Kuala Lumpur Part One

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The phone rang at 7:00am for our wake up call. It was hard to get out of bed and you really don’t realise how important it is to have a window in your room until you don’t have one. We quickly packed and threw on the clothes that I washed last night in the shower. They were still quiet damp but it had a cooling effect when you stepped out into the Singapore heat. We caught a taxi to Queen St. Bus terminal and tried to find somewhere to eat. It was the first time we actually had to put our packs on and carry everything on our back. With a quick swing of the pack it was on my back and I was doing up the straps. At first the pack felt very comfortable and 20kg’s of weight seemed to be effortless. We walked for around 10min and I soon started to realise that it wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. The pack started to get heavier and heavier. We found a little Chinese food market which are scattered pretty much on every corner. I could only eat a few mouthfuls and again I was full, so Dan finished it off for me. I am not sure what is happening but I don’t have an appetite. A few mouthfuls and I’m full. It is a bit sad when there is all this amazing food and I just don’t want to eat.

We got on the bus and started to head to KL. There was a elderly British gentleman, Paul, who was sitting across from us and he just starting talking about himself, where he had been, where he was going, and why he was going. He was very knowledgeable on the area because he lived in the area in the 60’s.
Within half an hour of being on the bus the driver pulled over on the shoulder of the road, we knew there was something wrong because you would not just pullover in the dangerous position we were in. We could hear the undercarriage doors opening and closing then the unmistakable sound of clanging tools as someone said the fan belt had broke. Half an hour later we were on our way again and we were both delighted to get through that hiccup. Within another half hour we were already at the border and needed to get off the bus check out of the country. The bus would meet us on the other side of the border. We lined up and got through customs then went down to get back on the bus. The driver said that the bus couldn’t go any further and we needed to wait for another bus to pick us up. We both shook our heads at each other and couldn’t believe our bad luck with transport.

We sat around for another fifteen minutes and the driver made us get back on the bus to cross the causeway and the bus would meet us on the other side. The traffic was bad going over and all the cars had to be stopped by security to see if they had more than half a tank of petrol. It seemed strange but apparently because the fuel is cheaper in Malaysia everyone was going over there for the day and filling up their tanks with fuel and bringing it back to Singapore. We started to realise how lucky we were not to have borders back home. We got to Malaysia and had to get off the bus again to check in our baggage and stamp our passports again. Once again we had to line up with our heavy bags and get back on the bus. But I guess we need to get used to the packs. Not even a week in and I am over the heavy packs already. Finally we made it to Malaysia and we were once again on our way.

The British man started to talk about the buildings we were driving past and sucking Dan in - he is always up for a chat! So I seized the moment, I put my head down and dozed off while I waited for KL to arrive.
Once in KL our first task is was to get to the backpackers hostel. We got off the bus and saw a hostel sign. A taxi driver saw us looking around and thought we were easy prey and proceeded to accost us. He offered his assistance and we shut him down pretty quickly. We wanted to get close to where the Belcher family were staying. Glen is a client of Dans who invited us to stay in his unit in KL. Having the backpacker mentality we soon took advantage of this offer and said yes. So the first thing we needed to do was to get a map and work out where we were and where we needed to go. By this time it was getting quite late and it was all too hard work out the public transport and find a hostel for the night. So we bartered a fare with a taxi driver, jumped in and headed to Mid Valley where the Belchers were staying. Once in Mid Valley we headed for the massive shopping centre which we knew was close to the Belcher’s apartment. We were easily influenced by the comfortable hotel they had in the centre and ended up blowing our budget for the night. Once settled in our room we gave the Belchers a call and organised to meet.

I think at this point I need to describe what the Belcher family and their hospitality meant to me. I think I have really enjoyed the last couple of days with this family because they are very reminiscent of my own. There was lots of noise, lots of laughs and lots of food. They helped us find our feet in a new city and we enjoyed many conversations. They more than happy for us to tag along and right from the start they were welcoming and made us feel a part of their family. So here is a shout out to all of you - thank you.

So the first night in KL we ate and laughed with the Belchers. We headed to an American food restaurant which is something that we normally wouldn’t choose. Lots of food was ordered and lots of laughs were had by all as the Belchers introduced us to KL. After dinner we headed back to our hotel and crashed.

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