Tag Archives: Kuala Lumpur

Lounging in Langkawi and missed connections in KL

Asia September 13, 2013 Leave a comment

The ferry ride to Langkawi was excruciatingly long. In reality it was only 3 hours, but the choppy waves made for some really seasick passengers. Three hours of listening to people toss their cookies into plastic bags is way longer than anyone needs to sit through (especially if you might be hungover).

We finally made it to the dock (both Shan and I managed to keep our breakfast in our tummies) and couldn’t wait to get to the beach. We fought our way through the crowds of people exiting the ferry and made our way over to the taxi stand. We pointed to the strip of beach on a map that would be our home for the next few days and were off.

Langkawi is an island off the northwestern coast of Malaysia and is super close to Thailand (just a short ferry ride away). It’s a vacation island for many of the locals, and the white sand beaches and warm waters were perfect. We spent a couple days lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean.

Pantai Cenang - the beach where we spent most of our time in Langkawi

Pantai Cenang – the beach where we spent most of our time in Langkawi

After a couple days, we were as relaxed as we could be so we decided to book some cheap flights from KL to Yogyakarta (thank goodness for Low Cost Carriers – what up Air Asia!) and planned on taking the overnight bus back down to KL. On paper, our plan was flawless. We had booked a 10am flight, and had arranged an overnight ferry/bus combo that would get us to Kuala Lumpur at about 6am – leaving us the perfect amount of time to take the train to the airport.

Well guess what? It didn’t work out that way. We made the ferry to bus connection alright, but somehow overnight the bus didn’t make the time it should have. Every time Shannon or I woke up, the bus was stopped at a gas station or for a break. It didn’t seem like we were ever moving. Around 8am, when we were stuck in early morning traffic trying to push our way into downtown KL, we started to get concerned and devised a plan to grab a quick cab to the airport. Around 9am our hopes started to fade and reality set in.

Arriving at the bus station with only half an hour before our flight was to take off, we knew there was no way that we were going to make it. Defeated, we decided to head back to the hostel where we had stayed at the beginning of our trip for a nap and a shower.

Kuala Lumpur Tower from the roof of our hostel (with the Petronas Towers in the background)

Kuala Lumpur Tower from the roof of our hostel (with the Petronas Towers in the background)

The missed flight was actually a blessing in disguise. It gave us a day to rest, do some laundry and re-organize ourselves. I had some paperwork I needed to finish for my upcoming contract in Bolivia, so it was the perfect time to get it sorted out and finished up. We also hadn’t gotten a good glimpse of the Kuala Lumpur Tower all lit up at night when we were in KL the first time. So the rooftop bar of our hostel was the perfect place to relax and wrap up Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur

Asia September 11, 2013 Leave a comment

 I landed in Kuala Lumpur after three long days of travel and as soon as I came down the escalator I was greeted by my favourite tall blonde friend. Shannon had landed about half an hour earlier on her flight from South Korea. We caught a bus that took us to a train that brought us to downtown and then made our way to our hostel. We grabbed some dinner, caught up a bit and then called it a night so we could get up bright and early to start exploring.

Petronas Towers!

Petronas Towers!

We set off first thing in the morning with great intentions to head up the Petronas Towers, but it turns out that you have to be suuuuuuper early to get tickets to go up. It was about 9am, and the only option they had left was to go up at 8pm. We decided we would try again the next morning and decided instead to wander around the park outside to get some pictures of the towers. Bonus for us, cause there was a sweet wading pool that we literally chilled in for a bit before grabbing lunch.

After lunch we hopped on the subway and made our way up to the famous Batu Caves. It was great, because we’d managed to somehow show up when there were hardly any other tourists. We braved the monkeys (they were everywhere) and climbed up the steps to the cave. Unfortunately we also found out that the lack of tourists meant that the caves weren’t lit up in all their glory. Most of the spotlights on the statues were off, so we had to navigate through the shadows to get a good look at them.

Batu Caves!

Batu Caves!

The next morning we finally got our act together and got up early enough for morning tickets up the Petronas towers. When we got to the top, the wait and early mornings were definitely worth it. The view was spectacular (and we were grateful to have spent the morning in the air conditioned tower). After finally making it up the tower, we decided that we had had enough of the city heat and were going to take off that afternoon for the coast.