This weekend we took a wonderful 2 day trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Now I say wonderful very loosely, and I would like to describe why in the form of a story:
Once upon a time, there was a man named Chris. One day, when Chris arrived at the train station for the last train to KL at 11:30pm, he realized that he left his passport back in his room which was a 30 minute cab ride away. The train left in an hour meaning that he would make it back just in time to watch the train pull out of the station. But Chris, he was a stubborn lad, he said "Nay!" and jumped into a cab. 30 minutes later, he jumped back into the same cab at his dorm with his passport, and said "Back to the station my good man!" but the cab driver said, "But lo Christoffe! The train willest be leaving in a mere 30 minutes and there is still immigration and the ticket line, we'll never make it." Our brave hero Chris then spake saying: "If you can get me there in half the time, I'll double the rate I pay you."
What then ensued was little short of the craziest cab ride I've ever had. I didn't know a cab could fit between two motorcyclists like that. But story doesn't end there. While my cab driver was awesome and cut a 30 minute drive in half (earning him $60), I arrived just in time to watch everything close up as the train began leaving. But I wasn't about to be stopped now. After finding the next station that the train would be at, I decided to make a run for it. The next station happened to be across the water... in Malaysia. Some random 3 minute bus ride, 2 hopped fences, and a sprint to the finish later; I ran through Malaysia customs and onto the train to KL, to the surprise of my entire group. Hence this picture.
After a wonderful night train (I recommend it for easy and cheap travel, though bring a blanket and headphones, it's a lot colder and louder than you'd think) we arrived in KL where we took off to see Batu caves before too many tourists arrived. The public transport in KL isn't bad, though its nothing compared to Singapore, which I am convinced is probably one of the greatest public transport systems in the world. The Batu Caves are beautiful on the outside and the steps are amazing, but the inside is fairly plain, you're only going to spend a little bit of time there if you go, but it's worth seeing.
(Batu Caves, Lots of Steps)
Another must-see are the Petronas Towers. While it does have a fee to travel all the way to the top, it's one of those things that you need to see in KL, even if it's just from the courtyard out front. There's also food and a mall inside the lobby, making it a great evening dinner spot. We were fortunate enough to get a great hostel in a prime location within walking distance of malls, food, and the towers. The hostel was wonderful as well, and we met some very friendly people who were staying there as well. It's called Sunshine Bedz, they're great people and I highly recommend it! Tell them Chris sent you and they'll look at you strangely and not do anything special for you. Or they might, I dunno, they were nice.
(Petronas Towers, hard to get in one picture)
The next day, before leaving we hit up one of the Mega-Malls in KL. And they are mega. There are hundreds of shopping areas in KL, and I definitely recommend a visit to "Mid Valley Mega Mall". There is a bunch of food, and shops from department store to designer and everything in between. There I was able to get a private designer vest for a great price thanks to the currency exchange and the saleswoman who was hitting on me. After asking mildly suggestive questions about myself and when I was leaving the city, she ended up giving me 20% off... because I spit mad game. We shopped for a few hours, ate some delicious food. I had a muffin, it was sub-par. And then we left!
Great trip overall! Except for the fact that I came directly back to a midterm at 9am and another that I should be studying for right now. But I haven't posted in a while and I needed to tell all my stories before I get more in Thailand!
We'll be heading to Thailand this Sunday and we'll be in Phuket and Bangkok all week, I look forward to telling you all about it when I get the chance!
Until next time!
(Hey, my title was relevant this time)
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