Hello Malaysia
July 1, 2008
After many ups and downs in Thailand, I was actually quite sad to leave. I had come to understand the place so much better since I arrived, and although I still don’t like certain aspects of it, I can at least be comfortable there now. The people are not like anything we have at home, and if this level of friendliness keeps up whilst I travel, I’ll find it quite difficult to deal with the indifference on Melbourne’s streets when I return.
I landed in KL through quite a turbulent sky, and discovered once we were under the clouds that it was absolutely pouring. Phuket was only an hour away and was magnificent when we left.
On arriving I found the place to be very modern and clean. The trains are easy to use, and their paper money is very similar to ours. I took an express to KL Sentral where I met two of my many hosts whilst in KL. The free internet in Starbucks made up for the bad coffee, which to be fair is the best coffee I’ve had since leaving home.
Exploring the shopping complex in the Petronas Twin Towers (tallest twin towers in the world) led me to a shop I’ll have to return to later. Malaysia’s electronics prices seem to be cheaper than even Bangkok, or from what I am told, Hong Kong. I am very likely to pick up a pocket-size waterproof camera for those upcoming typhoons once the big Malaysia sale starts next week.
Outside the towers, and over a cold beer (which doesn’t stay cold long in this heat, so I have to drink instead of talk) I noticed a couple of guys that I thought were fishing with nets in the large pond.
They were, in fact, cleaning the pond on their daily schedule. A few minutes later on went the fountain.
Eventually I jumped on the overnight sleeper train to Butterworth, Penang. I left at 8:45pm and arrived at 6am. I was supposed to share a cabin, but the other passenger didn’t turn up. I’m thankful for that because there was barely room for my luggage, let alone another person. It was tough to sleep because this train is not a smooth one. There were many times when it felt like it was about to rock out of it’s tracks! I also ripped the two things I bought in Bangkok – shorts and cabin luggage. That will teach me for buying cheap things. The shorts ripped on the cabin ladder as I made one of many trips down to answer a knock on the door. The staff don’t seem to want you to sleep at all, and the train stops at every station along the way. I was advised that the other passenger could get on at any time, so I really couldn’t fall asleep.
