Day 4 – S’pore to KL

Wow, day 4 already! (Am writing this on Word in the hotel room, as there is no Wi-Fi here….but there should be some in the lobby & if that doesn’t work, there’s always Starbucks or a bazillion other places with free Wi-Fi. I’ll just have to cut and paste, so it’ll be quick.) So, you know how I said I was all recovered from my jet lag? Nooooo. Nope. Nada. I was wrong. I didn’t get to sleep until about 4 AM and the alarm was going off at 8. Not that I got up quite that early…around 9 I think. After Frank headed off to see a student, I headed over to the Orchid Garden in the Botanic Garden. They sure do know how to grow orchids here! Here is a picture of one to whet your appetite and if you want more: Orchid Garden pictures. Be warned, it is NOTHING BUT ORCHIDS. Uncle Chuck, this is a must-see for you and it’s right around the corner from where Frank lives, so you could visit every day if you wanted! I had never realized quite how many varieties of orchid there is. The garden has over 2000! Don’t worry, I didn’t photograph all of them. Found a thimble in the gift shop!

The weather was hot. I’m sure you’re surprised. As I was leaving the gardens, I realized the sky was looking rather ominous and I was hearing thunder. Uh-oh. So I started walking faster and was checking out potential places to take shelter if the storm hit. I got lucky and it started sprinkling just as I rounded the corner onto the street and I was in the door before the skies opened up. Though it is apparently my day for rain (see below).

It was off to the airport to head for Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. I hailed a taxi all on my own – actually, I didn’t even have to put my arm out as it was rather obvious with a suitcase that I needed a ride – and off to the airport I went. I arrived super early, but I’d rather be early than late and at the Singapore Airport, there’s a separate terminal for the budget airlines: Tiger, Asia, and a few others. There were numerous places to eat (I had fish & chips (S’pore used to be a British colony!)) and shop (I just bought a diet coke as I had a desperate need for caffeine). And I saw children out of control and parents totally ignoring the fact – I felt right at home!

The gate for the flight opened 30 minutes before take-off, so at 2:45 I headed on over to stand in line. And guess what, it started raining! Then an announcement was made that the flight would be late due to the late arrival of the inbound plane……yikes, last time I heard that was two years ago in Spain and I ended up having to take a 4 hour bus ride to another city, thus missing the connecting flight to Berlin and having to sleep over night in the airport to catch one in the morning! But phew, the plane arrived, was off-loaded, then re-loaded. Except it sits on the tarmac and you have to walk out there. But wait, they have umbrellas. And not just any umbrellas, but AIG umbrellas (Shirley, please thank your company!). The flight itself was about 45 minutes and turbulent. Nothing too horrible, though.

Once landing in KL, it was time to head into the city. I knew the airport was about 70 km away from the city proper, so I planned to take the express train. I asked information where it was and was told it wasn’t at that airport! OK, what the heck airport am I at? Thought it was K.L. International, but maybe not. My choices are a taxi, van shuttle, or bus. I chose the bus, as the name of the street my hotel is on was on the company’s sign. Only RM 15, which is about $5. And the bus goes and goes and goes and goes. So, I am assuming that I WAS at KL International, just not at a TERMINAL the express train serviced. Thursday’s task is figuring out how to get back to the airport. Now, I’ve heard that the traffic in KL was horrendous. Not seeming bad, just like any big city at rush hour. Until we get off the highway. Oh my. At one point, the bus stopped and 90% of the people got off – I think they had to transfer to another bus and it was just myself and a British couple. It took FOREVER to finally get to my hotel and if I’d been feeling more comfortable about where I was, I probably would have gotten off and walked – it would have been faster! The guidebook mentioned the lack of sidewalks in KL, but in my observations from the bus, there usually was one. Just sometimes cars or scooters were parked on them.

Checked in to the hotel with no problem, took the lift to the 13^th floor (good thing I’m not suspicious about that) and could see the Petronas Twin Towers from the hallway windows. I hoped the whole way to my room that I’d have that view and look, I did!!!! I think they’re much more impressive-looking at night than during the day…and don’t worry, at some point they turn off the lights and just have the airplane warning ones blinking. Was exhausted, so ordered room service and went to bed. Watched ESPN while eating my pizza, sports nut that I am. And did you know, BADMINTON in big here? ESPN News devoted quite a bit of time to whether or not this injured player would be on the Olympic team or not – he says he’s fine and I am assuming that he missed some qualifiers, as there’s someone else currently slated to go whose place he’d take. Now I have something to watch for during the Olympics!

I do need to mention one room experience that I had. So, I open the door, switch on the light, and nothing. Lights don’t work. There was enough light from the Twin Towers, so I came into the room and tried every light switch. Finally called guest services and they said they’d send up maintenance. By this point I had the Palm Pilot out to use as a flash light. So I am checking out everything in the room and notice something by the door. Lo and behold, my room key goes in there and the lights come on! Thankfully I’ve encountered this set-up once before, though I can’t remember where so it must have been a while ago. I called to let them know I was all set.

Hotel Room & View - Tuesday