Phuket to The Lump

Trip Start Aug 04, 2008
1
9
16
Trip End Aug 21, 2008


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Flag of Malaysia  , Wilayah Persekutuan,
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Wow, the last day and a half have been an interesting whirlwind, to say the least.  I now sit in my living room, at home in Vancouver, up since 5am.  I did want to make sure I completed this travel blog... so here we go.

Day 9... to Kuala Lumpur

This morning, we had half a day to kill before we had to be at the airport.  The hotel breakfasts thus far have been spectacular!  In both the Bangkok hotel and here, there has been ridiculous variety and quality of foods... for a breakfast! 

With so much time to spare, we made our way down to the beach... ice cream drumsticks and crosswords in hand.  By the time we had to check out, it was around noon, and we found out way to the airpot via ridiculously overpriced (by Thai standards) taxi-bus.

But, before we knew it, we were touching down in Kuala Lumpur.  We paid for a hotel shuttle, and 45 minutes, we were dropped off on the roadside... with instructions that the hotel was just down the street, a street that apparently the bus could not fit through.  No problem, we thought.  20 minutes later, wandering the streets carrying our enormous backpacks, we found our way to our hotel thanks to a local woman who saw how lost we were. 

The hotel was great!  It wasn't fancy or anything, especially compared to the hotel we had just come from in Phuket, but it was very cozy.  And, best of all, it was just one block from the nearest skytrain station, Bukit Bintang... which also turns out to be the main shopping area of KL.  There were at least 5 shopping malls within 5 minutes from our hotel. 

But tonight, we were heading to the Petaling Night Market.  I think we both had the idea in our heads that local markets were the best ways to experience the local culture in each of the cities we planned on visiting.  However, after this market, I think we both had had enough... of night markets at least.  Most of the markets we had been to were almost the same... lots of fake goods (albeit, decent looking fakes), lots of "new friends, and buddies", lots of pressure sales, lots of bartering, and lots of crowds.  I think it has gotten so touristy, that any local culture that may have been woven into these markets has long since gone. 

Still, we bumped our way through the stalls in the sweltering heat... taking breaks in air-conditioned shops along the way.

We skytrained our way back to the hotel, and we were done for the night.
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