The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

It's been an interesting adventure trying to navigate around this country with the Malaysian holidays in full force. Although I planned for a 10:00 a.m. bus to Kuala Lumpur from the Highlands, I was stuck on the 4:30 and due to traffic on the roads with the whole country migrating to family and friends for Hari Raya, I didn't get to KL until 10:30 pm. I was really glad that Fletch, an English boy, decided to accompany me on the journey - as I was the only white girl on the bus, and 1 of 3 females. An overcrowded bus of Malay men gawking at you isn't always the most comfortable situation for 6 hours. Once in KL, we had to find ourselves a place to rest our heads. Options were limited and after scoping out 4 sketchy places, we ended up at a crazy little place called Wheeler's just a block off Chinatown. The one thing it had going for it was a rooftop bar with a view, to add a sliver of ambiance to the less than appealing accomodations thrown at us for the night. It was definitely a evening to snuggle close to my sleep sheet and protect me from the questionable sheets below me.

A main draw in KL are the Petronas Towers, which allow only a limited number of people up them per day. So Fletch and I were up at 6:15, on a train at 6:45 and standing in line with all the other tourists at 7:15. Turns out, they don't actually issue the tickets till 9:00, so it was a long 1 hour and 45 minute wait for us. Luckily, we had a couple of chatty Malay tour guides in front of us who were happy to tell us all about their country and the sites to see in KL. Eventually, we got our tickets and rode the elevator to the 41st floor of the towers and walked the sky bridge that connects the two towers. It gave us quite a view of the city - slightly smoggy I do believe.

After the tours, I had to get down to business and find myself some transportation north. I talked to several travel agents who weren't willing to help me because I was too late to book a flight (procrastination is my middle name) and they didn't arrange bus or train travel. So I went straight to the source and figured an overnight train would be my best bet. Once at the train station, I totally lucked out and got the last seat in an A/C sleeper train. Phew! It would have been a long 14 hour ride on a hard bench seat and the warm air blowing in through the open windows on the car. It did not take me all the way to Surat Thani, but it got me to Hat Yai - the border town in Thailand, and then I'd have to figure out next steps from there.

So really, it was just a brief 24 hours in KL and I'd like to go back to Malaysia. Before heading off to my train, the Dutchies arrived (they'd stayed an extra day in Cameron Highlands). We grabbed a drink together on the Wheeler's rooftop and said farewell. They were so great! I was nearing the end of my adventure and they were just beginning, so I gave them some tips on the hot spots...which mainly consisted of recommendations on places to eat in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos!