The bus journey from Singapore to KL was completely painless. I fell asleep before we got to the border and again immediately after Malaysian immigration. I woke briefly again at a lunch stop and then was unconscious again until the outskirts of KL.
The roadside stop on the toll road was notable. Malaysia has some of the world’s best and most varied food. Why then was the selection available at this transport cafe so awful? I walked three times around the various stalls before eventually deciding that the safest bet was a chicken burger, which at least showed the promise of being freshly made. I opened the polystyrene box at my plastic table. It was oozing a combination of runny tomato sauce, mayonnaise and lightly fried egg, in which something, possibly chicken, was wrapped. I dropped it in the bin and bought a Cornetto.
Some days ago I wrote that I had been thrown out of my hotel, the illustrious Heritage Station. From there I had gone to a small and quite nice hotel opposite the Puduraya bus station. The room was RM88, clean, safe and had huge windows and bright lights -- a general improvement all round. The receptionist was even helpful and pleasant. When I left there to go to Singapore I asked if I needed to book for my return in a few days. No need, I was told. Even so, as I crossed the border in to Malaysia this morning I thought I would give them a call and check that they had a room for me. They didn’t. Bugger.
There was a huge queue of busses waiting to drop passengers at the Puduraya bus station so our driver dropped us at the side of the road half way between there and Bukit Bintang. I decided to walk there and look for a hotel.
Much as I like my large North Face kit bag for its tough, waterproof qualities, it is a horrid thing to carry for any distance. It sits on your back like a sad sack, with no waist belt or frame to help take some of the weight. Add a camera bag and computer bag into the mix and walking becomes somewhat of a chore. Still, I am fit I thought and it isn’t far to the hotels.
I rejected two hotels on the grounds that they just looked too expensive and found a reasonable one near the bottom of Bukit Bintang. I was offered a room for RM145, which I declined on the grounds that this was too expensive. The clerk looked at me pityingly and said that they did have a room on the top floor for RM105. I went up to have a look. Dingy and not too clean -- the sort of room that they probably don’t rent out all that often and way overpriced. Having stayed in a windowless hole in Singapore, I was desperate for something a little better, or at least good value. I moved on.
Nine hotels later I was getting a little desperate. Everywhere was full, whether cheap backpackers’ accommodation or nice hotels -- four thirty on a Friday night obviously not being the best time to find a hotel in the Golden Triangle. I did eventually find two rooms - a suite for RM350 and a pleasant room in the Allson Genesis (yes, again) for RM205. Concerned that I may not find anything else cheaper and fed up of carrying my bags around the streets, I booked into the Allson Genesis.
In retrospect I ought to have sat down, had something to eat and reassessed the situation; as my friends often point out, I get very irritable when I am hungry. By the time I finally got a hotel I was ready to rip heads off, so perhaps it is a good thing that I am travelling alone. After some food -- roti canai and teh tarikh across the road -- life seems much better and I am smiling again.
The roadside stop on the toll road was notable. Malaysia has some of the world’s best and most varied food. Why then was the selection available at this transport cafe so awful? I walked three times around the various stalls before eventually deciding that the safest bet was a chicken burger, which at least showed the promise of being freshly made. I opened the polystyrene box at my plastic table. It was oozing a combination of runny tomato sauce, mayonnaise and lightly fried egg, in which something, possibly chicken, was wrapped. I dropped it in the bin and bought a Cornetto.
Some days ago I wrote that I had been thrown out of my hotel, the illustrious Heritage Station. From there I had gone to a small and quite nice hotel opposite the Puduraya bus station. The room was RM88, clean, safe and had huge windows and bright lights -- a general improvement all round. The receptionist was even helpful and pleasant. When I left there to go to Singapore I asked if I needed to book for my return in a few days. No need, I was told. Even so, as I crossed the border in to Malaysia this morning I thought I would give them a call and check that they had a room for me. They didn’t. Bugger.
There was a huge queue of busses waiting to drop passengers at the Puduraya bus station so our driver dropped us at the side of the road half way between there and Bukit Bintang. I decided to walk there and look for a hotel.
Much as I like my large North Face kit bag for its tough, waterproof qualities, it is a horrid thing to carry for any distance. It sits on your back like a sad sack, with no waist belt or frame to help take some of the weight. Add a camera bag and computer bag into the mix and walking becomes somewhat of a chore. Still, I am fit I thought and it isn’t far to the hotels.
I rejected two hotels on the grounds that they just looked too expensive and found a reasonable one near the bottom of Bukit Bintang. I was offered a room for RM145, which I declined on the grounds that this was too expensive. The clerk looked at me pityingly and said that they did have a room on the top floor for RM105. I went up to have a look. Dingy and not too clean -- the sort of room that they probably don’t rent out all that often and way overpriced. Having stayed in a windowless hole in Singapore, I was desperate for something a little better, or at least good value. I moved on.
Nine hotels later I was getting a little desperate. Everywhere was full, whether cheap backpackers’ accommodation or nice hotels -- four thirty on a Friday night obviously not being the best time to find a hotel in the Golden Triangle. I did eventually find two rooms - a suite for RM350 and a pleasant room in the Allson Genesis (yes, again) for RM205. Concerned that I may not find anything else cheaper and fed up of carrying my bags around the streets, I booked into the Allson Genesis.
In retrospect I ought to have sat down, had something to eat and reassessed the situation; as my friends often point out, I get very irritable when I am hungry. By the time I finally got a hotel I was ready to rip heads off, so perhaps it is a good thing that I am travelling alone. After some food -- roti canai and teh tarikh across the road -- life seems much better and I am smiling again.
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