Happy landing at Kuala Lumpur. I thought it was funny, how excited I got, given the fact that I usually fly at least four times a month. But queuing at the border control, I couldn’t help but long for the good old European Union, where we cross borders without having to show our passports. And in most cases, without having to exchange money. You only learn to appreciate things, when they’re not available.
One thing caught my attention though: the “auto-gate” where Malay citizens were able to let themselves in through automatic border controls. Something I’ve heard about in a EU meeting last year, where this concept was being considered and tried at an airport in Spain and France. And here, in South-East Asia, it’s already working. Amazing!
I was so excited, or absent-minded, that I simply forgot to collect my checked-in luggage and walked towards the “bureau de change” to get some money. Of course, this was the worst possible option and I usually would never do such a stupid thing, but as I said, I was totally out of touch with reality. So I exchanged my money at an incredibly bad rate, luckily, I was sane enough not to exchange everything, so I lost “only” 8 Euro in this transaction.
And then I walked out of the arrival area and realized that there are no luggage carrousels. Oh my … Buddha. Now, I guess in Europe, if I had left the arrival area and wanted to get back to collect my luggage, some police or security guard would stop me. Not here, even though there were enough police officers present. When I finally found my “belt” my backpack was just arriving (maybe for the second time) and we were happily reunited.
So finally, I was ready to head towards town. But, wait a moment, where’s the “Skybus” … no proper signs to lead me there and I’m not a genius of orientation, so I spent some quality time, running around the airport, carrying my 14 kg backpack on my back and my 7 kg photo rucksack on my front. This great exercise in 30 degrees Celsius and 90 percent humidity. I loved it!
I know, I could have asked, but I prefer to wander around and get lost …
Then my intuition did lead me in the right direction and I finally sat down on the bus and as I was the last passenger, the bus drove off immediately. Perfect timing!
The first thing that strikes you when you arrive at Kuala Lumpur’s LCC (terminal for low cost carriers) is the amount of green. All the palm trees along the road and you can’t see their stems, as they are covered with leaves. Everything seems to be green. I guess that’s what you get in tropical climates with loads of rain and warm weather.
The bus was dangerously swaying to both sides, driving on the expressway, I felt like I’m on some kind of a rollercoaster. Soon enough, the Petronas Towers emerged on the horizon. Coming to Malaysia from Thailand means that you’re going to miss all the families on motorbikes, open busses, tuk-tuks and smog. Not that there’s no smog in Kuala Lumpur, but compared with Chiang Mai or Bangkok, it seems like the air is clean.
As we approached KL Sentral, the main bus station in town, I tensed up in anticipation. So here I am, alone in this very foreign culture, in a Muslim country. Maybe I should have booked a hotel instead of a hostel? Maybe I should take a taxi, to be safe? Why is my backpack so heavy?
But it was so easy. Modern cities and their facilities are all the same. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Vending machines, trains, train stations.
However, the view out of the train is not always the same. And that’s where it gets exciting. My train was riding through an area that reminded me of “Slumdog Millionaire”. Later, I found out that my hostel is very close to the “Little India” district in KL. Seeing that from the train, I tensed up again, as I imagined how I’d trod down those streets with my huge backpack, not able to run away if needed.
There was nothing to fear though. In less than five minutes I reached my hostel. The adventure makes you tired. The flight was just one hour and twenty minutes, but I was on the road the whole day and when I finally fell down in my bunk bed I fell asleep as if I’ve never encountered Lady Insomnia.
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