Hello KL!

After two airports, one 5 hour layover and 12 hours of flying I was in a new country! Not only was I in a new country I had 6 weeks of exploring different countries and cultures ahead of me. If that wasn’t enough excitement in a few hours I would be seeing one of my friends I’d made whilst living at the hostel in Cairns. We flew in to Kuala Lumpur a few hours apart and had arranged to stay in the same hostel. We were both too early for checking in but were able to store our bags and start exploring the city straight away. We got the free bus to headed out to see the city. It was amazing to be in a place that was very different from anywhere I had been before. Yes it felt like a city and there were the obligatory sky scrapers but there were also more traditionally styled building which were unusual to my eye and gave the city an exotic feel to someone used to travelling in Westernised countries.

I couldn’t believe it had been two years since I had seen my friend. We talked continuously like we had only seen each other a few days previously yet there was so much to catch up on. She had completed her degree and been to a few more countries and I had managed to explore some of NZ in my two years working there. Despite all we had done and how we have both grown and changed it felt like we had never been apart. Since we were so delighted to be together again as well as visiting KL and the Perhentian Islands together I also suggested I come with her to Penang as I figured I could easily go to Bangkok from there.

She had done a lot of research and at her instigation we headed towards the Petronas tower. On the way we stumbled across Little India and I got my very first taste of Malaysian street food. I am glad to say there were no ill effects and the food was very tasty. Whilst I was excited to be in a new country and had slept well on the plane as the afternoon wore on I found myself flagging. Thankfully having walked a lot on the the way to the towers we discovered the free bus ran from the towers back to our hostel. Yay for Hostelworld and it’s excellent recommendation. The hostel was not only in an excellent location, the staff were friendly and helpful and the rooms were clean, comfortable and cool thanks to the excellent air conditioning.

 

With the evening to ourselves I discovered the pleasures of a Malaysian laundry which is only worth mentioning as on the way we saw a Hagen Dass shop and decided it would be the perfect place to wait whilst my clothes were drying. I don’t miss from home much these days but I’ve not had Hagen Dass in years so despite the relatively high price it was absolutely worth it.

Post washing we took advantage of the free wifi to book our flights to the Perhentian Island, or rather Kota Bharu. From there we were told we could get a taxi to Kuala Besut and then a ferry to the islands. Having sorted out our flights we then looked for accommodation. We found this slightly difficult as it turn out the islands are not very well connected. The hostel owner assured us we could find accommodation once we got there so with a certain amount of trepidation and a slight thrill of adventure we decided to risk it and our next destination was as set as it could get.