airport nights

toward the end of all this traveling (4.5 months worth of traveling) i spent a LOT of time in airports...sleeping in airports several nights...needless to say, some airports are better than others...the best airports are those with all night kiosks, though this isn't common...i've slept near baggage carousels, on seats, and in coffee shops...i've read gossip magazines, surfed the web (gotta love airports with free internet access) and shopped...more often than not, i eat too much when i'm killing time in an airport...
i saw this video a while ago, and it made me laugh...every time i sleep in an airport i think about what kind of trouble it's possible to get into, just to kill time...these guys are professional videographers, so obviously they made a good video, but it's still pretty funny...if i recall correctly, the airport where they did all this wasn't thrilled, and had to look into it's security measures:)

how to spend time in an airport

renewing my visa

After three lovely days in amed, I drove back to kuta…I needed a lot of time on the internet, and I needed a connection where I could have skype conversations…and I needed access to a scanner…as much as I love amed, it’s not the greatest when it comes to internet…I wasn’t thrilled to be back in kuta, especially after amed…kuta is obnoxious, it’s only redeeming factor is a giant beach…

Sometime very recently, Indonesia has changed it’s immigration laws so that visitors can extend a tourist visa without leaving the country…in the past they were pretty strict, and you pretty much had to leave the country and come back if you wanted to stay longer…the extension process takes a few days though, and I completely forgot about  it until I didn’t have time to do it anymore…so I booked a round trip to KL (kuala lumpur)…easy enough I suppose…my flight out was at 0600, which meant waking up at 0400 and walking out the door around 0415…yippee…I didn’t get much sleep the night before, only about 3 hours…and I woke up before my alarm, at 0340…I was a bit anxious about finding a cab at that hour, but it wasn’t difficult at all…the flight took off on time…

The awesome part of the flight was looking out the window on the other side of the plane as we took off…it was sunrise, and I could see the amazing colours of the sky behind the volcanoes I’d already visited on this trip…pretty cool to see a red, orange, purple, etc, sky, and the dark profile of the volcanoes in front…AWESOME…

Landing in KL was easy…I’ve been in that airport quite a few times…it’s the terminal they call LCCT (low cost carrier terminal…basically totally for the use of air asia) which is nowhere near the terminal for the “regular” airlines…the bus into the city is easy, and cheap, and I knew where I wanted to go…straight to Chinatown…I chose a hostel layna had stayed at when she went through KL, mainly because it had free wifi connection…I wasn’t in KL to see the sights, I’ve already done that…

I did leave the room, though not a whole lot…a trip to the supermarket got me oatmeal, two packets of looseleaf paper, (narrow ruled of course, that way I can fit more writing on each page) tea, and Tupperware…a random assortment, I know…I ended up eating dinner at a random street stall, it was awesome…eating with my hands, just like everyone else there, though they did give me silverware…and it was really cute to see the daughter of the lady tell her mom what the price was for me in English…the second day in KL I went to the post office…in addition to getting another visa to Indonesia, the post office in Malaysia was my other big goal…mail in Malaysia is sooooo much cheaper than bali…if I’m doing my math correctly, it’s about 17cents to mail a postcard in Malaysia…in bali it’s about $1.30…when you mail as many postcards as I do, that adds up, really fast!!

My second day in KL, I walked, just for the sake of walking…first I went to a temple I hadn’t seen before…a hindu temple, it was being renovated each time I went through KL a couple years ago…as with most hindu temples, it was really bright and colourful…I loved it…perhaps the best part of the visit was a guy telling me the story behind one of the pictures at which I was looking…it was really nice to talk to someone w/out wondering when I was going to be asked to sign up for a tour, or asked for a donation…I’m so used to that sort of conversation that I’ve realized I don’t talk to many locals like I should…I kept walking, through a market, and little india…

I headed toward the petronas towers, which were the tallest in the world (I think) when they were built…not so much anymore…the first time in KL I queued up really early one morning to get tickets to go up and see the view from the walkway connecting the two towers…it’s not that great, and I didn’t need to repeat that experience…though it is free, which is a rarity when it comes to going up big tall buildings for the views…I figured I could wander around the mall that takes up the bottom 5 floors of the towers…i recognized the streets I started out on, but for whateva reason, they didn’t connect the way I remembered, and somehow I ended up on a highway that runs through town…whoops!! Fortunately, there was a small sidewalk, so I wasn’t walking on the highway itself…close enough…I got quite a few honks from cars driving past, I’m sure they’re not used to seeing anyone walking in that area…the highway took me right past the towers, but there was an exit just after, and I knew that particular bunch of streets…so I did get to the towers, it just took a bit of a detour…lol…

Shopping was fun, though more for the people watching experience than the shopping itself…I find I’m not keen to buy things like clothes when I’m traveling…I don’t need them…and I don’t really have room for them…it’s hard to get excited about much of anything when you don’t even know when you’ll have a job again, or where…buying clothes, then shipping them back to IN isn’t much fun…the aircon in the mall was nice too…the weather is the same as bali, but because it’s a city, with no beach it doesn’t feel so great…walking back to the hostel I was on roads I knew, and got back easily…without any detours…

A quick bus to the airport the next morning…(there is little to no traffic at 0700 on a Sunday morning)…the flight back to bali was smooth, and I was thrilled to see a volcano poking it’s crater up through the clouds at one point…this time I did get a photo…

a new passport

after the retreat in thailand, i came to malaysia again...my passport was nearing 6 months until it expired, and in many countries, if you wish to enter, your passport has to be valid for at least 6 months longer...so i needed a new passport...since malaysia and thailand are the only countries in that area with visas on arrival that are free, and i've seen enough of thailand for now, i decided to come to malaysia to have my passport renewed...
landing in kuala lumpur after the relaxation of the retreat was quite a shock...i like KL, but in comparison it was really really big and crazy and LOUD...
anywho, the morning after arriving, i made my way to the US embassy (which technically meant i left malaysian soil and spent an hour in the US) and dropped off my application and way too much money...go figure, i had turned in the wrong size photos, so i had to run to a kodak shop, have proper size photos taken, and turn those in...they accepted them, and told me to come back with my receipt in a couple weeks...
that night, i met up with layna and a friend of hers, we all boarded a bus that took us to a little town called kuala besut...there is no reason to go there, except to catch a ferry to the perhentian islands...there are two islands, besar (big) and kecil (small)...they're virtually the same in terms of physical appearance (other than size of course) so we went to kecil, because accomodation is cheaper...layna had stayed on kecil when she was last in malaysia, and really enjoyed it...we stayed in the same place she stayed the last time, and i loved it...my original plan was to stay on kecil for 4 nights or so...but i ended up staying 11 nights!!
the water was SUPER clear, and warm...the sand on the beach wasn't the greatest i've ever seen, but it was far from the worst...it was mostly white, and the beach was relatively quiet...there are two main beaches on kecil, coral bay and long beach...long beach is bigger, and much better for laying out...(and we all know i'm the queen of laying out)...you could hire an umbrella for the day, but since that would block all those harmful rays of the sun, i didn't do that...the water was warm, sometimes too warm...it was really really really clear, and absolutely lovely...there were small waves, but you didn't have to worry about being knocked over when the waves came in...during my days on the beach i saw several ladies sitting in the water reading!! more sun for themselves, i'm guessing...hee hee...

anywho, my days were filled with checking email, reading novels, talking to layna and a few other random travelers, and eating yummy pakistani food...nothing strenuous or stressful...in a way, it was nice to be back in the quiet mindset i had during the meditation retreat...

one of the books i read while on that beach was moby dick...it's always been referred to as a classic, but after reading it i have no idea why...i felt like i could've written it...and i'm not a good writer...the author got off topic as much as i do!!! A LOT!!! i know that if i had ever turned in a manuscript like that one to any of my english teachers, they would've covered it in red ink, and returned it to me and told me to rewrite it entirely...there is a lot in that story that has nothing to do with the main storyline...argh...they didn't even see the stupid whale until the last 30 pages of a 580 page book!! i definitely won't be recommending that one to anyone...

the islamic holiday of hari raya took place while i was on kecil...hari raya is the last two or three days of the fasting month of ramaddan...even on the island, which basically depends entirely on tourism, nearly everything was closed...there was only one place open to eat on each beach...i was lucky to be eating with the guys who ran the place i was staying!! during hari raya, friends and family get together and enjoy time together, and eat special foods...ramaddan itself is when muslims fast in order to prove their faith to allah...at least, that's the very general idea...during the month of ramaddan, muslims don't eat OR DRINK between sunrise and sunset...i know i could go w/out eating all day, but in the heat and humidity of malaysia, it doesn't seem healthy or safe to go w/out liquid...anywho...

anywho, after 11 nights on the island, i made my way back to KL...a day trip to the nearby town of seremban, which is easily reachable by commuter train...a very quiet town, especially considering how close it is to KL...i saw a couple churches, a couple mosques, a hindu temple, and met a british lady who had just moved there with her husband who worked on semiconductors...exciting stuff i tell ya...

i often miss what is written right in front of me...the receipt i got when i turned in my passport for renewal said to come back between 0900-1100 m-f mornings...somehow, i missed that, and showed up around 1230 when i came back...oooops...the security people took pity on me, and still let me in...being in that room all by myself was kinda eerie, because it's actually quite loud when everyone is there in the morning...and it's FREEZING when there are no other bodies in there to soak up the air conditioning...i was finally called up to a window, collected my new passport (i hate the picture, the guy taking it wouldn't let me smile...argh) and made my way back to chinatown, where i was staying...i stopped at coffee bean along the way for a much looked forward to chai latte, and they said they were out of the tea they use to make those...HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN???? definitely a disappointment...

after that, i went back to my hostel, picked up my stuff, and went to the aiport...i wasn't completely aware of it, but KL has two major international airports...one is the LCCT, the low coast carrier terminal...basically almost entirely filled with air asia flights...the other is the "normal" international terminal...fully modern, efficient, etc...this time i flew out of LCCT...

malaysia 1

crossing the border from singapore into malaysia was EASY...hop on a bus, it drops you off at singaporean emigration...grab your stuff, go through the line and get stamped out of singapore...hop back on another bus, this one drops you off at malaysian immigration...grab your stuff, go through the line and get stamped into malaysia...the huge immigration and quarantine building is connected by sky walkways to several streets in johor bahru...no need to take a taxi or bus or anything else to get into town close to the hotels...
accomodation in johor is expensive...compared to the rest of malaysia anywho...i found a hotel, had a cup of chai, and started walking...malaysia is the first mostly islamic country in which i've traveled, so women are generally dressed pretty conservatively...well, compared to the west anywho...headscarves are the norm, though by islamic standards malaysia is pretty relaxed...the headscarves go with jeans and long sleeve shirts...i wandered around and saw several mosques, all very different from each other...johor is a big city, just like singapore...i think it wants to be singapore, just on the other side of the border, but it's not quite there...it does howeva have several large malls, including the all important coffee bean and tea leafs outlets...hee hee...
from johor i went to mersing...i had hoped to book an island tour from mersing, but when i got there, i found several things had closed, including two of the budget hotels listed in the book...also closed was the company that ran the tour i wanted to take...oh well...i walked around town like always...i found a mosque that overlooked much of the town and enjoyed the sunset from up there...mersing isn't particularly picturesque, but sunsets from any height are always nice...finding the bus station in mersing wasn't so easy...when i arrived in town, the bus dropped me off in the center of town, so i didn't know where the bus station was...when i looked at the map, it seemed easy enough to find, so i walked to that location, and found nothing but sand...walking back through town i asked a few people, and they pointed in all directions...of the four people i asked, they pointed in all four directions...not very helpful, eh? i kept walking, in hopes that i would somehow stumble upon the bus station...i ended up meeting a guy named stefan, from switzerland, who was also looking for the station, so we walked together...he's from bern, and on 3 weeks of his annual 6 weeks of leave...we finally found it, woo hoo...it turned out we both wanted to go to kuantan, so i figured i'd see him again the next day...but when i got to the bus station the next day.........
all the buses to kuantan were full...how does that happen? i don't know...anywho, the guys at the ticket window told me to go to another town, then take two local buses after that, and i'd get to kuantan, albeit through a much longer route...i opened up the guidebook and found that one of the towns he suggested along the way actually sounded all right, so i decided to make that my destination for the day instead...pekan used to be a royal town, way back when...so there are a few more mosques, and a few istanas...(where royals lived, i think...though i'm not sure)...it's a peaceful town now, not much going on...no big malls, no big buildings in general...a polo club at which prince charles (i think?) is supposed to have played, once upon a time...
from pekan i finally ended up in kuantan...it's a city, much like johor...i enjoyed just walking around, soaking up the atmosphere...there is one major mosque in the middle of town, quite pretty...it overlooks the playing fields (malaysia is soccer CRAZY) which are kept in immaculate condition...i had one of my best meals ever, served on a GIANT banana leaf, which i ate with my hands...being a foreigner, they put a silverware holder on my table, but when i looked around and saw no one else using silverware, i figured i didn't need to either...so i used my hands...my right hand anywho...(in muslim countries your left hand is for dirty tasks, like wiping your bum, putting on your shoes, etc...your right hand is for eating, receiving money/gifts, etc...mixing tasks with the wrong hand is quite an insult...thank goodness i've had the right handed habit since moving to korea)...i can eat with my hand, but of course i'm quite messy, hee hee...it's fun though, and i look forward to doing it again...

from kuantan i took a cross peninsular bus to melaka (malacca)...melaka used to be an important port city in southeast asia, and its still easy to see evidence of the british and dutch...the portuguese left behind their egg tarts, and the chinese are still there...(my hostel was right in the middle of chinatown)...melaka is perhaps one of the most multicultural cities in malaysia, because of it's origins...within 5 minutes of walking from my hostel, i could see a mosque, a hindu temple, a buddhist temple, and a church...not bad, eh? melaka is one of the biggest stops on the tourist trail, so there were tons of tourists...i never really felt like i got away from them...even walking a lot, which normally gets me somewhere, didn't do any good... one of the days i was there i heard someone speaking in a strong american accent...(a slow southern drawl)...it was hard to ignore, because it was loud...anywho, out of curiosity, i asked where she was from...north carolina...and get this, she is currently an ESL teacher in korea...she was traveling with a filipino who currently works in graphic design in singapore...anywho, the three of us ended up spending the rest of the day together, mostly just wandering around...at dinnertime (well, it was just drinking, there was no food:) a canadian joined us, he was in melaka on business...at one point, ingrid (the north carolinian) got up and sang with the guy who was playing the guitar...she may be loud while speaking, but she's even better while singing...an amazing voice...strong, confident, and very much in tune...she brought the house down...i ended up getting back to my hostel a whole lot later than i had planned, but it was just one of those days that was perfect...i was sad that they were leaving the next day... there is a little india section of melaka, but it's not all that great...the food wasn't nearly as good as i had hoped...of course, it probably didn't help that while i was eating my dinner one night the waiter kept trying to strike up a conversation with me...(while i had food in my mouth!! my parents taught me manners so i kept making him wait for a response:)...it felt awkward, and i was only too happy to finish eating, pay, and leave...