Which Bus Station? Navigating Through Kuala Lumpur.

The day we arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Ipoh was a public holiday, so we were pretty confident that we would be able to move around easily, without being hindered by heavy traffic. As we stood at the side of the road hailing taxis, it became clear that we would have a hard time finding one that would use a meter. When we finally found one that agreed on a reasonable fixed price, we were informed that we (and the ladies huge suitcases) were heading to the wrong bus station.

Waiting to hail a taxi outside the Kuala Lumpur Train Station.

We had read in the guide that in order for us to head south to Melaka, we would have to go to the Puduraya Bus Station in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. However, the taxi driver informed us mid-journey that we were heading to the wrong bus station. We should have been heading to TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) in Bandar Tasik Selatan, that we later learned served pretty much the whole of southern Malaysia and Singapore.

So as far as i know, there are 5 main bus stations in Kuala Lumpur serving various areas of Malaysia and beyond as follows:

1. TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan), Bandar Tasik Selatan
It was my first time to pass through this new bus station that serves the southern region of peninsular Malaysia. It is huge, and has a centralised ticketing system, so you don’t have touts approaching you and trying to sell to you at non-standardised prices. Once you have purchased your ticket, depending on your preferred time, you head down to the boarding gates. I say ‘boarding gates’ on purpose, as this bus station could rival an airport any day. Delays are announced, and upon arrival of your bus, an attendant will assist you in checking your ticket. The taxi stand at the station is also efficient, using a ticketing system with standardised prices. All in all I was pretty impressed that Malaysia had such a service.

2. Puduraya Central Station
It was also my first time to Puduraya in years, and newly renovated Puduraya looked like it should be efficient. However, as soon as we entered, we were descendded upon by ticket touts, looking to make a quick buck. From what i gather, this bus station serves the northern region of Malaysia such as Ipoh and Penang. Another example of first world amenities with third world mentality.

3. Hentian Duta
The taxi guy told us that you could get a bus to Penang from here, although i have absolutely no idea since i have never been there.

4. Putra Bus Terminal (Hentian Putra)
Serving the east coast states of Malaysia, i have passed through this bus station quite a few times when traveling to Kuantan and Kuala Besut/Perhentian Island. It is a classic example of a smallish bus station that has individual counters for different companies. So you more or less have to have an idea which company goes to your destination, or someone will approach you and guide you to the right counter.

5. Bus Station near the STAR LRT Tittiwangsa stop and Vistana Hotel
I’m not even sure of the name of this bus station that serves the state of Pahang and has buses plying the route to places such as Genting Highlands and Kuantan. It is small and open air. Buses stop at bays and you stand in line to embark. Simple.

Navigating through Kuala Lumpur by bus is slightly more complicated than it used to be, but the stations and service has definitely come a long way and look to be improving even further.

Ipoh and around, Malaysia.

While browsing through photos to accompany this blog post, I realised that Ipoh was probably the most interesting stop for me during our Malaysian road trip with the three Spanish ladies. From the moment we arrived at the modern bus station, to dragging the ladies huge trolley suitcases through Ipoh old town, we already had local company, our friend Aniq, who Rick and i had met while working in Perhentian island last year. So right from the beginning, we felt as if we were at home. We went on to meet and catch up with other friends during our 3-night stay in Ipoh, and i have to say that this town (and Perak state) was a breath of fresh air for me. Coming from Penang and Langkawi, Ipoh is understated as a place to visit. It is not the first place that comes to mind if you are planning a tour of Malaysia. I had been here before, usually for business, or passing through to get to somewhere else, and had seen the impressive limestone cliffs and marble quarries at the side of the highway, so i knew for sure that there were some very beautiful places in the vicinity. The only problem was getting to them wasn’t going to be as easy as in a more touristy place like Penang. So the first thing we did was call a guy (i got his number from another random guy i had talked to at the bus station) and rent a car.

Me and my fellow curly-haired brother, Aniq.

Aniq took us to the New Caspian Hotel, and old, seventies-style set up, which again, was a little over our usual budget, but the ladies decided to stay as soon as they saw the room. Despite the air-conditioning being too high and the rooms a little dated, this hotel had the best hot water showers and most comfortable beds that Rick and i have had the pleasure of enjoying in a long time. And its these comforts that we are willing to pay a little more for once in a while. After getting settled, Aniq took us all across the road for our first meal, which also set the tone for the next few days in this culinary heaven. Even  the ladies got used to having dim sum for breakfast!

Marissa and Pilar enjoying breakfast.

The ladies’ favourite selection of Dim Sum.

We introduced the ladies to various other types of Malaysian flavours such as kerang/cockles, sotong kangkug and ais kacang or ABC. The food in Ipoh can give Penang a run for its money any day!

A wide array of local fruit was on offer. Since the Chinese New Year was just around the corner, pomelos were hanging everywhere.

Being able to move around independently in Ipoh opened a whole lot of opportunities for us to explore in and around the city. The area is full of beautiful limestone mountains and cliffs, which surround Ipoh town and make for some beautiful natural scenery. The caves, waterfalls and rivers, coupled with very few tourists ensured that we were going to have a good time. We had also more or less gotten used to the ladies’ rhythm, and that made everything a lot easier. Our first activity was a walk around town and to the train station in an area full of old colonial buildings.

The clock tower, a Birch memorial (Birch was the first British colonial Resident in Perak), erected on 1909.

Beautifully manicured surroundings in Ipoh. This is the Straits Trading Company building, a large tin ore exporter of days gone by.

The Town Padang Mosque.

The majestic Ipoh Train Station. The third largest in colonial Malaya.

The old City Hall surrounded by Ipoh’s city flower, the Bougainvillea.

Our first night in Ipoh also saw us heading out to party for the first time with the ladies. One of our friends (who we also met on Perhentian island), Anaz has a band with his brothers and was performing at a bar that night. We met Aniq there and the ladies had a great time doing what they love most, dancing the night away!

Eva was the first on the dance floor!

Pilar and Aniq.

Marissa had fun dancing with various partners all night.

We visited the cave temples, just outside town, which had interesting passageways into the limestone caves and stairs that took you to beautiful views of Ipoh town surrounded by its mountains. We also read about the colonial era in Kellie’s castle and the time when tin was actively mined in the state. We also visited the huge Gua Tempurung (Tempurung Cave) and the raging river around Gopeng surrounded by greenery.

The outside of one of the cave temples.

One of the alters inside a cave temple.

Entering a cave temple.

A dragon adorns this pillar in another Buddhist cave temple.

A painting on a wall of one of the cave temples of Kuan Yin.

The view of Ipoh town surrounded by its limestone mountains taken from one of the cave temples.

Up and inside the very belly of one of Ipoh’s beautiful cave temples.

A temple within a temple at Sam Poh Tong.

Rick, posing next to a tiger on the way up some narrow stairs carved into the side of one of the limestone cliffs.

Eva, next to a statue of Kuan Yin.

Kellie’s Castle, which many believe is haunted.

A depiction of what the living area inside Kellie’s Castle may have looked like.

Kellie’s House, behind Kellie’s Castle.

A butterfly taking a break behind Kellie’s Castle.

The ladies saw this beautiful Malay couple who were at Kellie’s Castle taking some wedding photos, and asked for one with the couple.

The entrance to Gua Tempurung/Tempurung Cave.

The labyrinth inside Gua Tempurung.

Beautiful scenery inside the earth’s belly.

The end of the paved and lit part of the cave system. After this, its passable with torch lights, crawling and swimming through various parts.

The fast-flowing river near Gopeng also offers white-water rafting to visitors.

Relaxing in our very own spot near Gopeng, Perak. Pilar was so happy with her natural spa experience.

The Taman Herba Perak, near Gopeng. It was absolutely stunning, but the mosquitoes and red biting kerengga ants chased us out after less than half an hour.

A lizard catching some early morning sunshine.

But the time came for us to say goodbye to our friends head southwards too soon. The ladies had fallen in love with the train station, so we booked our tickets to KL to transit there for a while (while Eva and Rick went to the Spanish embassy to sort out the lost passport problem). During our short stopover in KL, there was a little drama with getting to the right bus station to head south, but that is another, whole new blog post altogether.

Waiting excitedly early morning at Ipoh train station.

The train was on time and efficient. It showed the per-requisiite lousy movie as well as displaying its traveling speed.

A beautiful day greeted us when we arrived at KL train station.

Penang, Malaysia.

Penang was the one of the places that Rick and i had yet to visit together but he has heard me raving about the food there countless times. I used to be a regular business traveler to this island but had only come for pleasure on a handful of special occasions. We had already forewarned the ladies that the beaches in Penang were not as pretty as those in Langkawi, but that the island was far more interesting for its culture, food and history. We left Langkawi by ferry, which, if you have read the previous post, would know, was a catamaran-type boat, for the under 3-hour trip to Penang. As we were loading up on the ferry, it became clear that the ladies large suitcases, were not the best choice for moving around easily, unless you’re on a smooth, flat, seamless pavement.

So when we arrived at the ferry terminal at Swettenham Pier, we also had to figure out how we were going to cart around all that luggage, while looking for a room. We had not pre-booked any accommodation, but we knew the rough area of Georgetown where the budget guesthouses would be located. As it had started raining, we paid a taxi guy to get us and our luggage to Love Lane, a small road off Chulia street, and look for a place to stay in the area. We soon found that many places were full, so when a guy told us to follow him to a place he knew had rooms, we did. The place was a dorm in a self-proclaimed ‘party-friendly’ hostel. Completely the wrong choice for us and the ladies. In the end, we found a place called Red Inn Heritage, which cost us more than Rick and i are used to paying, but the ladies were happy and the place was nice and clean.

Street art, such as this one are dotted around Georgetown and depict local scenes.

Penang is different to how i remember it, and i mean that in a good way. We traveled mainly by bus, on foot and sometimes by taxi, which was very easy and convenient with clear directions and maps. Georgetown is a lot cleaner than i remember it being, and people friendlier. The weather was mixed. It rained at least once every day we explored Penang, but the ladies were adventurous and  started visiting places independently. We walked a lot and the ladies got to try an array of hawker food that has made Penang famous in areas such as Chulia Street and Gurney Drive. Georgetown, at least, has a very special feel about it, and it was a pleasure living among the various businesses and places of worship.

Fort Cornwallis overlooks the sea.

St. Georges church.

The ladies outside the Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Penang.

A great walk in Penang;s Botanical Gardens.

The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, or Blue Mansion, a beautifully restored building.

On the stair case at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion).

8-point-tiles.

Interesting sights all around in Georgetown, Penang.

Huge curry fish-heads at Nasi Kandar Line Clear.

Winning hands-down as favourite food in Penang was Char Kuey Teow.

After 3 nights, we packed up and arranged for a taxi to take the ladies to the bus station, while Rick and i made it there on foot. We traveled to our next destination, Ipoh, on a very comfortable bus, and were dropped off in a huge new bus station complex to continue our trip southwards.

Langkawi, Malaysia.

From the very beginning of our travels with the ladies, there was drama. First the rain and flooding in Sibu, then Eva’s lost passport. We were also beginning to notice the differences of traveling with people who have a completely different rhythm to yourselves. Rick and i take it for granted that we have the same rhythm, like the same things, are adverse to almost the same things and generally travel at a very relaxed pace. Things changed with the ladies. They had so much more energy than we did, especially seeing as Langkawi was a place that we had been to countless times before.

We realised that we had made a good choice in pre-booking a car and a room for the ladies prior to arriving, as the island was still full of people post new year celebration. But later, more options became available and the ladies got a better deal right on the beach. We stayed at Rumours Guesthouse. A quiet, budget option, away from the loud, duty-free party across the road.

The view from our porch at Rumours Guesthouse. Nice and peaceful.

Cenang Beach had changed so much since the last time i visited over a year and a half ago. And we are talking about new hotels, malls and huge concrete buildings. However, after a few days, we could still feel the charm that keeps bringing people back here.

Cenang Beach has changed since the last time we were here. Now there are so many people, and the jet skis, motorbikes and banana boats somehow take away the charm that this beach once had. But the blue skies and white sand still takes your breath away.

Cenang Beach. Beautiful when quiet.

We spent our first few days driving around the island, exploring, while Eva’s lost passport dwelled at the back of our minds. After 3 nights, the ladies decided to look for a new room as theirs had a strong sewerage smell coming out of their drains. Rick and i took everyone to look at a few options and after a discussion, a new room was found and the ladies spent the next few days relaxing on the beach, resigned to the fact that we would be staying in Malaysia for the rest of their trip now.

We visited most of the sights by car, that we rented for RM 120 a day, which wasn’t too bad. Then we returned the car and just took a few days to relax while the ladies enjoyed massages, pedicures and relaxing on the beach by the sea.

Pilar and Marissa enjoying the view from the cable car.

View from the top. It wasn’t the clearest day but it was still worth the trip up.

My favourite view of Langkawi. Coincidentally, the suspension bridge you see in the picture was closed for maintenance when we went up.

We continued enjoying our food and trying new flavours in Langkawi.

A fire and acrobatic show in Kuah town for the Magical Langkawi Festival.

Marissa swimming near the trickle of a waterfall.

Eva, checking out the monkeys, who are ever-ready to snatch a bag.

Rick met his friend’s brother who was working at one of the restaurants on Cenang Beach.

Penguins at Underwater World.

Coconuts on a hot afternoon.

Sunset from Pantai Tengah.

When it was time to leave, we were all excited to get back to the mainland and explore parts of Malaysia that we all had yet to visit.

Our ferry ride to Penang, back on the Peninsular.

All set and ready to explore Penang.

Losing a Foreign Passport in Malaysia.

Stamps in and out of Honduras. This picture is for illustration purposes only.

It could have happened to anyone, and in Eva’s case, a whole plastic envelope containing her Spanish passport and travel documents slipped out of her bag when she pulled out her jacket, without her noticing it, on our flight to Langkawi. Up until the moment we realised that Eva’s passport was missing, we were all looking forward to spending the next two weeks relaxing on some of the region’s most beautiful sandy beaches. After this all went up in smoke, we had to take some steps to ensure that Eva would eventually be allowed out of the country to travel back to Spain without carrying a passport.

Our first action was to make a report with the airline, AirAsia. They helped us to check all possible contact points for the plane where we thought the passport had fallen out of Eva’s bag. But after a few days it was clear that the passport was not going to be found. We also typed an official police report with the local police at the Padang Matsirat station, with me acting as Eva’s translator (many people commented subsequently that they thought i was a bilingual travel guide!). We also contacted the Spanish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on thier 24-hour hotline and alerted them of the situation. We made sure that they would be open when we passed through Kuala Lumpur, on our way down to the historical city of Melaka. They assured us that Eva’s temporary travel documents, for traveling back to her home country, was a simple process and would only take 5 minutes.

Fast forward to reality, a week or so later when Eva arrives at the Spanish embassy in Kuala Lumpur without a photo and unprepared for the prospect of having to go to Putrajaya to obtain a document from the Malaysian Immigration Office, in order to be able to leave the country. So after a very short last couple of nights in Melaka, Eva and i took the bus back to Kuala Lumpur and jumped into a taxi to get to Putrajaya.

The Enforcement Department was a hive of activity, packed with people standing, sitting or being interviewed. Luckily we managed to jump the queue by asking a helpful officer for assistance since Eva’s flight was leaving that very night. The whole office space was completely full, mainly with people who had overstayed in Malaysia. There were people from all nationalities that you could think of.

We spent a good 4 hours cooped up in that office, waiting for our turn to submit paperwork, pay, and finally receive back the relevant documents.

What a relief it was when the whole process was over, just hours before Eva’s flight.

The start of 2014…

All in all, the year started on a positive note. We were about to start on a two-week period of travel with three much older ladies who all had very little or no independent travel experience, so naturally, we felt a little nervously protective. We were all excited to finally be moving again.

We took a flight to Kuala Lumpur and spent a few hours at the airport before boarding our connecting flight to Langkawi Island on the northwest side of Peninsular Malaysia, bordering Thailand.

At the low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in KLIA, waiting for our flights to Langkawi.

The day went smoothly and when we arrived in Langkawi to sunshine and blue skies, we were all extremely excited to be able to be outdoors on this beautiful island. After collecting our luggage and our rented car, we left the airport and drove to a home stay i had booked ahead for the ladies as it was peak period and we were worried that it would be difficult to find accommodation.

While the ladies got settled into their room, Rick and i took a short walk to a guesthouse nearby and easily found a nice budget room for ourselves. When we walked back to check on the ladies, we found them frantically looking through their stuff. Eva had lost her passport.

We immediately drove back to the airport to make a report with AirAsia but the service was very slow, making us all feel frustrated. Without Eva’s passport, our plans to go to the southwestern islands of Thailand (we had also bought return tickets from Krabi) went up in smoke. Unsurprisingly, everyone had a very restless night, our first night on the start of our holiday.

After a few days of checking with the airline, airport, police and embassy, we finally had to come to terms with the fact that Eva’s passport was gone and it was impossible to make a replacement passport in time. We went through tears and frustration to convince everyone that we were not going to leave Eva alone, and that we were all sticking together as a group.

Rick and i made alternative travel plans, remaining in Malaysia and heading southwards through Penang and Ipoh to  the Spanish embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Then a short couple of nights in Melaka before catching their flights back to Spain. And that’s how we spent the first couple of weeks of 2014. Drama, consultation, problem-solving, plan-changing. Not a bad way to start the year, i’d say 🙂

Plans are made to be changed. Champagne on our last night in Langkawi.

What to do in Three Days in Kuala Lumpur.

I looked back on my latest post and realised that it was a bit disjointed from the one before it, which was written after a stint of working in a dive shop and living on a paradise island. After the monsoon arrived and we had to leave Perhentian Kecil Island, we came back to Kuala Lumpur and got the paperwork done to sell our house. We then went back to Sibu, Sarawak, to spend a week enjoying an abundant fruit season and get the house in order for the impending arrival of our special guests.

A wet barbeque, a good way to spend rainy day.

Lots and lots of fruit. These are durians and “likat” (another type of durian).

One of the many serene sunsets along the Igan river opposite my house.

Dad and Rick on the farm, talking ‘pineapple’.

Taking a break and having a healthy snack!

Mirror image. The slightly too calm waters of Sungai Retus.

Well, i digress. Back to the topic at hand… Before we knew it, the time came for us to make our way back to Kuala Lumpur to welcome the arrival of Rick’s mum and her two friends from Spain.

We had planned it that we would be back in Sibu for two weeks but we would take short trips while we were there. As you have probably read, the weather had other plans for us, but that’s a whole different story! So, these three 60-something ladies, two of who are in Southeast Asia for the first time, all of who can only speak Spanish (no English at all), arrived at various times, sightly jet-lagged, but excited to get out and experience something new.

Eva arrived first, so we had time to kill while waiting for Pilar and Marissa. Here was her first ever introduction to Malaysian food. Check out this massive Thosai paper.

We had three days in Kuala Lumpur, and, bearing in mind the limitations based on age, language capability, and my own knowledge, here is how we spent it. I think the ladies had a good introduction to the city, before being taken to a village and wooden house. We visited major attractions and i slowly tried to introduce Malaysian flavours to them. Bringing the ladies around and explaining things to them was a blast as i got to enjoy the tour myself too, while practicing my Spanish.

So follow us as we introduce these three fun-loving Spanish ladies to Kuala Lumpur in three days.

First stop after a restless night was the Petronas Twin Towers at KLCC. Unfortunately, it was here that we scratched the lens on our new camera.

Enjoying the views and fooling around.

First Chinese meal at our favourite local Chinese restaurant.

Introduction to the exotic durian, which they enjoyed.

Our visit to the Blue Mosque in Shah Alam was an interesting one for us all. We had an excellent guide.

Banana leaf rice on fake banana leaves! Food was still pretty amazing though!

Hustle and bustle at in Chinatown.

A lively atmosphere at Dataran Merdeka. You can see the scratch in the camera lens in the background light.

Rounding off the night at the almost-magical Masjid Jamek.

Taking the LRT into Kuala Lumpur.

Shopping for gifts in fabric heaven.

Delicious nasi bryani washed down with mango lassis, that the ladies absolutely loved.

A Wet End to 2013 in Sarawak, Borneo.

Yes, it was a very wet end to the year. Torrential rain pretty much set the tone of every day of the last two weeks of 2013. We were in Sibu with Rick’s mum, Marissa, and her two friends, Pilar and Eva for Christmas and New Year, but we were rained (and flooded in) most of the time. The water pretty much prevented us from exploring outdoors…

Rain or shine, everyone was preparing for Christmas and the homecoming of those from afar.

Instead, we did things around the house. Painted the boat, cleaned, washed, played games, walked and ate way too much!

Eva, on the front porch of our house.

On one of the evenings that it didn’t rain, we took the ladies for a walk to Bukit Aup, one of the highest points around flat Sibu.

Peeling pineapples with Pilar.

A trip to Sibu market, said to be the largest in Malaysia.

A lesson in some traditional Sarawakian food.

Meeting Maktuk.

Getting the boat river-worthy under the house. After scraping and applying new sealant, we got some help with the painting.

Picking seeds we used as beads to make Pilar a necklace.

We managed to capture a blue sky when we visited this Chinese Buddhist Temple Complex just a short drive out of Sibu town!

Entertaining visitors to the house over Christmas.

An intense game of Rumikub always ended the night off.

The ever-welcome, gets-your-fee- on-the-floor-every-time, POCO POCO!!

We braved the rain one day to take the speedboat downriver, introducing the ladies to our Melanau roots. The weather treated us fairly well, but we were still soaked at one point or another during the day. Starting early at the longhouse, the grey skies were kept at bay with merriment and dancing. After we said our goodbyes, it was a rush to dad’s farm and back to the village jetty in time to catch the one and only express boat back to Sibu.

It didn’t take much to get the ladies on their feet and swaying to the Ngajat, in traditional Iban style.

We said goodbye to our new friends!

A wet visit to a spiritual memorial to Tugau, a great Melanau leader.

The best part of the day by far was riding in the boat along Sungai Retus.

One the quick stop at Dad’s farm, the ladies got to see fruit growing on the trees.

A whirlwind stopover at a football tournament among the villages downriver.

Saying goodbye to our gracious hosts from Kampung Bungan Kecil, Aron and family.

However, most of our time was spent surrounded by family from near and far. Getting acquainted with the new additions to the family, while cementing our close ties with those we haven’t seen in a while. I enjoyed being at home, the house i grew up in, and not having anything in particular to do.

My big, fat, Melanau family, at our annual gathering.

After ushering in the new year, surrounded by family and friends, we were ready to leave the comfort of Sibu and head straight to the north of Peninsular Malaysia, Langkawi.

Yet another delicious meal, and our last of 2013.

… and we welcome 2014 with a loud bang!

After two weeks in Sibu, we were all a few kilos heavier and set for a whole day of traveling.