Day 240
Welcome tree in front of our hotel.
The person in the room next door dropped a small object in the bathroom which woke me up. There aren’t many perks to being a light sleeper. But while the fam slept, I went into the hall and Skype called my parents, since they never miss my birthday. My mom had already sent a message through my brother that she wanted me to call. The wifi in the hall was splotchy at best, so we had to repeat ourselves many times. I enjoyed sitting in the common room’s beanbag chairs. Then my
friend from Canada fb called me, but the video kept cutting out. We just had these frozen pictures of us smiling all stupid at each other. We settled on just audio, and talked for so long that I forgot to wake up the family up in time for breakfast. But catching up with Mary was the best present.
Waiting for the shuttle.
We took the shuttle to the airport, which is a good distance away from the city, to catch the fast train into Kuala Lumpur. On the shuttle we met two teachers from Montreal who were traveling around the world for 10 months. We haven’t met very many people traveling for extended times who aren’t in their twenties. This couple wasn’t much older, and we had a great chat about where they’ve been, and they gave us some ideas about the Philippines, in case we ended up there. Shuttle
rides are a great source of information.
At the airport train station we stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee. Apparently they sell more specialized cold fancy drinks than warm drip coffee. Paul had a hard time convincing the reluctant staff to make us a couple of coffees, which is a Starbucks first for us. There was no milk or cream out on the counters, but they were good enough to let us have some anyway.
The train ride into the city was smooth. We passed through quite a few palm fields, like the ones we saw in Costa Rica. Cali spent the ride showing me funny puppy/dog videos. If for no other reason, I’m glad that internet was invented for those videos alone.
We took an executive cab to our condo. Each city has a first impression feel to it. Some are stressed out, congested or not so clean. This one is pleasant, clean, and feels well thought out. The highways had all this beautiful landscaping in the middle with trees, bushes, and the Malaysian flag. Again the driver was friendly and helpful. We told him we were going to Singapore next, and he knew a lot about that route since he drives his boss there regularly. We told him we are traveling on Sunday. He told us that the Chinese New Year is coming up and that tickets will be difficult to book on trains and planes. Whoops, and good to know, because I thought it was in January. At the condo gates we had a bit of trouble getting through. Our driver said the security guys are all ex-military and they are very thorough. To me they looked like current military, especially with their uniforms. I asked Paul if he accidentally booked us a room at the Embassy. Eventually Paul showed his passport and enough Airbnb emails from Mr. Kim that the guard let us through.
Our host’s instructions for the key didn’t work out perfectly, but eventually we were past the second military-like check point and went up our private elevator to our condo. When we stepped out there were two doors, each without a number. We didn’t want to randomly try a door, so we looked through the peep hole of the one, which went out to the hallway. The other went to the condo and this whole little area outside the elevator was ours. Never had a private elevator before, cool. I guess if we had bikes or a stroller they would go there.
The condo has an amazing view of the city, really. All of our places must meet Paul’s requirements which include having a good view and fast wifi.
This one also has a sunken bathtub and shower that is all glass and looks out over the city. You can share your sudsy time with all of Kuala Lumpur if you like.
The bed is next to a wall of glass so you feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud in the city lights.
Really spectacular view, and the prices here are incredibly affordable. The amount we pay for all of these great places has been inexpensive. That will change in Singapore, Australia, and Tokyo, but it all evens out.
The first thing check when walking through the door is the wifi. Madi has homework deadlines, so we can’t be without it for long. It wasn’t working, and we couldn’t find a router anywhere. Our host lives just below our unit and we share his. Somehow his got turned off when the cleaners were doing their thing. While Paul was sorting that out, the girls and I went to the pool.
This pool is on top of the parking garage, and is absolutely huge. It had a row of different jacuzzis, water area for the kids, playground, picnic spot, and rows of cabanas, all empty. We stayed there for the afternoon until our host sorted out the wifi. Paul went out to explore the neighborhood and fnd some Malay take-out while we relaxed. Across the street is an outdoor, long, food court type market. He says there are so many things he doesn’t recognize, all of it new to us. We opted for bags of soup, chicken, and rice. It was all very good. The girls ate while still in the pool.
Safe to say these condos are upscale. What’s interesting is that the kitchen is separated from the living area by a sliding door. When you open it you step down a couple of inches. It’s open to the outside, and there is another door to the regular hallway, not the private elevator entrance. It’s not air conditioned, so is super hot and humid in there all the time because that’s where the air conditioner is housed. The only light shines in from the bathroom and there is a little one over the stove. There is a little extremely basic toilet and sink there, with a washing machine. It’s like things don’t need to be comfortable if you are doing housework of any kind. If it’s anything like Guatemala, most people have help because labor is so inexpensive. Most people who would be in this building may have help coming in or the people who live here just sweat it out in the kitchen when they decide to actually cook.
Cali has been having some tummy troubles, and I am also getting over my super cold. We decided to put off my birthday dinner until tomorrow night. Paul ubered over to a mall to get something to soothe Cali’s tummy and find us food. On the potato chip rating scale, Paul reported that Malay grocery stores are sophisticated, and handed us Salt and Cider Vinegar Kettle Chips. We’re so happy they are.
Our host checked on us and gave us two more towels. I do love that part about Airbnb. If you choose hosts that allow themselves to be accessible (not all choose to), they are happy to tell answer any questions you may have. You almost get attached a little to each one. We’ve still missing our Norwegian host Lars, but Mr. Kim has been great, too.
This is the first country where we’ve had to rely on our two international adapters. With five computers, 3 kindles, an ipad, 3 camera batteries, and 4 iphones to charge, it’s a bit dicey. You have to make a good case why you need it more than someone else does. The girls’ school work and Paul’s work stuff trumps all other flimsy attempts. I’m at a disadvantage because my dinosaur laptop doesn’t hold a charge anymore, so I try to do my stuff before the family wakes up. Just me, a coffee, and this spectacular view.
Cali was especially worried that with no formal bday bfast in bed, wrapped presents, cake or meal, the birthday wasn’t quite up to snuff. I told her that the five flowers she found and floated in the pool for me, the neck and shoulder rub that Madi gave to me that night were perfect gifts. Perhaps in a few decades she will understand that spending a year in unique places, watching them from the cabana while they do such marvelously mundane things like capsize each other and giggle in the pool, are their biggest gifts to me. I know they’re growing up.
Capsize ready.
Note the mischievous eyebrow.
The skyline is especially stunning at night. From where we are there is one block of low residential houses, then the skyline just shoots up past a highway. I think the Patronas twin towers are the most beautiful tall towers we’ve seen yet. There all kinds of light shows on the buildings throughout the evening. Then at midnight, show’s over and off they go. It was a unique birthday I’ll always remember.
