I loved my time in Penang but i couldn’t stay there any longer, i had been feeling the need to settle somewhere for a while for a few weeks now. Melbourne and its friendly faces, beautiful beaches and food culture were calling like sirens to me.
And the award for best Christmas display 2014 goes to… Queenstown Bay Mall!
A trip to Kuala Lumpur lay ahead, the cheapest and quickest way to get down to Melbourne. Now super keen to make planes, trains and automobiles on time i got to the coach stop 4 hours early “just in case” I know, i know! This is from someone who is used to sauntering into T5 and walking straight through on a regular basis… But it’s OK as there was a shopping centre there to keep me amused. It was quite a big one, but not really to my taste, and more importantly carrying ability! I cannot fit a single extra thing in my suitcase and any extra shopping would require a sacrifice or posting. Something which is going to get infinitely more expensive when i get to Australia. So my quest was to find a small gift for Katie when i get to Geelong, that’ll be nice maybe a nice Christmas decoration or stocking. Christmas decoration spotting was a challenging game though. It was mostly cheaply produced tat from China seemingly bought in as a spectacle than for anyone to actually put in their house! There was nothing that i felt remotely comfortable presenting as a gift. So i settled myself in to watch the Christmas fashion show, showcasing all the latest in wool and ski jackets, perfect for Malaysian winter! The Queenstown Bay Mall did have the best Christmas display that i have seen so far in Asia though. So congratulations, you have won my arbitrary prize! Not a snoopy figurine in sight, what’s that all about Bangkok?!
KL gave me a little kick, in more ways than one. On the journey I was tired and didn’t appreciate the constant questions from people “Do you always travel on your own?” and my favourite “Is your husband coming to meet you?” He may be on his way right now, you never know… (I need to think of a witty reply to that one, let me know if you have any suggestions. My brain always fails me!) The questions were incredulous, curious, and occasionally coming across as downright rude. I felt like i was being interrogated. I know it’s not normal in a predominantly Muslim country to have women knocking around on their own, but just leave me be i’m not doing anyone any harm. I’ve been on a bus for 5 hours and i got up at sunset, i’m busy being half asleep. And i just want to get to where i need to be in one piece.
Arriving in one piece seemed unlikely at times. It was fine if i didn’t pay attention to the road, the coach driver was driving as if he was escaping from some sort of police chase, accelerating madly and then breaking suddenly in the rain and traffic etc. I found myself flinching as we sped around corners and overtook people in the fast lane. I closed the curtain and lost myself in daydreams instead, a much safer and sweeter way to pass the time! Ignorance is bliss, i’d find out soon enough if the bus was going to fall over, i think i was the only person on the bus who did their seatbelt up. I am such a geek.
The bus as recommended by the hotel manager in Penang was super spacious and comfortable (Arrow line, if you ever make the journey) after a while I settled into my super soft reclining chair and plugged in to watch some movies while watching the landscape slip past me from the top deck and ignoring the traffic below. If you don’t have too weak a stomach it’s a highly recommended way to get from Penang to KL as it was quicker and cheaper than trekking across to the airport on the island and the into the city at the other end.
I did make it to the city in one piece in all eventuality, only about half an hour late in the end. By that time I just wanted to get to the hotel and relax, arriving in a city is my best and worst part of travel. I was in awe of the place as we drove in watching the suburbs unfold into the bright lights of the city. But then I hate the vulnerability of having everything on me at once, so i was keen to get moving quickly. I expected there to be cabs when i got off the bus in Kuala Lumpur as it stopped outside a hotel and it’s a regularly scheduled stop so there were bound to be some enterprising taxi drivers that must hang out there to pick up the coach fares right? Oh no, not today as there was a Police roadblock just before the stop pulling random cars over, looking at the state of most of the taxis in the city they wouldn’t pass whatever check they were doing so they were veering right past.
“It’s OK” i thought, “i’ll ask the hotel concierge to flag one down for me”
“Yes of course madam”
10 minutes later, still no taxi when i realise his process was just to stand about 15 yards away from me, still in the hotel grounds and wait for one to come into the drive way. Not very helpful at all really, i was already doing that! One finally came in, and wanted to charge me a flat rate of 30 ringit, i knew this was a massive overcharge as it’s only round the corner. So i
Late night views of KL from the sky bar at aloft
said no. I wasn’t tired enough to let that trick be played, I’m tired of being seen as a walking cash machine to people, it seems to be endemic. The next one that came in, i told him “meter only” and he was fine with that charging me only 11 ringit… he got a tip for being honest and helpful and somehow managing to get me there in one piece despite seeming to think that he was a stand in for Lewis Hamilton at an F1 race..
It was around 22:30 when i finally got into my hotel, the very helpful receptionist at aloft told me where everything was including the sky bar. “Excellent, It’s been a long day i’m off there.” i said Dinner comprised of 2 glasses of Sauvignon Blanc and some mixed nuts as i gazed at the hazy skyline of Kuala Lumpur against the glittering lights of the city. It was way too late for dinner and the bus had come in under the lights and glory of the Petronas towers so i didn’t feel the need to go and see them again. It’s a tower block, i am never going to look at that photo again! So no posing for me, just a chilled out evening catching up with Europe on whatsapp over a glass of wine before i made the hop to the big island at the bottom of the planet.
I stayed up way too late into the night chatting so was tired again when i woke up (I do myself no favours sometimes) fretting about arriving in Oz and various things unfolding in Europe. I was nervous of all these stories you hear about the border officials in Australia, “what if i did something wrong on the form etc?” So I left ridiculously early again for my super easy
journey to KL airport, checking my luggage in at the train station before i left the city. One of the perks to flying Malaysia airlines! Before hopping on what was billed as the “fastest train in South East Asia” i’m not sure that there is much competition for that title though when you compare it to most of the chugging trains i have been on in the last few weeks.
The flight was fine, very empty and with some of the most attitude filled flight attendants i have ever come across. I didn’t expect Malaysian airlines business class to be quite like BA but they were hilarious. Everything was done with a snap and a hip flick, it was entertaining but a bit annoying at the same time. That’s not what you pay for! Oh wait, i didn’t actually pay for it it was courtesy of my Avios… I just sat quietly and enjoyed my big comfy seat, taking on more and more red wine just to annoy the air hostess who was looking at me more and more disparagingly every time i said yes to a top up.
Before i knew it was being cajoled awake by the rainbow shadowed flight attendant and thrust my breakfast. I couldn’t face it, after being rudely awoken from sweet dreams i was not in the mood for a rubbish meal. The cake lady turned down food so it must have been a bad state of affairs! Watching the landscapes change on the last leg across the south of Australia kept me entertained and slightly more smiley. All the while feeling like i had left my heart in Asia, what was Australia going to bring that could beat that experience? I was more than a little apprehensive when i touched down in Melbourne… suddenly realising exactly how far away from home i was.
A very pensive Cake lady signing off to touch down in Melbourne
Baci a tutti x x x
