Malaysia -- Day 3 -- Hello again, Kuala Lumpur!

I woke up early and not wanting to disturb my two roommates, Nicholas and Marianne, I stepped outside, saw the sunrise, heard the birds chirping and updated my diary entries. Since there was still plenty of time left, I took a little nap that turned into a big mistake -- I overslept and missed my ferry ride back to Jerantut that was scheduled to leave at 9.30 am. Damn! No point crying over spilled milk. So, I bade a hasty goodbye to my roommates and rushed to the pier only to see my ferry pull away. I talked to the kind lady at the counter, who miraculously arranged private transportation by car to Jerantut through Mohammad, one of the locals. To make the best of a bad situation, I had a sumptuous, leisurely breakfast.

Around 10.30 am or so, Mohammad was ready with his beat up Honda Prelude to take me to Jerantut. The ride lasted an hour-and-a-half, and I was well in time to catch my 3 1/2 hour bus ride to KL. I thanked Mohammad profusely (terimah kasih, terimah kasih, terimah kasih) and compensated him handily. Despite the lack of a common language, we were able to communicate some. Upon arrival, I had a quick bite to eat, climbed the charter bus to KL and met the Dutch couple, Nicolas and Eti again. Like all Dutch people I've met before, they spoke excellent English. We spent many a pleasant hour chatting with each other.

Nicolas is going to school while Eti works for a travel agency in Amsterdam. She is of Indonesian origin and adopted at a very young age by a Dutch family. Her biological family had to separate her from her identical twin sister for financial reasons (basically sold her for money). Her father has since passed away and only recently has she been able to get in touch with her biological family in Indonesia. She knew very little Bahasa, but she is now learning it in all earnest to reconnect. Eti told me that she was going to write a book about her experience as a immigrant adoptee in the Netherlands and about the differences and similarities of twins reared in different cultures. It ought to be interesting. I wish her luck.

We arrived in KL downtown, walked to the subway station and unfortunately, the entire system was down due to a computer glitch. Bummer! I didn't have a place to stay, but they were booked in Pondok Lodge Hostel in the Golden Triangle area and I went along with them. We took a cab from the train station and surprisingly paid according to the meter, 7 MYR instead of 25 MYR "tourist fare". I was fortunate to get an a/c room at 55 MYR (~ 15 USD) per night. Pondok lodge is a popular backpackers' destination and justifiably so. The rooms were clean, the staff very helpful, free breakfast and close to typical tourist spots. I highly recommend this place. We freshened up, met on the rooftop of the lodge, had a few beers we bought at a store and chatted. The view of the high-rises in downtown KL would have been excellent but for the ubiquitous smog.

We strolled in the Golden Triangle -- this area is filled with expensive, trendy bars with a lot of ex-pats and tourists. Did I mention it was expensive? We glimpsed at the prices in a German bar -- 34 MYR (~ 10 USD) for a glass of Paulaner Salvator! Dinner was at a local Malaysian joint (good nasi Pattaya, lousy tandoori chicken, good murtabak ayam, nasi goreng and a Malaysian fish curry). The total tab was 45 MYR. That was a great, satisfying meal.

We then walked around the neighboring Chinatown looking for mosquito repellent (yes we had to!). In Chinatown, of course, you see a lot of eateries and smelled the infamous durian fruit. The stink from this "fruit" is indescribable. Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says:

"... its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia."

See the image (courtesy Wikipedia) prohibiting the fruit in Singapore.

Once sated from food and our curiosity satisfied, we walked back and had a few cocktails at Ceylon bar, just below the guest house. Each of us had three drinks for a bar tab of 50 MYR each. Not very cheap, but harmless fun nevertheless. Nothing like alcohol give you a good buzz and to put you to sleep. So, to all a good night!