Anyway, after grabbing a danish and coffee from Dunkin Doughnuts, I checked in. Checking in is always a little nervewracking for me. I always feel like something could go wrong. Then, of course, the check in counter person tells me, "I don't see your reservation." Pause. Then, "Haha, just kidding!" Not such a funny joke for 9 in the morning! Once I'd succesfully boarded my 11:30 flight, I was suprised at the seat colors. The seats were red, orange, green, and blue. I'd never been on such a colorful flight, and probably won't be for a very long time. Korean Air may have bumped me up to first class, but their plain blue seats weren't nearly as cool as these!
When we landed six and a half hours later, the temperature was 32 degrees. That was a big change, Incheon had snow on the runway! After getting a new stamp in my passport, I took the KLIA express train for exactly 28 minutes to Sentral Station in downtown Kuala Lumpur (KL). I know it was 28 minutes because the English announcement felt like this was such an important fact that they reminded the passengers twice about the time. The lady who made the recording was very excited about that I think.
Sentral Station was packed! It is the main hub in KL for trains, subway, monorail, and the KLIA express train. I lugged my bags around for a while looking for the monorail and tried my best to follow the signs. I couldn't find it, and a coach bus driver drove me right to the entrance of the monorail (which was over a block away, and I never would have found it) because it was on his way. I went just a few stops on the monorail to a neighborhood in KL called Bukit Bintang. Bukit Bintang is part of something called "The Golden Triangle." The three most popular parts of town are relatively close and it is where most of the action takes place. I stayed at the Red Palm hostel, which was quaint. The people at the hostel suggested I buy my ticket to get to Kuala Perlis ASAP because with it being Chinese New Year the next day, they may all be sold out. They wished me luck and whisked me out the door towards the bus terminal.
Whoa, they drive on opposite sides!
I think I've been lucky with bus transportation in Korea. They seem to have a good, smart, efficient system in place. One counter sells the tickets, there are numbered platforms, and the busses leave exactly on time. I just assumed that things would be the same in Malaysia. Boy, was I ever wrong! First, Puduraya Bus Station is the #1 place for pickpocketers in Malaysia. Second, I read in my City Spots-Kuala Lumpur guide later that "the week leading up to the two days of public holiday is a time when public transport out of the capital is fully booked..." If only I'd had read that sooner! Third, as you may have assumed, the place was so packed I could barely move.
There were tons of counters from which you could buy your tickets. I just started asking at random booths that said Kuala Perlis on them. Each one said "No." I must have asked at 5 different companies selling tickets. Eventually, I found one that said, "Tomorrow at midnight." Well, that's great, but I wanted to leave around 9 am. I had come to the realization by then though that there was no way that was going to happen. So I changed my travel plans and took what I could get, a 12am ticket.
My hostel was really nice about it though, they said I could leave my bags all day while I explore KL and that I could even shower before leaving. I emailed my hotel to let them know about my travel plans changing. Luckily everything worked out in the end, but at the time it was very stressful, because I had everything planned and lined up. Oh well.
After getting everything figured out, I explored Bukit Bintang a little more. I had some Thai curry and rice for dinner, which hit the spot. Korean curry isn't very "curry" like. This was a great change. I decided to walk to the Petronas Towers. They are the number one attraction in KL and look their best at nighttime. It was still 90 degrees at 9pm and about 90% humidity and after the 25 minute walk, I was so sweaty and gross. Ew. The towers are 88 storys high but they look taller than that. You can ride up to the viewing bridge on the 41st and 42nd floor for free, but didn't have time. I can imagine the view must be pretty good from the there.
Some observations I made during the day:
~There is a lot of diversity here. Aside from the tourists, about 44% of the population is Malay, and the remaining bits are equally split between Indian and Chinese. One of my tourist maps says "Malaysia is well know as a harmoius multi-racial nation, with 3 major ethnic groups, namely Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Each community is respecting each other's cultures, customs, and believes establishings single identity- MALAYSIAN" (Yes, that is exactly how it was written, but I think you get the point!)
~With the diversity comes a wide variety of clothing style. Some women were wearing shorts and tank tops, while others had their arms and legs covered and wearing pashimas, and other women were wearing all black with only their eyes showing. No matter what I was wearing though, the Indian men were always looking. It was slightly uncomfortable and reminded me of the Philippines, except I didn't have Joe this time.
~There is of course a wide varitey of food. Indian, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Western, and Muslim. There are also food stands selling durian, a popular fruit in SE Asia, known for its pungent smell.
~Signs written in different languages. In all my travels, I've never seen a sign like this before!
More pictures from KL:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2224371&id=59501140&ref=mf
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