a kiosk in the airport. From a distance Kuala Lumpur is a gorgeous city. The skyscrapers are all relatively new and all compete to be the tallest and most beautiful in the city. Of course everyone knows the Petronas Towers which have been in at least a couple of US movies. The two 81 story towers which are connected at the 41st floor by a bridgeway stand tall above downtown.
Our hotel, the Novotel, was very nice and centrally located in the middle of downtown. We were within walking distance of most of the local malls and the Petronas Towers. Since we were so close to the malls we spent our first afternoon scoping out a place to eat dinner and see a little of town.
The Golden Triangle is area with all the big
malls and is less than a ten minute walk from the Novotel. We walked up and down the streets in the area and could continue to feel the difference between Kuala Lumpur and other cities in this area. As a Muslim country, Malaysia has more women covering their hair and bodies like in the Middle East. Unlike Dubai, however, you actually feel like you are in a place that people live. It's not fake or contrived, it actually has a pulse and heartbeat.
That night we ate in an Italian restaurant near one of the big malls and afterwards took a walk through one of the more luxurious malls. We felt completely out of place wearing our backpackers shorts and t-shirts but were impressed with mall and the stores. Of course at this point in our travels we buy nothing but necessities so we purchased nothing. It's still fun to look even if you aren’t going to touch!
Petronas Towers and the Aquaria Today we slept in late because it was the first day in a while that we didn’t have free breakfast. Because of our late start we didn’t get out of the hotel
until about 11am. The day’s plan was to head to the Petronas Towers, get lunch at the mall there and then go to the Aquaria in the near by convention center.
Lunch was a little taste of home. We ate at the California Pizza Kitchen in the mall which had a different menu than home but was at least close. After eating we once again spent some time walking around the mall. This time we did get a few things shich we had been looking for, a camera filter (circular polarizer for you camera geeks out there), some sunscreen and a book for Kel.
Afterward we headed to the Aquaria (don’t ask me why its an Aquaria instead of an Aquarium). While we have gone to at least a few zoos in our travels we have yet to go to an Aquarium. This one was a little disappointing due to its size but still had a decent display of lizards and snakes which we found interesting. Kel was a little scared by the huge spiders exhibit. They had a least three spiders which were more than 9 inches in length, as big as the palm of my hand.
(And really hairy too!) Creepy!
Kel Note - the coolest thing about the Aquaria was a long glass tunnel through their largest tank, complete with large turtles, fish and a number of different varieties of shark. You stand on the moving sidewalk and just look all around you as everything swims by and overhead. We got to see some shark teeth and their weird sort-of-smile from below which was cool. They also had "touching pools" where you could pet bamboo sharks and pick up starfish, etc. and feel them. I'm a real hands on learner so I loved it!
We spent a couple of hours in the Aquaria and then headed back to the hotel. We spent some time reading before dinner and then headed out for a Lebanese feast. As always we over ordered in the restaurant, for some reason we have a habit of this with Lebanese food, but really enjoyed the meal.
Tomorrow we are off to Langkawi ,an island in the north of Malaysia. Our last Asian island before heading to Australia.
Hope you are all well back home. We miss you all and think about you all the time!
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Don
non-member comment
my hearts goes pitter-pat
when you start talking about circular polarizers. Let me guess...glass reflections? My little mikey-t is all growed up. We'll have to take you over to Casa del Nadder (the grand-folks) for a homemade Lebanese feast stateside.