Saturday 27th July

I arrived safe and sound in Kuala Lumpur. 

The journey was a long one! 

I left Bunbury on Thursday afternoon at 2pm on the bus. I’d decided to get the bus as it’s cheap, convenient and it saved Rebecca or Chris taking time off work or having to drive back alone. 

The bus was fine, a little pungent but not bad. 

For some reason I had terminal 3 & 4 written in my ticket. We arrived in the pouring rain, at Terminals 1 & 2, which looked familiar, but I checked my ticket it definitely said terminals 3 & 4, which I assumed were just along the way a bit. No, Terminals 3 & 4 are on the other side of the runways, so a 15 drive. As we departed I realised I should have got off!  I wasn’t unduly concerned as I had arrived at the airport a Wapping 7hrs early! 😂 Not that I’m that keen, it was down to the bus times! 

Luckily for me there was a handy free shuttle back to the correct terminal and I wasted another 30 mins. Only 6.5 to go! 

I was flying with Air Asia, who are a great cheap airline. The only problem, no early bag drop. 

Perth Airport is very small, the options of things to do before security consists of, 1. Visit the toilet. 2. Buy some toiletries. 3. Buy a mobile phone or SIM card. 4. Sit in the one bar/restaurant. I opted for number 4. I treated myself to a very welcome JD & Coke and settled in for a bit of a wait. 

I was finally able to check in at 9 and I then passed through a speedy, empty security section and onto the Lounge I’d booked. 

The lounge wasn’t really expensive and it was comfy, relaxed and they served a delicious Chenin Blanc! It was also right next to my departure gate. This meant I could see when the plane arrived, when people started boarding, giving me time to really enjoy the wine! 😂

The flight was great, I had a row to myself. Yes! I managed to doze for a bit and landed in Kuala Lumpur 6 hours later. 

I had to fill in a visa on arrival form, digitally…😳 the computers they provided were all in use, with long queues, I had a driver waiting to pick me up and I was already behind schedule, feeling a little anxious I got in the passport control queue and the rather lovely young guy in front of me explained that I could fill it in on my phone using the QR code! 🫨 I couldn’t scan the code properly, so bless him, he literally did the whole thing for me, doing things on my phone that I didn’t even know it did! He was amazing. We got it done just before I reached the front of the queue! I was allowed in so he must have done it right! 😍 

I made it through the various airport levels to the correct spot for my driver and off we went. 

I didn’t realise that the airport was so far from the city, about a 45 min drive. 

I arrived at the place I’m staying at approximately 8.30am and I can’t check in until 3pm so I dumped my bags in left luggage and headed into the city. 

Wow it’s 🥵 around 32 degrees! It’s not far to walk to the Petronas Twin Towers. They really are stunning. 

I was able to get tickets for the tour of the towers for 11.30, there were surprisingly few spaces available. 

This then gave me time to grab a cup of tea, sort out a SIM card and try to find a watch. 

The tea was pretty easy to find and extremely welcome. The SIM card likewise. A very helpful young man sold it to me, fitted it, set it up, all for the princely sum of £12! Absolute Bargin and so easy. 

Finding a watch was proving a little more tricky, perhaps due to being in a high end Shopping Mall and not wanting a watch from Gucci, Cartier, TAG Heuer (actually that’s a lie, I’d love a TAG 😁) but I am trying to be sensible. 🥰 I did try on a rather beautiful one in Swarovski!! It was blue and shiny and so pretty, I was so, so tempted, but I stayed strong. I then literally popped across the aisle into a shop selling lots of things and found 2 watches on a deal for……£8! 😂😂 They are both perfect for what I need and I saved myself a few Bob. Winning!! 🥇😍

Then it was off for my Tower Tour. 

We started with a visit to the Sky Bridge that connects the 2 towers, this is on level 42. It was a little hazy but the views were amazing. 

Spotted a guy outside cleaning the windows….mad. 

Then it was up to the top, floor 86. Where, unbelievably there were more guys in a cleaning gondola!! WTAF! 😳 Absolutely not. 

Work on the towers started in 1993 and they were officially opened in 1999. The design is based on simple Islamic geometric forms of two interlocking squares, creating a shape of an eight-pointed star. Architecturally, these forms represent the important Islamic principles of unity, harmony, stability and rationality. 

I think the Towers are incredibly beautiful, especially at night. 

I enjoyed my tour but by the end I was getting pretty hungry. I tried to grab something in the Mall, but there were long queues. I ended up walking back towards my accommodation and popped into the hotel opposite, The Crowne Plaza! I had a delicious meal of noddles in broth followed by a Nass Gorang and a Tiger Beer! 

Unfortunately, the accommodation I’m in doesn’t have a restaurant or a bar, despite advertising that they do. 🤨 It was one of the reasons I booked that particular place. It’s just easier to stay onsite in the evenings if I’ve had a busy day. 

After lunch it was time to check in. My room is ok, a little tired and with a lingering smell, like sweaty fruit! But it’ll do. It’s clean. 

I checked out the pool which is up on the 47th floor and is great. 👍 

I managed to stay awake till 8.30pm then crashed. I was knackered and I’d walked over 20,000 steps! 

I had a good nights sleep and got up ready for the day. 

I took a Grab Cab, (these are like Ubers, only cheaper 😂) over to the city centre called Bukit Bingtang, where I grabbed tickets for the hop on hop off bus. I think they are a great way to see around a city and decide where you’d like to explore more. 

This area was really busy, lots of people, lots of shopping Malls, lots of food places. 

I found the bus ticket office, but realised I’d made a rookie mistake and left my suncream and my light scarf back at the room! Sitting on an open topped bus for 2 hours around midday in a sleeveless top with no cover, not a great idea, especially with my pale English skin! 

I grabbed a cheap sarong (I needed one anyway) a bottle of iced tea and jumped aboard. 

It was great. A little slow and hot to start but we went through some interesting areas, Chinatown, Little India, the botanical gardens, the bird park and the KL Sentral Station. Handy for me to know where the station is as I’m leaving from there on Tuesday.

The whole route took a couple of hours and was great. It would have been nice to have some commentary on the way explaining things, but it was OK. I think I might go back tomorrow to the area around Chinatown, the central market.

My newly purchased sarong came in very handy! 

Interesting to note that KL is very built up, lots of high rise buildings and more being built all the time. But as we were driving around the coolest areas were near the botanical gardens and the Palace where they is lots of trees and planting. With climate change, we need a radical rethink on the ideas of urban planning. Plant more trees!🌳 🌴 🌲 

I popped into another big Mall afterwards to grab some food and cool off a little! The food court was amazing. So much to choose from, I ended up getting a massive mango & cream cheese pastry, which was sooo good, sweet options are not like me, but I think I needed the sugar boost. 

Shopping Malls are not really my thing, but they are massively popular in South East Asia. Here in KL, many of the Malls are really high end, and the designer shops are busy! The South East Asian Economy is very strong and with comes spending power. 💴💴

Having added my £1.50 to the economy, I headed back to the accommodation and a dip in the pool. 🏊‍♀️ 

I ventured out in the evening to a lovely bar only a short walk away, called the ‘Canopy Lounge’ I arrived around 7pm, luckily, as it started to fill up quickly by 7.30 -8. The bar does food, Cocktails and Hookah Pipes. I stuck to the cocktails! 

My White Sangria, was delicious & refreshing. It looked more like a fruit salad tbh! 😂 

It was a cool, fun vibe. I might go back. 

So far Malaysia has been great. It’s nice to be somewhere warm and to see a new country. 

Another little side note. I’m not sure how keen I am on very tall buildings and being reliant on lifts! (Anne, I have no idea what you’d do!!😳) Whilst the pool here is excellent and offers great views, it also makes me a little anxious 😬 

Books Read

A single act of kindness. Samantha Tonge. Another Prime book. A relaxing fun read. 

I read most of it waiting for my flight!! 

Have a great Sunday people.

Lots of love.