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Published: October 1st 2007
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Where am I?
A picture of the area around my Hotel (Replica Inn) with the K.L. Tower in the background. Lots to cover in this update. It’s Monday, October 1, 2007, and I’m sitting in a smoky internet café in a city I am not particularly fond of. Where am I?
I’m in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. For those of you who read my blog during my 9 week adventure to SE Asia in early 2006, you know why I don’t like this city.
I was much more prepared for K.L. (Kuala Lumpur) this time, however. No need to relive last year’s problems. Therefore, I’m staying far away from the Pudu Hostel. I know my ATM card won't work here (not compatible since it doesn't have a chip) so I brought enough cash for incidentals, plus I have my Capital One Visa (no extra fees for international purchases!) for hotel and any large purchases.
Although it’s only a connection point for my real vacation destination, the Philippines, things have definitely been better this time around. For one, it wasn’t pouring rain when I arrived. The weather has been fairly mild (well, for Malaysia…it’s always hot & humid) with partly cloudy skies. Plus, I’m staying in a better area (and better hotel). I opted for Bukit
Saai
at a Japanese restaurant before going to the airport Bintang, which is situated within an area of K.L. known as the Golden Triangle. It’s a shopping mecca. I’m staying at the
Replica Inn which is just over 1 year old.
Ok, getting back to my departure from Thailand. I left Bangkok Saturday afternoon at 4:55 p.m. (Saai joined me at the airport to see me off - thanks Saai!). I arrived in K.L. at 8:00 p.m. (my Air Asia flight actually arrived in K.L. on time). I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to get to my hotel, but I had a general idea. My intention was to take a bus from LCCT (low cost carrier terminal which Air Asia uses) to K.L. Sentral (transportation hub of K.L.), and then see which means of transportation was best to reach Bukit Bintang.
The process of getting the bus was easy. There are a few bus companies. Just go to the area in front of the LCC terminal where the buses are waiting, and figure out which bus is leaving first for K.L. Sentral. You can buy a ticket on the spot for 9 ringgits (well, they may vary a bit…I paid 9 ringgits - less than $3). I
Replica Inn
my room in K.L. used the bus affiliated with Air Asia (
SkyBus) which left a few minutes after I got on board. The bus trip was somewhere around 45 minutes - 1 hour to get to K.L. (the airport isn’t very close to the city). Once I arrived at K.L. Sentral, I was a bit confused. There are numerous options (Express Rail Link to the main airport; KTM intercity trains; KTM Komuter trains to areas outside K.L.; LRT light rail; monorail; buses; taxis. In looking at the maps in the K.L. Sentral station, I determined that the monorail would get me the closest to my destination for the cheapest price. However, I couldn’t find it. It turns out the monorail is housed in a different building within a short walk of K.L. Sentral. I asked the info counter, and was pointed in the general direction. For less than 75 cents I took the monorail to Bukit Bintang, which got me within a 5 minute walk of my hotel. Nice.
By this time, I was pretty hungry. As I checked in to the Replica Inn, the lady behind the counter was brought food from the attached restaurant. She actually offered to let me try
Baptist Church
K.L. Baptist Church which I attended Sunday morning. it since I said it looked good. Umm, no, I wasn’t going to eat her dinner. After dropping off the bags, I was off to the attached restaurant. It turns out the restaurant opened 3 days ago, and many of the items on the menu weren’t available. So my options were limited. I definitely wanted something local so I went for the chicken satay, which was excellent (came with peanut sauce for dipping, cucumber slices, onions, and white rice). Cost me about $3.50.
After venturing out of my hotel the next morning (Sunday morning), I almost immediately came across a Baptist church. I had no idea about service times, but I did see a couple people enter. I quickly followed, and saw a sign showing service times. The only English service of the day (there are about 6 services every Sunday) was at 9:30. It was 10:00. Close enough! Cool to praise the Lord with a bunch of Malaysians. The congregation (several hundred) looked to be mostly Malays and Chinese (Malaysia consists primarily of Malay, Chinese, and Indians). There were very few white people, and I’m sure I was the only person wearing shorts. Doh! I hadn’t planned on
Pavilion
The new high-end mall in Kuala Lumpur going to church but here I was. Loved it.
Afterwards, I spent most of the day walking around Bukit Bintang, and the many malls (Sungei Wang; BB Plaza; Lot 10; Pavilion; Low Yat). Lots of shops, but more importantly, lots of restaurants. 😊 I went to
Izzi (Indonesian chain with a mix of Italian and Asian foods) for lunch since they offered free wi-fi (I brought my laptop on this trip!). Reasonably priced with decent food.
For dinner, I checked out the hawker stalls. There is a street filled with them right near my hotel (Jalan Alor). These are mostly operated by Chinese vendors and the food is served on plastic picnic tables on the sidewalks and streets. I picked Meng Kee Grill Fish. Like most of the vendors on this street, they had picture menus. I asked for recommendations, and the lady suggested stingray or chicken fish (it's a fish, not a chicken - no idea where the name comes from). When pushed between the two, the lady suggested the chicken fish. They had 4 prices for this fish (20, 25, 30, 35 ringgits - between $6-11; based on size). I went with the smallest (which was
Meng Kee
Hawker stall on Jalan Alor actually pretty big. Check out the pics (before and after). This fish was excellent. No sauce necessary. I also ordered coconut milk (direct from a freshly opened young coconut). I like scrapping off the coconut flesh from the inside. The coconut milk tastes like sweetened water.
Today has been a little more of the same. Walking and eating. I plan on getting to bed early tonight. My flight to Manila, Philippines is at 7:20 a.m. tomorrow, and I have to leave my hotel at 5:00 a.m. Hmmm, that's a little too early.
Thanks for reading. Look! There goes Dave!
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