Today was my last day on Langkawi and after furious packing, ditching and suitcase weighing, I am proud to say that I've hardly bought a thing and my suitcases are still under the extra allowance I bought. Phew!
I had a 2pm flight to KL, so after breakfast at Old Town White Coffee Cenang, I bid the Worst Star Resort farewell, got my RM100 deposit back and headed to the airport in a cab. It's been a fun 12 days here but I'm over this island for now and need some civilisation, even if it's not civilised!
The flight to KL was late. Really late. As soon as we could board, it hosed down and the clouds were looking more ominous out to see, on our flight path. I wasn't worried - I was seated next to an Indian couple from Melbourne (OMG!) and behind us were the three most annoying Chinese people ever. The guy with them kept grabbing our headrests and getting in and out of his seat. Once the plane took off, we'd been up about four minutes when we hit some turbulence and a nice big air pocket. The plane plunged and the Chinese all screamed. I laughed. It was magic!
My roti canai with hot chicken curry and mat kelapa arrived not long after the air pocket and my small lunch was very pleasant, if not a bit spicy! The flight was short and niggly, we landed into the LCCT at KL and I set about finding my suitcases. Half an hour of waiting later, my suitcases arrived, so I stashed the one I'd packed to capacity at the left luggage service and caught the bus to Salak Tinggi station to grab the Ekspress train to the city.
I'm pleased that this will be my last domestic flight into the LCCT and that after I leave Malaysia on Tuesday, I won't be flying into this glorified aircraft hangar ever again! This airport is a bloody joke and a blot on the horizon. The LCCT is like a cross between Avalon and Palmerston North airports, but with touts, touts and more touts. People are rude and jet lagged, uncooperative and pushy. I can't wait for some order and some facilities at KLIA2.
The new KLIA2 opens later this week and although I'm sad I won't be there on opening day, I'm glad I won't be there on opening day as it will be a three-ring circus! It will be good to fly into KLIA2 later this year on my way to Bali though, as I'll be able to catch the train with none of this sh*ttle bus pandemonium. I'd call them shuttles and not sh*ttles, but I'd be lying! The Ekspress tren to the city will have it's own station and the Tune Hotel will be on the airport itself, along with some fancy backpackers and lots of shops in an actual mall. Strewth! I love airports but I may never leave KLIA2!
A word on the airport trains. To catch the train to KL Sentral from the LCCT, you've had to endure a 20-minute bus ride to Salak Tinggi. Once at Salak Tinggi, it's RM12.50 to KL Sentral. You can of course catch a bus to the city (I stupidly did that last year when I arrived in KL the first time) but it takes at least 1-2 hours and the traffic is crap. I'd been warned that Obama is in town and his motorcade is creating chaos. Air Force 2 was parked just next to the LCCRT when I arrived today, so moving around this already crazy city will be that much worse until he leaves tomorrow night. I'm sticking to trains and the monorail!
Arriving at KL Sentral, I bought my taxi coupon and was happy that the price hasn't gone up. It was RM10 when I came to KL the first time in 2007 and it was still RM13 today, as it was last year. I grabbed a cab with a nice Malay driver and arrived at the Downtown KL Tune Hotel. I wasn't expecting service, but I actually got it today! There was toilet paper in my room and, as a bonus, the staff were all friendly and smiley - not the surly trolls I had last time, that's for sure! I love this hotel because the location is awesome, the beds are comfy, the showers are great and it's cheap. I can now add "and because the staff are friendly".
After dumping my bags and changing, I headed to Giant supermarket across the road for supplies, then hit the shops in Maju Junction Mall, before heading to the Pharmacy in Sogo down Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR). I found zyrtec, RM10 for 10 tablets - much cheaper than Aussie and they are the 24 hour ones too. I whacked down a tablet with an iced tea from the food court upstairs which took ten minutes to get! Never again.
After a walk back up Jalan TAR, I stopped in at Pizza Hut for dinner and was going to go to Berjaya Times Square but I was just too darn tired. So, I went back to the hotel and did a load of laundry instead. I met a nosey English git while waiting for my clothes to dry, who apparently was an extra in Underbelly Squizzy. When I informed him that I hadn't seen it as I don't watch TV, the git was quite put out - clearly I'd thrown him a bit with this revelation, so he left. Hopefully that's the last I see of this clown. I'd have told him to "sod off", but I was too tired!
So, with clean clothes and a trip to Sunway Lagoon on the cards for tomorrow, I'm off to sleep now.
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