Seoul to Kuala Lumpur

Our original plan to fly from Seoul to Bangkok was changed when we found a flight for $200 bucks less by flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Air Asia, we love you! Your cheap flights, charges depending on which seat you choose, your ridiculously expensive plane food and your tiny a** seats, in the end we still love your prices.

I can’t really think of a better way to end the adventure that was Korea besides sleeping on a bus terminal floor, catching the earliest train to the airport, taking numerous wrong trains and sprinting to the boarding area just before the plane doors shut! Korea, overall, was a great experience. Living abroad and seeing the world changes people. You expose yourself to new people and situations and it all forces you to grow. In the end it all seems worth it. We are excited to see the world! 

The first stop on this new journey is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Thank goodness we had our Lonely Planet and some helpful advice from a new transplant to the city/old friend from home. We stayed at Wheelers Guest House in Chinatown. Each guest house in the area has a representative luring people inside to show what they have to offer. After viewing a few different places and hearing their prices, we knew Wheelers was the best deal in town. We paid about 45 ringgit a night ($15). That is not bad for Kuala Lumpur but a pretty penny compared to the other countries in this area. We met this particular rep outside of Reggae Bar. Why wouldn’t we follow a young lad whom we’ve just met up three flights of stairs in a grimy, old building? Exactly our thoughts. Wheelers turned out to be more than we could have asked for. We were greeted by a hippie Santa Claus with a Malaysian twist. The type that could of hailed from the backpacking streets of Southeast Asia himself. The lobby/dining area was filled with fish tanks and cages with all sorts of creatures including a long-necked turtle, an alligator gar and snakehead fish! “YES”, my insides screamed, this place is the perfect match.

Wheelers Guest House

The last few days have been a blur, filled with numerous street stall meals, bargain shopping in night markets, and the detox from what has been the last year of life. We arrived on a Saturday and spent that night exploring our area. Chinatown has a great bustling night market, filled with more fakes than you can imagine. The main street is called Jalan Petaling, and you can’t miss it from the main street. I had to hold out on this one; I’ve heard what Bangkok has to offer. We were told Malaysia has some of the best food because of the mix of cultural influence. No complaints here. It was all amazing! Jalan Alor was another good food street and supposedly the most famous in KL.

Day two was spent making our way out to the Batu Caves. Only a 45 minute bus ride and we were dropped off in front of 272 steps to enter the cave. We were greeted by a giant Hindu statue. The monkeys made the steps look easy! The caves were breathtaking. There is something to be said about a place that takes the words from your mouth and the thoughts from your mind. After being blessed by a monk, we walked out as if we were floating! It was another successful day of this amazing adventure!

Batu Caves

Monkeys all over the stairs!

Day three and four didn’t involve as many steps, but an equal amount of exercise nonetheless.  We spent most of these days eating ourselves into a coma. It was heaven! We gave ourselves one last taste of consumerism  with a trip to BB Plaza before hitting the beaches of Thailand. A friend from Seattle happens to be living and doing business out here in Malaysia. To see a familiar face felt so good. What a great way to start our trip! Drinks were had along Changkat Bukit Biritang and the laughter was intoxicating. I hope this is what the next couple of weeks hold for us.

Now we’re on the fourth indefinite delay of our train departure. Part of travel is the experience, so here’s to wrapping yourself in a good book and using your pack as a pillow. Until next time…..