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Monday June 16, 2008 4pm - Or as you people at home think of it, 4am (I'm living twelve hours ahead of you!). It has been a long time getting here, both in the planning and in the notoriously long plane ride. I left West Palm on Saturday at 10am on a flight to Atlanta. In Atlanta, I was concerned as there was nowhere to actually go through passport control. They just let you pass straight on, or so it seemed. As I waited I noticed everyone around me was Asian. I boarded my flight to South Korea, which lasted 14.5 hours. It was long, and somewhat warm, which was hard to deal with. I thought I would be freezing. I also remember booking a window seat, yet somehow managed to get stuck in the middle of the plane. Worst seat ever. I did manage to watch four movies on the movies on demand, which was nice. I have trouble sleeping on planes so it was a nice diversion. I also ate several meals, all Muslim. I forgot that I had specially ordered the Muslim meal, as I heard they were good and I thought it appropriate as I was flying
to a Muslim country. Unforunately, it meant I missed out on the Korean dish. Even more unfortunate, I realized as I boarded my (third) flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that I left my fleece jacket on the plane to Korea. My favorite one! No luck finding it thus far.
Once I arrived in KL, I tried to get some cash from the ATM, but it was down. So were the other six! So I had to change some money over, something I had reserved more for an emergency as I hadn't brought that many dollars with me. I bought a ticket on the train that takes you to the town center, and then had to catch a cab to the hostel - it was 1:30am. Luckily someone shared the cab so it was a little cheaper. I got there and somewhat remember it from last time, though I can't be sure, since it's been five years. Since I was arriving so late I had made a reservation, very unusal for me. The man checked me in and then showed me to my dorm. It was a room for six girls and it was full. The weird part was that
you had to go through another room of smelly boys to get there. The best part was that it was air conditioned (at night), and was therefore wonderful. I had a top bunk, not my favorite, but I got it set up and tried to get some sleep. Overtired and therefore difficult for me.
When I woke up it was Monday. I went to the rooftop for breakfast and planning. I have already been to KL so I wasn't interested in site seeing. I did some work for a couple hours, trying to figure out how I would spend my time in Indonesia. When I was ready to find an ATM, it started to pour. So I took a short nap instead, listening to my new ipod Shuffle that Ashley so sweetly bought me for my trip (she thinks mine would weigh me down, being so old and heavy). After the rain let up I chatted with some of the boys in the next room and then went for a short walk. I bought a bus ticket to Malaka for the next day (where I would board my boat to Indonesia), found some money, and indulged in the air
con bank where the ATM was. It is mad hot here - I can't even explain it. I sweat constantly and without fail. Disgusting. Then I wandered around Chinatown, where I am staying, until I found the hostel again. I new it couldn't be too far!
Back there I took another nap and slept from 4-7pm. What a mistake - how would I ever sleep at night? When I woke up I met Trish, an 18 yr old traveling around on her own as well, and we had dinner. She left that night for a diving island, and I switched beds so I could have a bottom bunk. After dinner I had a cold shower and gleefully stayed inside in the sweet sweet cold air while chatting with my roommates from Malaysia, Japan, and Italy. I also met Andy, an American from Boston who had just arrived.
I went to sleep at midnight and slept a whole 4 hours before I woke up again. Listened to some music and then opened up the travel guide once it was light enough to read again. Went to breakfast upstairs again and had a traditional "Western" breakfast - egg, toast, hotdog, and baked beans. Uh huh. Andy came up for breakfast then and we got to chatting. He had been thinking of flying to Thailand for two days until his girlfriend arrived, but he ended up deciding to come with me to Malaka instead. Two hours bus for $3 instead of a flight for $250. Yay for good choices!
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