Somewhere over the Pacific
It was a week ago that we returned to Malaysia from our trip to India. So the flight on AirAsia was ok for the price. As an overnight flight on the bulkhead it was uncomfortable. It think it was uncomfortable due to the tiredness factor. So we arrived in the LCCT (Low cost carrier terminal) at KLIA. This is a separate no frills airport terminal. No air bridges, so airport employee stop you from walking in front of service equipment. Immigration was a breeze, but we waited for our luggage, but it arrived. Since it was before 6 am and the buses/trains were not running we went to the taxi coupon counter and purchased one (something US airports should adopt). We got to the taxi and then had to convince the driver where he had to go. Most drivers do not know where the Shah Village Hotel in PJ is. We finally convince them that it is next to the 24hr A&W drive-in. We get there in record time at 75 mph (120 kph).
The Shah Village is “home” for now. Both Liz and I have stayed there for a number of weeks over the last several years. It is close to the LRT (light rail), a mall with mobile service enter, supermarket, banks, and a Starbucks for when instant coffee wears thin. We are also close to a great Dosa restaurant (with branches on Lexington Ave in NYC and in Decatur, Georgia).
We rested/slept and then went to lunch with our friends from Sawarak. This time the food was Hakka style food.
This blog is not one for foodies. A great meal with friends and their family and then it was off to KLCC Suria Pavilion, a huge shopping mall in the basement of the Kuala Lumpur twin towers. We wandered around for a while, purchased some staples at Cold Storage (upscale market), and headed back to the hotel. We rested for the evening.
On Monday we did some touring of KL, ending up for a meal at another mall. Getting back was a problem as the free bus driver was on lunch break. On the way back I noted that RapidKL has a flexpass plan which allows unlimited riding of the public transit system for 1, 3, 7, 15 or 30 day periods. As I was to find out there are certain requirements you need to fulfill. Again we rested (we were turning in early and earlier as the trip wore on). Dinner was non-descript at a local restaurant. And I discovered the local 24hr Malaysian/Indian restaurant was closed. This meant that I was robbed of my local source for roti canni, and teah terak. I recovered with alternative teah terak, but never found a roti canni alternative.
On Tuesday, we went to the ticket stand at the local LRT. I could not buy the rapidpass as I did not have a Touch & Go card. These are a stored value card (similar to the meal passes at US universities). I asked were to get one and got “at the central office”. So we were off to KLSentral, a major station with a tourist information office. We were in luck; there was a Touch & Go office in the station. We go, are rapidly served, and discover we need to have our passports with us to apply. They are in the safe back in the hotel. So off I go, back to the hotel, pick up the passports, fill them out (Liz hates filling in forms), and head back to KLSentral to get the card. We purchase two and are told they will last 10 years if we use them once a year. This nicely matches our 10 year visa to India, and our 10 year mobile number in India. We get the appropriate amounts of money put on the cards and make our purchase of 3 day passes. We might not save any money, but the convenience factor outweighs almost anything. So we were are off and running. We visit some art galleries, see some incredible paintings we cannot afford and nibble on some good food. Meanwhile we were making good use of our ticket.
On Wednesday, we travel on a tour of neighborhoods courtesy of Christine, a sister of our friends in Sawarak. We tour PJ, travel over to Mt. Kiara, see some national monuments and then down into Chinatown.
We visit the old Central Market (dating from the 1880’s). After a quick purchase of a new tunic (silk) for Liz, we adjourn to a Nyonya restaurant on the second floor.
We leave the market and wander through Chinatown. It is an active trading area and we arrive during shift change. It is quite busy and we are not in the mood to make purchases. 
On Wednesday evening we head out to Short & Sweet theatre at the KLPAC. It is difficult to get to, but we manage. They plays are intriguing, 10 minutes each. When the play ends, we walk a km to the main road and catch a taxi back to town. The evening was a success, both artistically, and from a getting to know KL better
Thursday was a day of exploration and steps. We went out on the LRT to a neighborhood on the far side of town. Earlier in the week, Liz commented that our longevity in Malaysia may depend upon the health of our knees. So I started counting stairs. Typically, Kuala Lumpur has “handicapped accessible Rapid transit”, but you need to use “flyovers” to get across major streets. Typically the flyovers accommodate large trucks (5.7 meter). That translates into 84 steps to get across. We have begun to discover the bus feeder routes circulating from the LRT stations. They may relieve some of our issues. The challenge is discovering what their routes and operating schedules. Because most flats/condo are rented by the individual unit owner, it is not really possible to see available units until closer to our renting date. However, we have been looking at buildings, and there are reviews of building on the web. But from what I have seen we should have no problem finding a 2br 2b fully furnished (all kitchen appliances included) in our price range. So far we have visited Bangsar, an area near the Setiawangsa LRT station, and several neighborhoods near the Taman Jaya, and Asia Jaya LRT stations. Some additional areas have been suggested, but we do not want to live in expat dominated areas, nor do we want to purchase a car.
On Thursday night we decided to find a hawkers market style of food. We end up on Jalan Alon in downtown KL and have a wonderful fish dinner. We find Lot 10, a mall that is the home of the Actor’s theater, but don’t find the theater right off. As we were leaving we spy a note on an elevator indicating the theater is on the 8th floor. The mall is owned by the same company YTL that is developing the area around Klpac. On Thursday afternoon we travelled/walked to Bangsar. It is not easy to get to on foot from the LRT. The mall is nice, has many expat oriented stores, and a very nice art gallery (not the Timberlake gallery).
On Friday we go to United Voice in the morning. (See Liz’s commentary on United Voice). We wander around downtown KL and have lunch in the Penang hawkers market under Lot 10. We pack, wash cloths and charge our various electronic devices (a computer, a Kindle, three phones, and an iTouch). Liz has a meeting with a woman from a local woman’s advocacy group. We decide to go back to Jalan Alon for dinner (not as good and come away hungry). Back to the hotel to rotate our cloths to ensure they dry by morning, and begin to burn minutes on our pre-paid mobile plans. It becomes difficult since the carrier changes the rate plan after we have made one call. Thus a 20 minute call to the US can cost less than $1 US.
Saturday morning we get up rather late and check out. Off to KLSentral to store our bags in luggage lockers (remember those). All four bags fit into one locker at a daily cost of $7.00 US. We spy a sign for a regional art exhibit at an out of the way exhibition hall offering free roundtrip bus transit. So off we go. At the exhibition hall, I am greeted by a gallery owner from Penang, and a gallery employee from the gallery in Bangsar. There are some fantastic contemporary themed artists exhibiting in SE Asia. We see some that we love, but could not afford, and one that was so fantastic that we would have purchased it on the spot, even though it would be a stretch. We find a group of six Ecuadorian artists, see some performance art with the artist drawing on the t-shirts of the spectators, and have a great time. It is back downtown for coffee and dinner. This desert is our final food in Malaysia, one of Liz's favorites Ice Kachang.
We wander around Little India and go to a Deevali commercial festival (like the commercial exhibitors barn at a US state fair). We finally board our bus to the airport at 8PM and our stay in Asia is rapidly coming to an end.
We arrive in Inchon airport early in the morning. The showers are free but you pay for the towel and a shower kit. Refreshed, we go in search of coffee and find some at a Caribou Coffee outlet. Thus fortified, we head off to use the free wifi. There are loads of free computers to use, but they default to a Korean keyboard anytime we attempt to use Google. A little too sleepy to deal with the settings we check our mail and blog. The airport is very busy, but not loud. Nobody is shouting at you and only occasional announcement break the silence.
Okay, Oct 31 is becoming a really long day. We are heading east across the Pacific and will cross the International Date Line. We have landed at LAX. Luckily we are part of the Trusted Traveler program. We skipped the lengthy lines for immigration and once we picked up our luggage we joined the crew line. There appeared to be three very long lines wrapping around the TIB terminal, all with luggage and waiting for clearance at customs. Then we entered the Delta terminal at LAX. It was like going to a third world country. I really wonder about the enforcement of health laws. The carpets are dirty, the operation in the terminal is obviously disorganized, and after a calm Asia, everybody is yelling. Eventually we board our flight to MSP and I sleep most of the way. At MSP we switch flights to RDU. Although we arrive early, the ground crew is unable to accommodate us. Still we exit early and go down to the baggage area. What I have learned throughout our trip, is that baggage handlers work on their own schedule. You may arrive early, but your baggage will always arrive at the originally scheduled time.
We take a taxi home, and enter our real estate industry “depersonalized home”. Pictures are rearranged, furniture is rearranged, and nothing seems quite right. Nothing is missing, but it takes a bit to find it. I guess this is part of the process, although it is legally our home, it is no longer emotionally our home.
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