I left the Germans (and French) in Taman Negara and made my way to the boat stop to catch my boat/bus to Kuala Lumpur. While waiting for the boat I met a Dutch girl that I had met a bunch of times over the last couple of days. It turns out she was on her way to KL as well, so we travelled together.
After a 45 minute boat journey down the river we arrived back at the entrance to Taman Negara National Park, where we waited for our mini-bus.
The bus journey down to KL was fine. Nothing really much to talk about. I did get talking to a Chinese Malaysian who has been working for the UN for a few years, and is now retired. He gave me a lot of background information on the cultures and issues of Malaysia, particularly around the different ways of living for Malays, Chinese and Indians.
This is quite a contentious issue in Malaysia and not many people talk about it, so it is interesting to get a locals point of view.
When Miranda and I arrived in KL we were dropped off in Chinatown and took a walk to the guest house we had heard about. It was about a 10 minute walk out of Chinatown towards the Golden Triangle and actually quite a cute little guesthouse. We shared a dorm room with 3 other girls (It really is a tough life I live!). There was a Russian girl called Olesia, who had the deepest, sexiest Russian accent! There was also a Swiss girl and a Canadian girl.
The first night we arrived I took a walk out with Miranda and Sarah (I think that was her name), the Candian girl. We took a walk to China town to find some tasty street food for dinner. I ended up with Roasted Duck and rice. Very nice!
Miranda and I were pretty tired, so I said I was just going to head to the shopping mall to get some blank DVDs, to back up my photos, and also to look at compact cameras, to replace the one I lost on the Perhentian Islands. They decided to come with me anyway, so we took a walk to the mall. I got the DVDs, but needed to do a bit more research on the cameras. As I was tired I decided to head back, and the others did the same. I spent the rest of the evening talking to my room mates and backing up my photos to the DVDs.
I have been meaning to post my pictures home for about 2 months now, probably more.
If I lost my bags, I would be gutted.... even though most of them are up on this site, they are of reduced quality, so I really would be upset. Tomorrow.. Post office!
The next morning, I had some chores to do before heading out sightseeing. The very first thing I had to do was get to the Petronas Towers to pick up a ticket for later in the day.
They only issue a certain amount, and once they are gone for the day, that is it. So Olesia and I took a walk down to the towers and managed to get tickets for 4:30pm.
Olesia wanted to go to some caves just out of the city and I wanted to do my chores, so we arranged to meet up later in the afternoon.
For me, first port of call was the post office. Back on the Metro line. Now, the metro line in KL is not the most well organised of transport links! Each time you ride on a different line you have to buy a new ticket... and more often than not (in every case I remember) you have to exit the station, walk a block or so and then get onto the new line through a new station!
I got to the Post Office, packaged up my PADI Rescue Diver Manual and Photo DVDs and finally got them off in the post. At last.. my pictures are almost safe! (They will be safe when they get to my dads!)
I spent the next couple of hours just walking around the city centre, getting lost and figuring out where I was, which enjoy doing.
Being in the city is an odd feeling. And one that I don't think I particularly like. You feel like you are so much less there. Instantly you stop smiling, start rushing around, avoiding cars and motorbikes, eating in fast food restaurants and generally just feeling like you have a mission you have to achieve. After spending so much time on the Islands, over 2 months taking the Thai and Malaysian Islands into account, relaxing, doing nothing and being really happy with it... I actually felt lost. Feeling like I had to rush to something... but I had nothing to rush to. And when I tried to just stroll or sit down, I felt like I was in KL, I should be doing something or seeing something. Doing nothing was wasting time.... but was it really? I don't know. I guess not. If there is nothing I want to see, then why should I go see anything?! Weird. I am seeing cities in a whole new light and a lot of things about my life living in Reading (bored out of my mind) and London, when you ahve nothing to do, you actually start to feel depressed and that you should be doing something. That just doesn't exist on the Islands.. or in the Mountains to be fair!!
I am not sure if that all makes sense, just a bit of a brain dump on my part... but it certainly is solidifying just how much happier I am on a beach or in the mountains, compared to city living. Not a good sign, when I need to start working in London again in a couple of months!!
After walking around for a bit, I headed back to the IT Mall to look for this camera. I knew the one I wanted, but they didn't have it, so I looked at some alternatives. I finally decided on the Panasonic Lumix FX100. It seems like a very capable compact camera and it has taken some pretty decent shots so far.
I met back up with Olesia and we headed up the Petronas Tower. They make you wath a 10 minute infomercial before you go up to the 42nd floor walkway, connecting the two towers. I guess it is fair enough to watch their advertising, since the ticket hs not cover fee.
The towers were pretty cool, and the views of were nice, but I can't help feeling I have seen similar views in almost every city I go to with a tall building (most of them!).
I had had a call from an old friend of mine. A certain Mr Chris Burdett was in town at the same time as me. He arrived that day with his new wife (they were on their honeymoon... Congraulations guys!) and we arranged to meet for a beer that evening.
I went home, showered, cleaned myself up a bit and walked out to mee Chris. We were good friends back in the days of Sainsbury's (16-18 years old) and we figured it was almost exactly 10 years since we last spoke. But we still got on great, and it was awesome to catch up on what we have both been up to over teh last few years, and also to remember a few of our other old friends that we haven't seen in a while. It also brought with it, some of the most expensive drinks I have bought in SE Asia! At last, I am becoming a tight ass with my money!! Maybe from now on I can start to save some!
I was due to leave KL on the 8:30 train in the morning, and after a couple of half's the night before I ended up being 10 minutes late for my train! So, I missed it! Of course, this is me... and I am late for everything.. again, maybe only when in the city... or maybe it is just mornings) It wouldn't have mattered if I was on time though, it was fully booked, so was the next one at 2:45pm. The next available train was 10pm that night which would get me into Singapore about a day later than I planned. Bugger.. I didn't really have time for that as I was due to fly in a couple of days.
I took the Metro to the bus station and found a bus that was due to go at 3pm. I booked a ticket and then went back to my hostel to chill, watch some TV and do some internet stuff for a few hours.
When I got back to the bus station, it turned out to be the nicest bus I have ever been on (funny as it was called "Nice Bus") It had a TV screen for entertainment, they broght food and drinks and the seats even had a little foot rest, a bit like a Lazy Man Chair on a bus!
It was great. I got talking to a local Malay guy who was a jockey (the ones that race horses) and he told me about an accident he had a couple of years back, breaking a whole load of bones and causing him to loose his memory for about 2 months. Sounded terrible. Anywya, he was all good now, and a nice lad.
So.. here I am in Singapore!