So this is where we left our last blog....We had just left rancid and scary Jakarta and touched down in a place called Johor Bahru in Malaysia. Rob and I were a little bit cautious at first as we had no idea what we were getting ourselves in for, with no map or directions in the LP, and after Indonesia we had learnt not to trust many people (the Indonesians don't even trust each other! Sooo much corruption!). So when we got off the plane we were more than shocked to find the lovely little Indian information desk lady not only drew us maps and told us everything we needed to know, she even went as far as to ring a hotel for us, organise a taxi, and tell us how to get to KL for the cheapest. Rob and I were more than a little surprised at this because in Indo that normally means you are being lead down the garden path, so cautiously we went to the hotel, only to find it exactly as she had said it to be! Surprised Rob and I checked in. We decided to get dinner so we go to this little Indian place that we were told was outside in the car park???? A little confused we go to the car park, low and behold – an Indian restaurant! Our conversation with the owner went along the lines of:
owner= yes you want food!!!
us= yes do you have a menu?
Owner= I tell you what you have. what you like?
Us= um, okay? Rob - vegetarian no chilli no nuts, Roh – meat, chilli and nuts..?!
owner= you sit down I bring.
2 min later we were eating some pretty awesome food and he didn't get it wrong either, ( we still have no idea on what we ate) and CHEAP!!
So the next day we set off on the 5 hour trek to Kuala Lumpur (expecting 8hr). And again, having no idea what to expect, were ecstatic to find a super delux coach!! And the trip was fantastic, no rubbish anywhere (this in itself was mind blowing) but also it was green everywhere with lots of trees and forest, it was fantastic (and only took 5hr!!) And people on Malaysian roads don't try to run each other off the road!
We were shocked when we got to KL, it again was something that we hadn't been prepared for! The city was clean, there were trees everywhere, they even have a 9 acre rainforest in the middle of the city!! And it's such an easy place to get around.
So we decided to head into Low Yat (a 6 story building full of electronics!!) and we think, “oh hahah wouldn't it be funny if we bought a laptop or something crazy! Haha.” funny thing, a few hours later, we walked out with a new laptop! Go figure! It's smaller than a portable dvd player and it's lighter than our lonely planet book! The upside to us now owning a laptop is that we get free wireless internet almost everywhere, we can now store photos to the computer, we can upload easier, use skype, and even burn pics to dvd! And we can watch movies as well!! The down side to owning a laptop is we now fit into the category of flash packers!! (although we are still in denial..)
So we spent the next 5 days wandering around the city, the Petronis towers ( highly overrated), national art gallery, the national mosque (Rob had to were a head to toe Burka gown that made her look like a purple smurf) and I even managed to be an extra in a Bollywood music video clip!! We cruised the markets at night, looking for great bargains but decided we weren't really in the market for Petronis tower cigarette lighters or laser pointers or novelty t-shirts or watches or brand name bags! KL is just fantastic, so diverse, cheap and friendly with everyone wanting to help you ( without trying to sell you something!)
After 5days the time came to leave KL and we were waiting at a bus stop/ 7 eleven/ phone shop and all of a sudden all hell broke out, some guy tried to pinch something from the shop so punches were being thrown while the theft is having his wallet raided to reimburse the shop for what he stole( even tho he didn't get to keep what he pinched) and then 2 old boys were having a meeting out back with one of the business owners and just as soon as the chaos out front finished, next thing the two old boys are throwing chairs at the owner and punching on like Anthony Mundine and Danny Green... I was laughing my arse off so much that I nearly fell off my seat! It was cruel, heads into walls, chairs snapping and all, but highly entertaining! The funny thing is that nobody went to help them, so they eventually wore themselves out and settled for plain old yelling at each other before going their separate ways... and they are our last memories of lovely old KL. I already miss that place!!
Written August 2008
owner= yes you want food!!!
us= yes do you have a menu?
Owner= I tell you what you have. what you like?
Us= um, okay? Rob - vegetarian no chilli no nuts, Roh – meat, chilli and nuts..?!
owner= you sit down I bring.
2 min later we were eating some pretty awesome food and he didn't get it wrong either, ( we still have no idea on what we ate) and CHEAP!!
So the next day we set off on the 5 hour trek to Kuala Lumpur (expecting 8hr). And again, having no idea what to expect, were ecstatic to find a super delux coach!! And the trip was fantastic, no rubbish anywhere (this in itself was mind blowing) but also it was green everywhere with lots of trees and forest, it was fantastic (and only took 5hr!!) And people on Malaysian roads don't try to run each other off the road!
We were shocked when we got to KL, it again was something that we hadn't been prepared for! The city was clean, there were trees everywhere, they even have a 9 acre rainforest in the middle of the city!! And it's such an easy place to get around.
So we decided to head into Low Yat (a 6 story building full of electronics!!) and we think, “oh hahah wouldn't it be funny if we bought a laptop or something crazy! Haha.” funny thing, a few hours later, we walked out with a new laptop! Go figure! It's smaller than a portable dvd player and it's lighter than our lonely planet book! The upside to us now owning a laptop is that we get free wireless internet almost everywhere, we can now store photos to the computer, we can upload easier, use skype, and even burn pics to dvd! And we can watch movies as well!! The down side to owning a laptop is we now fit into the category of flash packers!! (although we are still in denial..)
So we spent the next 5 days wandering around the city, the Petronis towers ( highly overrated), national art gallery, the national mosque (Rob had to were a head to toe Burka gown that made her look like a purple smurf) and I even managed to be an extra in a Bollywood music video clip!! We cruised the markets at night, looking for great bargains but decided we weren't really in the market for Petronis tower cigarette lighters or laser pointers or novelty t-shirts or watches or brand name bags! KL is just fantastic, so diverse, cheap and friendly with everyone wanting to help you ( without trying to sell you something!)
After 5days the time came to leave KL and we were waiting at a bus stop/ 7 eleven/ phone shop and all of a sudden all hell broke out, some guy tried to pinch something from the shop so punches were being thrown while the theft is having his wallet raided to reimburse the shop for what he stole( even tho he didn't get to keep what he pinched) and then 2 old boys were having a meeting out back with one of the business owners and just as soon as the chaos out front finished, next thing the two old boys are throwing chairs at the owner and punching on like Anthony Mundine and Danny Green... I was laughing my arse off so much that I nearly fell off my seat! It was cruel, heads into walls, chairs snapping and all, but highly entertaining! The funny thing is that nobody went to help them, so they eventually wore themselves out and settled for plain old yelling at each other before going their separate ways... and they are our last memories of lovely old KL. I already miss that place!!
Written August 2008
