Malaysia

3 May 2007
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
                The train stopped at what we thought was the KL-Central station, so we got off the train.  After getting off the train, we thought to look at a map to see exactly where we were.  Right as it clicked that we were not at KL-Central, the train we were just on began rolling away.   The station we were at was about an hour outside of where we were supposed to be.  Luckily we were right at the end of the subway/train line into KL and the people working at the station let us jump on the subway for free. 
                We got off the train and walked around the station for about 10 minutes looking for a map.  Then after asking two different people directions we left the station and head to the monorail station across the street.  We bought tickets to Bukit Bintang station and got on to the nicely air conditioned monorail. 
                The monorail arrived at our stop about 15 minutes later.  Following the online directions we found our hostel about 5 blocks from the monorail and checked in.  The time was now about 4:30pm and all we had eaten was a bit of greasy fish friend rice we had shared on the train.  There was a Finnegan’s Pub we had passed earlier, this sounded perfect.  We unloaded our bags and walked back up to the pub.
                The menu was pretty standard for a pub at Finnegan’s, except for the beer.  A pint of beer was 17RM (Malaysia money).  This was a little over $5US, but according to the book, this is a very Muslim country and beer is very expensive (and also a sin).  We had had a long day and a beer was just what we needed.  Doug ordered a club sandwich, Anna ordered a grilled veggie cheese sandwich, we each got a pint of beer, and chicken wings to share.  Our stomachs were empty and by the time we left they were very full.
                After dinner we walked around for a while, just to see what we were close to.  Then went back to the hostel to take much needed showers and turn in for the night.

4 May 2007
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
                The morning started around 7:30am.  We got ourselves cleaned up and went out of the room to have our “free” breakfast.  The free breakfast was toast and corn flakes.  The butter at least tasted like butter at this place and they also had jelly. 
                After breakfast we started walking to the Petronas towers (formerly the tallest building in the world, but still the tallest “twin towers”).  The big sky tower (a needle like the one in Seattle…and Auckland…and Sydney) has a fee to go up in, but the famous Petronas Twin towers from the movie “Entrapment” is free to visit the Sky Bridge.  In order to go up you have to go stand in line around 8:00am or so to get tickets.  We arrived at the towers around 8:45am and the line was huge.  Not even sure if we would get tickets we stood in line.  After about 20 minutes, the guy behind us went to ask if he would even get tickets to go up.  Thankfully they were counting the people in line and we were assured to receive tickets.  Another 20 minutes went by and we received tickets to go up at 5:00pm.  This wasn’t too bad.  The time frame gave us enough time to go explore the city and come back. 
                Outside the Petronas towers Doug went to take a photo of the towers and realized the lens on the Canon would not focus.  The lens was broken (the inside cylinder was misaligned with the outside cylinder).  Gosh, this wasn’t good.  We had only had the camera about 2-months and it was already broken.  We went back to the hostel to get some more information on where to go.  The guy at the hostel told us to go to a certain shopping center not far away that might be able to repair it.  This was worth a try.
                The shopping center was about a 10 minute walk away.  The first photo shop we went into said it could not be fixed in the city.  The second shop said it would have to be sent back to Canon, but it could be fixed.  The price to fix it would be around $290RM (almost $100USD).  But he had another solution.  Someone had purchased the exact same camera minus the lens a while ago.  He offered to sell us a new better lens for only $399RM ($126USD).   Not a bad deal.  We pondered the new purchase for a minute, and decided to go with it.  (Later Doug checked Amazon for the same lens and found it was selling at $175USD, chock one up for the good guys!)
                With this all figured out it was time to eat.  The morning toast would only last so long.  Chinatown sounded like fun, so we bought monorail tickets to the station nearest to Chinatown and got on.  The station was only a couple blocks away.  We made our way to the shops and began walking.  The vendors weren’t too bad with the harassment but still bad enough.  We walked for a while glancing at things.  Finally we came to an Asian food court.  The luck with these food courts was pretty good so far, so we went in to view the menus.  Doug ended up ordering a spicy chicken noodle dish and unsure Anna went to a buffet style vendor.  The food was good and very cheap.  Our meal including drinks came to only $16RM, just over $5US.
                After lunch we headed towards the bird sanctuary and orchid garden.  We walked and walked.  The bird farm ended costing more than we had liked for the one hour we could spend there, so we decided against it.  But the orchid garden was only 1RM, nice and cheap.  We walked around the garden for about 45 minutes looking at all the plants and then walked out.  On our walk back to the Petronas towers we saw some monkeys climbing over the fence out of the bird sanctuary, across the street, up a tree, and onto a nearby building.  This was so cool, just watching the monkeys doing their thing outside of a zoo.  After a few minutes we continued our walk.
                It took us at least another hour of walking before we were near the towers again.  The time was now 4:00pm.  We were hot, sweaty, and thirsty.  There was a Coffee Bean nearby, so we went in and ordered two milkshake type drinks.  The air conditioning felt amazing.  Our feet needed a break and our bodies needed cooling off.  Soon we left for the towers, arriving just in time.
                They had room at the 4:45pm time slot so we were able to go a little earlier.  There was a video shown first about the towers and their makings.  Then we went up the elevator to about the 41st floor.  There are 88 floors in the towers.  It was neat to see where some of the movie Entrapment was filmed and also see the city.  The group was only allowed 10 minutes and then it was time for the next group. 
                We walked out of the elevator and into the gift shop.  Anna wanted to get some round souvenir gift playing cards.  Then we walked outside and did the tourist photos of the towers.  They are truly very tall.  Then it was back to the hostel, it was time for a rest, and showers.
                Doug went to get some dinner around 9:30pm.  He came back with Pizza Hut.  The medium pizza, bread sticks, and two sodas cost only $8US.  This was even with him giving away some cole slaw to some other tourists.

5 May 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
                After getting cleaned up and getting breakfast we set off to find the bus station.  We wanted to get bus tickets to Penang for the following day.  We took the monorail and a train to get near the main long distance bus station and found a ticket booth right in the terminal.  We booked our tickets for 9am the next day.
                Next we wandered around looking for (and found) a bus stop that would take us to the Batu Caves.  There was no mistaking the Batu Caves as our bus pulled up.  There was a 43 meter tall gold (colored) statue at the foot a large stair case leading up into the entrance to a cave.  As we approached the cave we stopped in to watch a movie about the caves and Malaysia.  Apparently once a year these caves are the site for a massive religious ceremony where people perform various masochistic acts as a sign of devotion.  Some examples we saw on the video were people that pierced their checks or tongues with what looked like a kebob, or they would attach a bunch of fish hooks to their back or chest and on the other end were cups or leashes (forgive us if we haven’t got this exactly correct).  There were also many none painful acts performed that involved carrying flowers or other religious structures up the 272 steps to the mouth of the cave.
                Unlike the crowd in the movie, today was nice and calm (nobody was piercing anything that we saw).  We headed up the 272 stairs to the mouth of the cave.  Inside were a number of Hindu statues and shrines.  Amazingly the cave once inside opened up even higher.  The cave by itself was very impressive.  Further inside the cave we descended down some stairs and walked a bit further to another small set of stairs that went up to the bottom of where the cave opened up directly above us.  We took some more photos and headed on back to the city.
                In the city we found the Central Market and found a food court up stairs.  Doug found a sizzling spicy chicken dish (noticing a theme?) and Anna decided to try a Petai chicken dish.  Doug thought his was a bit bland and Anna thought hers was…edible.
                We continued to shop around and then took a scenic route back towards our hostel.  Once we arrived we did some journal entries and took showers.
                For dinner we settled on a favorite of Doug’s, Nando’s.  Anna has repeatedly tried eating there but never has acquired the taste for it that Doug has.  Today however would be the first time she would try the Lemon and Herb flavored chicken.  Despite Doug drooling over his Extra Hot ¼ chicken, Anna force fed herself most of her chicken.  Doug gladly finished it for her.  To be fair, Anna did really enjoy the potato salad.
                Our next stop was the cinema, Iron Man was showing for 11RM each (about $7 USD for two tickets total).  Both of us were surprised that we enjoyed it as much as we did.  For desert we stopped by a Coffee Bean and grabbed a slice of Berry Mousse to take back to the room.

6 May 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
                The alarm went off at 7 am.  We packed up and headed to the Monorail along with the other train and arrived at the bus station with about 45 minutes to spare.  Anna found some breakfast for us and soon we were on the bus headed north to Penang.
                The bus was a bit roomier than the buses we were accustomed to in Central and South America.  It only had three seats across instead of the usual four.  This allowed for slightly wider seats.  However, this bus did not feature a toilet in the back (a standard for 99% of Latin America long distance buses).  Also they had a TV set up for movies but never turned it on (also a standard for Latin America).
                We arrived at a bus stop on the island of Penang just off shore of Northern Malaysia.  We needed to get to Georgetown because it would allow us easy access to a ferry that would take us to another island the next day.  We pushed our way through taxi drivers to a public bus stop and waited for a bus.  One arrived shortly later and took us to the outskirts of China town for the grand total of $1 USD.  We walked a bit and found our hostel.  They gave us the choice of three rooms and we dropped our stuff off.  Downstairs we were happy to discover that they could book the ferry tickets for us saving us a walk down to the dock.
                Out on town we looked for a place to find a small meal since we hadn’t really had much to eat.  Most places were closed (being that it was 3:30 pm and in between lunch and dinner).  We came across a small café that sold grilled cheese sandwiches.  We both ordered up a sandwich and a liter of beer.  The sandwiches were good and the beer was excellent.  On the way back to the room we grabbed some ice cream.
                After getting a little rest, we headed back out for dinner.  The lady at the front desk recommended that we go to this place called the Red Garden.  It was a food court dominated by Japanese food stands with some other places mixed in.  Doug had a teriyaki chicken dish and Anna had her first green curry dish of the trip so far.  The curry was quite good as was teriyaki chicken.  Before we could go back we had to wait for a heavy rain storm to pass.

7 May 2008
Georgetown/Langkawi, Malaysia
                The cell phone alarm-clock went off at 6:30am.  We both just lay there for another 20 minutes and then got up.  It was easy to pack our things being, nothing was really unpacked.  With our bags in place on our bags, we went downstairs, and checked out of the Love Lane Inn. 
                The ferry dock was only a 10 minute walk away.  Walking to the ferry it began to rain.  This reminding us once again to make sure we get covers for our backpacks so our clothes don’t get wet.  Arriving at the ferry dock we joined the rest of the passengers underneath an awning.  There were some seats to relax in.  The ferry left promptly at 8:15am.  To pass the time during the almost 3 hour journey there were two movies played.  The first was the new Rambo, and the second was a cheesy racing movie called “Red Line.”
                The island of Langkawi was bigger than we had expected.  The ferry arrived on time.  And just as the book said there were people waiting for the ferry to assist, or hassle passengers who needed accommodation, taxis, rental cars and scooters.  We waded through these people finally getting through to a woman who handed us a free map of the island.  We were hoping the book was lying to us about there being no public transportation on the island, but it wasn’t.  Shortly another taxi driver approached us.  Anna asked how much it would be to the area of the island we needed to go to.  Surprisingly the taxi driver bid under what the book suggested we pay.  This was a first and we accepted his offer. 
                The driver took us right to Zackry’s Guesthouse.  We check in with whom we later found out was Zackery’s wife.  She was straight forward with all the rules and showed us the room.  The room came with a bathroom, two big towels, two blankets, and there was free Wi-Fi.  What more could we ask for.  Oh, the beers were only $2.5RM.  This is only about $0.75USD.  Perfect!!  And much better than the $17RM we were paying in KL. 
                After getting all settled in, and dropping off our laundry, we wandered over to the Cactus Café for some food.  Neither of us had had anything to eat yet and we were starving.  Doug ordered a banana pancake and Anna, with eyes bigger then her stomach, ordered a breakfast combo (eggs, toast, potatoes, fruit, chicken sausages).  Doug had to assist in the consumption of her food.  Next we wandered into town and the nearby shops. 
                About 2 hours later we went back to the room and had showers.  The guesthouse had a list of DVD’s to choose from.  Doug chose the movie The Last King of Scotland.  Not a happy movie, but very informative.  It was about a former President/Dictator of Uganda back in the 70’s.  For dinner we decided to try a nearby place called Fat Mum’s Chinese Seafood restaurant.  Doug ordered a chicken chili onion dish and Anna got her green curry.  This was one of the best meals we have had on our trip.  The price was right; the chef even came out of the kitchen, and spoke to each of her guests.  We loved the food, the service, and the atmosphere.  After dinner we headed back to the room to watch a more “happy” movie Borat.  Neither of us had seen this movie that everyone has raved about. 

8 May 2008
Langkawi, Malaysia
                The day began around 8:00am.  After getting cleaned up we decided to go back to the Cactus Café for breakfast.  This time Doug ordered a “Big” banana pancake and Anna ordered French toast.  Doug’s banana pancake was really not that big, and didn’t taste as good as the day before.  Anna’s French toast was delicious.  After breakfast we walked to a nearby convenience store who rents out mopeds, motorcycles, bicycles, and cars.  Anna talked Doug into renting a moped for $25RM, or $8USD.  This was a steal.  Anna had never been on a moped before.  We thought this would defiantly be an adventure. 
                With a map in hand we headed out.  We looked like a version of the two guys from Dumb and Dumber.  They even gave us the funny looking helmets.  We probably didn’t go over 75km/hr, or about 45mph the whole time.  After about an hour we came to a small touristy village and decided to check it out.  There wasn’t too much to look at that was out of the ordinary from all the other touristy stores, so we left.  Close by there was a waterfall we could walk to.
                The moped was parked and we paid the small parking fee of 1RM.  The walk up to the waterfall was short and steep.   It was pretty to see.  Then a small walk further up we came to the Seven Wells.  This is essentially part of the waterfall but on the top, and there was a small view.  We hung out here for about 15 minutes then headed back.
                We continued around the island for another hour looked at everything until it started to sprinkle harder and harder.  This is when we decided to head back.  Neither of us had brought any rain gear.  Riding a scooter isn’t so pleasant in the rain.
                Arriving back at the room we took showers and relaxed for a while.  For dinner we decided to try another place hoping the food would be just as good.  This restaurant had traditional Malay food.  There was a sign at the entrance that they don’t serve alcohol but you can bring your own.  We then went across the street to a convenience store and bought 4 beers for $2RM each.  Doug ended up ordering a Thai pepper chicken dish and Anna got greet curry.  We asked them to make Doug’s dish really spicy.  They must of have gotten the spicy dishes mixed up.  Anna’s curry was close to too hot for her to enjoy, and Doug’s dish was very mild.
                After dinner we went back and bought 4 more beers.  These were cheaper than the price at the guesthouse.  Doug chose two movies, Apocalypto and the Incredibles.  Sadly the Apocalypto movie had a big scratch down the middle, so we were only about to get into the first 30 minutes of the movie.  But the Incredibles movie was good. 

9 May 2008
Langkawi, Malaysia
                The scooter needed gas before we could return it.  We both hopped on and went a couple KM up the road until we found a place.  We decided to put in the equivalent of about $2USD and that turned out to be more than enough (gas here is about $0.60 USD a liter).
                Next we set off for a phone booth so Anna could make some calls to friends and family.  When we were done Anna tried taking the scooter out solo.  The parking lot we were in was virtually abandoned because Friday is a holiday on the island.  The only people around was a couple from Australia who watched Anna with interest as she tried driving a scooter for the first time.  They chatted with Doug about the island since they had just arrived.  Anna brought the scooter back over (and even restrained the urge to do a wheelie in the process) and joined the conversation.  After a few minutes we said our goodbyes and Doug took over driving responsibility.
                We did a short tour on the scooter before returning it back to the rental place.  Then we wandered next door for breakfast at the Cactus Café.  This time we both had French toast and it was quite good.
                Back at our rooms we gathered up our beach stuff because the sun was making its first appearance since we arrive in Langkawi.  We picked our spot at the beach, did some reading and relaxing all the while clouds threatened to close in from around us.  A couple times lonely rain drops would find their way to us and eventually we decided to leave.             We weren’t back in the room to long when a big shower hit.
                It was time to do another website upload.  The Batu Caves and Langkawi needed to be added.  Then it was time for dinner.  We headed back to Fat Mum’s restaurant and ended up ordering the exact meal we had two nights before and thankfully it didn’t disappoint.  Anna’s curry was fantastic and Doug’s chicken with dried chilis was a tie for the best meal he has add at a restaurant while on this trip (the other was in San Cristobal, Mexico).
                After dinner it was back to the room for a movie (Vantage Point) and sleep.

10 May 2008
Langkawi, Malaysia
                Our alarm went off at 7:30 am.  We put our stuff together, checked out and waited on the side of the road for a taxi.  A mini-van finally came by and brought us to the ferry dock.  The driver neglected to tell us the tickets were across the street and we went barreling into the terminal looking for them.  We got all the way to the waiting area for the ferry to Thailand and asked a British guy where the tickets were and he told us he bought them from a guy in a white shirt.  We headed back up and ran into a guy with a white shirt and he told us to go to the KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken).  We went to the restaurant and saw that the ticket booths were behind it. 
                Tickets in hand we went back to the waiting area.  Anna headed off for drinks and seconds later the doors to Malaysia immigration opened up and everybody piled inside.  Anna came back with an ice coffee and a root beer for Doug.  Immigration stamped us out and we found our way to the ferry.
                We found some seats and Anna was introduced to “Bollywood.”  Bollywood is Indian cinema and consists mostly of musicals that involve elaborate costumes and a variety of locations.  While the TV was cranking out the Indian music video we chatted with a couple from England who was doing a two week vacation in Malaysia but decided to head to Thailand because they hadn’t seen the sun yet.
                Soon the boat departed and we were on our way to Thailand.

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