Airport hotels, Kuala Lumpur

Way back in March...

By airport hotel, I mean one physically in the airport or one close enough to take a shower, grab a bite to eat and have a short sleep before your next flight...when it's just way to long to window shop the duty free stores and drink expensive or bad coffee.

I remember our first experience in an 'airport' hotel at Kuala Lumpur's luxurious International Airport Pan Pacific back in 2007, pre-blogging/reviewing days.Transported to reception in a golf buggy (if we'd known about it) and greeted by lovely staff, a cold refreshing drink and hot towels. Stray enjoyed one of the best Aussie steaks he'd ever had for around AU$13, paid for in 3 different currencies! The gargantuan buffet breakfast was well executed and to die for.

These days we land at KL's budget airline terminals (LCCT) and after lugging our bags from the plane, across the tarmac, through immigration, we continue on to the far side of the large car park to the Tune Hotel. A complex of small air conditioned boxes containing a bed with just enough space to walk around it, and a bathroom. Convenient and satisfactory...unless of course they're booked out.

This time we bussed it from Melaka to LCCT and caught a cab out to the Empress Hotel in Sepang, for 42 ringgit. A bit of a drive, a ways out of the airport area, but much closer than the city. A 12 storey hotel, described in its brochure as 'unfolding true Malaysian hospitality in an innovative setting surrounding by interesting local activities' - verbatim.

Translated that roughly means this is a big, old building, yet clean and comfortable. The rooms are generous and well equipped, however, the hotel looks like it was plonked smack in the centre of a sleepy, well worn suburb in the middle of whoop whoop. And, whose inhabitants seem to be doing their utmost to ignore its existence. As one would. Most of the surrounding shops were closed the afternoon we arrived, which made it, more than likely, quieter than usual.

View from the window

Another view from the window

The window

If you're fed up with watching bad quality Sat TV, hungry and or after a beer, step out the front doors, cross the road and turn left. On the corner is a Chinese owned restaurant with plenty of food choices and friendly faces.

Don't think about taking a doggy bag back to your room though, the sign in the hotel foyer clearly states NOT to bring outside food inside... and the fridges have been removed from the rooms. The hotel does have its own cafe, open from 5.00 am until 1.00 pm, and room service if I remember correctly. Brekkie was included and was more than ample.

Handy hint! Book a shuttle for the return journey to the airport when you first arrive, it'll only cost 15 ringgit.

Would I stay again? Yes, if I had to. It's simply an 'over nighter', nothing more and nothing less. No biggy, but don't believe the hotel's blurb and photos. To be honest, the stay was a little surreal, mainly due to the oddish location.

Local houses at the end of the street

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai

So we came all the way back, just to go back - Cambodia

We've been back in Oz for just over one month now. Happy to say Mr Bundy's ears are still intact, minus the points (Solar Dermatis, fancy name for my cat can't tolerate the sun. So he's doomed to a life of zinc cream coated ears). And, I've given into the fact that I WILL have to move more than two chairs and a bed back into the house and have started to do so. Can see a big garage sale coming up soon...more culling.

Stray's undone the termite damage, bar the aesthetic touches. But, I'm still pretending that the upstairs doesn't exist, even though I can safely walk up the steps. Less cleaning that way.

OK, getting to the point! Cambodia, especially Angkor Wat just outside of Siem Reap, was one of the places we intended on visiting while being so close, in Thailand. But, one thing lead to another and we never got there. So, we're heading off early next year to see that, Phnom Phen and Sihanoukville. All via Malaysia where we'll stop off in Georgetown (Penang), Langkawi and Melaka
.

Batu Caves outside of Kuala Lumpur

Sabah (Kota Kinabalu, Borneo) fishing boats

Kuching (Sarawak, Borneo) riverfront

We've visited Kuala Lumpur a couple of times, and Borneo, and our plans are fairly well set in jelly ...but if you've been to any of these places and can recommend 'what to see's' and 'what to do's' (or not) apart from what's on the usual tourist spiels, please do!

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai

Another step closer, Kuala Lumpur to Chiang Mai

Well, I resigned from my office job a couple of days ago, so I finish up at the end of the month. I haven't scheduled any more blackboards in either. In August the real fun will start for me, fixing, organising and packing.

I booked our tickets and changed our route to Chiang Mai, deciding to go to Bangkok for a couple of nights before hand, instead of overnighting it in Kuala Lumpur. Stray found this today swimming monkeys article, so we might go and have a squiz.

We can catch up with a friend as well, and let's face it, it's more entertaining in BKK than at the  'pay as you use' Tune Airport Hotel in KL, which serves its purpose and is very cheap, but is a bit like a stack of sardine cans (it's amazing what can be achieved with camera angles/lenses).You could travel into the city area  and stay, but if you have a flight out at 4.00 am in the morning, why would you? But it  IS worth taking a 10 ringgit bus trip (about 50 minutes) to the transit station and then a quick taxi ride into the heart of the city for dinner and a look around, before settling down for the night.

In case you're thinking of visiting! Flying with Air Asia to KL (for us) and then onwards is the cheapest way to get out of the country, unless you're lucky enough to score some sort of super deal with another airline. I'm not fussed on Air Asia, it's also 'pay as you use' and you only get what you pay for. The down side of living in Oz, if there possibly is one, is that it takes so long to fly out of the bloody place!

The Air Asia seats are quite narrow and when the bloke next to you is on the very, large side, and his left leg spends most of the 8 hours in your space, leaning on you, it can be quite invasive, annoying and just plain yukky. The seats do not recline, they sort of slide forward then tilt back a little...apparently.

Air Asia lands at a budget airport, aptly named the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), so you may have to high tail it over to the other international terminal (KLIA) , which is just around the corner, for any further flights.

A few of our friends and family have said they'll be over to visit, and are asking about places to go and things to do. I'll be making a page of suggestions, but my experiences are limited, so if you have any personally tried ideas/pics or links, please give me a cooee by EMAIL.

Ta!

I've buried the cat, Chiang Mai, here we come!

Stray and I are taking the scenic route to Chiang Mai this time, from the Gold Coast, to Kuala Lumur, to Bangkok, to Chiang Mai. Three flights and two airlines in one day, a tad painful, but very economical. AU$369.00 one way. Let me tell you, we were absolutely buggered by the time we boarded the plane (I can say that even two days prior to leaving, while I'm writing this post). We didn't achieve all we set out to do, but at some stage you have to say 'that's enough, it'll be waiting for us when we get back'.

Emotions - for me, running somewhere between, hysteria, relief, excitement, melancholy...you name it, I've got it.

Last week I had my head in the oven (noooo, I was cleaning it, although it was such a chore, turning the gas on did cross my mind) and I thought back to our return flight from Kuala  Lumpur earlier this year (To get anywhere with Air Asia, we have to go via KL). I was sandwiched between Stray (happy about that) and some older, short, vocal, stumpy Aussie guy.

Me and my big mouth. If I'd shut up and not asked to sit next to Stray, who was across the aisle, we would have ended up with three seats to share.


This ain't us!

Stray's onboard!

Stray paid his deposit today for his TEFL course and I booked our flights as far as Kuala Lumpur, leaving Australia 21st October 2010. I am waiting for the price to go down for the flight to Chiang Mai...I am such a cheapskate :), but on the other hand, it doesn't hurt to save money now, for later.

I am keeping a very close eye on the political unrest via Google news. Although the reports by the big broadcasters like CNN, Bangkok Post and BBC can sometimes be on the 'sensationalisitc' side, reporting what they think is right, in too much of a hurry. I also refer to forums and websites of people (native Thais and farang) who are living there at present.

Paknam Web Forum (a bit slow to load the page) and Stickman are proving to be quite helpful. Stickman actually visits the troubled areas regularly and takes photos. Both shed light on the actual severity of the protests...sometimes disproving news reports...sometimes, making you really think about the possible violence.

Chiang Mai Mail also provides some news of where we will be studying, although, I suspect is quite 'sterile' in its reporting.

At present we are not concerned about Chiang Mai and are in contact with people living there. But, at the end of the day, we hope that Thailand will have sorted out their unrest by the end of the year. If it escalates, we will have to consider delaying our trip.

PS. The most infuriating aspect of the whole situation to date (for me) is the involvement of some idiot Australian living in Thailand and joining the protests. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFUDNW60z8U  I wish someone would check out his credentials and visa status. I am sure we would not appreciate it, if the situation was reversed!

It's a sign 2

Thank you and Hello! Another of one of many funny signs we have found in our travels.

Yes, you would be correct in assuming that Titbits are exactly what you think they are...not hors d`oeuvres. I was amazed at how cheap they were compared to the price of beer. Stray found this one day on his way to finding a (fair dinkum) massage place in Kuala Lumpur...yes, I know it sounds suss. He thought it was quite amusing and dragged me back there that night, just to show me the sign.

Arriving in Siem Reap

27th - 29th Feb 2012

After our usual overnight transit through Kuala Lumpur at the Tune prison Hotel, we took off to Siem Reap (the Flat Defeat of Siam) early the next morning. The airport is small, quiet and quaint and there was no need for me to download visa forms from the internet, pre-complete them in duplicate and whack two photos on the front.

The only necessary form is on hand at immigration, fill it out and hand over a passport size photo plus US$20 and a painless few minutes later you're on your way to a passport check and fingerprint scan...something I was surprised to see in such a small city, country.

From Chiang Mai to Australia

From Chiang Mai to Australia  (23rd – 28th October)

THAILAND FLOODS

It’s been three WHOLE days since we landed on Australian soil...we left with very mixed emotions, and that’s not taking into account dodging the flooding in Bangkok. For those living in, or keeping a close eye on, Thailand, the feelings have been mixed, if not angry at times. There have been many discussions across the blogging world about the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’. The fact is that this was and is a flood of phenomenal proportions. I don’t think anyone was or could have been prepared for its enormity.

The way we might handle such a national disaster in our birth land, could be much different to the way Thailand chooses to approach this catastrophe. I joked with a friend in Chiang Mai, when the river Ping was flooding (she was high and dry), who couldn’t swim.

“Just get a couple of empty 2 litre milk bottles and use them as floaties.” and re-enacted how LJ used to swim (flap) around the pool as a toddler...it seems I wasn’t that far off. Kidding aside, looking at the sand bagging efforts in central Bangkok, the inner city residents did not seem as concerned as I was.

I did have the pleasure of meeting up with an email pen-pal of mine while there. A very educated man (engineer) and assistant managing director for a large construction company. We got chatting about the floods and ‘who was to blame’, if anyone. I mentioned the sandbags, or lack of, in my hotel area and he (not verbatim, but extremely accurately) said “Thai’s don’t prepare...when they see the water coming up the street, they might move...or, not...or if the flood is coming into there house...They live in the present.”

Whether it's possible to make such a broad sweeping statement or not, remember I’m only the messenger!

LEAVING THAILAND

Most people write a list of what they’ll miss and what they won’t miss, but I’ll try not to go down that track. But, but, but.... Before we left Chiang Mai, Stray and I did ask each other what we would miss about Thailand, and I replied I wasn’t sure. He did point out that the $2 a week laundry fee would be hard to beat. And, I will certainly miss my fruit being pre-cut for me, the smiley 7-11 boys offering to open my large bottle of beer in-store (accompanied by a straw), the many friends I’ve made during my stay there...some still there and some who have moved on. Stray will surely miss his teaching and students...and massages. But, for every *thing* I’ll miss, there’s something to look forward to back home... especially working, to save the money for the next adventure.

The long part of the trip back home, from Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast, was pleasant. Avoided (after a light dinner, inflating of a blow up neck pillow, snuggling under a sarong, come blanket) with the aid of a sleeping tablet. My first try and I highly recommend it. Never battered an eyelid until I heard the breakfast cart coming down the aisle.

ARRIVING HOME

We didn’t (quite) have to machete our way back into our yard, so that was a plus. CJ, less 20 odd kilos, looking just wonderful, and grandpumpkin met us at the airport, then chauffeured us to our house where frozen home cooked meals awaited us. Shortly after, my trusty steed (small car) was delivered back to me by its foster parents (thanks Dad and Mum) looking better than I’d left him. Not to mention an esky or two of food, cheese! ham! and drinks...wine...WINE...RED and WHITE WINE...made in AUSTRALIA!

Getting in my own wheels and taking off, wherever, whenever, would have to be on the list of ‘biggest things I’ve missed in Oz', along with being able to drink water straight from a tap. However, I did feel out of sorts staring at the fruit today in our local store. Grapes $17.00 per kilo and nectarines, not much less. Nup!

And then, there was using my bank card at the shop. I had acquired a new one before leaving Australia and wasn’t sure if I’d remembered the PIN number correctly...and evidently, had not. A long (on hold) call to the bank is in order tomorrow.

Back in May, we received word that our house had been invaded by ‘termites’. A word synonymous to ‘cancer’, if it were in the human context. The deluge earlier in the year had no doubt driven the little critters indoors, away from the hundreds of more appetising trees on our property. It’s now October, and they’ve just apparently been halted, killed, exterminated. If it hadn’t been for CJ and her partner listening, touching, poking and crumbling off bits off our house, it would have been in much worse shape than it is. Still, they’ve eaten a path from the rear, through a staircase, in between floors, inner wall and door/window frames, to the front.

So, for now, it’s clean up, settle down, repair and back to work time.

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai