Touchdown Kuala Lumpur 1.1.13

Hello stalkers! To start with, let me say that a trip should almost always be planned to avoid hassles and unexpected circumstances. Let me share my top 5 travel essentials. In random order, here they are:
*Passport and travel documents. Who would want to stay long in immigration? Of course we all want to have it smooth so make sure all your legal stuff are in tacked.
*A trusty back pack. Unless you plan to go on a luxurious and relaxing vacation, set aside the trolley. Initially, all my stuff were packed in my wheel driven bag but then later realized that we would be always on the go thus I transferred everything to my JanSport pack. Everything means limited clothes and hygiene basics ONLY! Plus your camera of course.
*Comfortable foot wear. Backpacking is kind of synonymous to walking. That is why I decided to bring two of my most feet-friendly buddies: a pair of Havaianas and my Sanuk sandals. These durable footwear definitely stood up to their purpose.
*Maps and tour flyers. Because we weren’t on a contracted tour, we had to do things ourselves. And it was uber fun getting lost at times and looking for means to get to our destination.
*And lastly, a travel buddy. Travelling alone is not bad at all but honestly, more people means more fun! Right? Cheryl is one of my best buddies. We’ve know each other since birth and she’s one of the people I can really be crazy with without worrying about being criticized. Point is, travel with someone who you’re cozy with. : )

At Mactan International Airport waiting for our flight.

Cam-whoring before getting in the plane. We’d like to thank one of the passengers for voluntarily taking our picture when he saw that we were having a hard time doing it by ourselves.

We left the Philippines around 4:00 PM in this weather.

Landed in Kuala Lumpur three hours later with this site in view.

Kuala Lumpur’s airport is a bit far from the main city. There are two airports air crafts land on – the Kuala Lumpur International Airport(KLIA) and the the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).
Trivia: The LCCT started operations in 2006 to accommodate the growing number of low cost carriers. Cebu Pacific, which is known to be the country’s leading low cost airline lands regularly at LCCT. It is about 20km from KLIA.
If you land at KLIA, you can either take a bus or take the KL Express Train to KL Sentral. Because we were at LCCT, the only option was to ride a bus going to KL Sentral. It normally takes about an hour.
This was one of the Toll Gates we passed through.

We went off the bus at KL Sentral and walked all the way to our inn which was situated in the Bukit Bintang area. The first noticeable place when we walked out of the station was Little India. I honestly was so amazed by their community and the culture they have. I couldn’t help myself from staring at the beautiful dresses their women were wearing plus the smell of Indian food left me wanting to go to India the soonest!
Our place to stay for the night or should I say for 8 hours: Babylon Guest House. It is one of those places made for backpackers and budget travelers.

After settling down, went out and walked around Bukit Bintang. It is where Pavilion is located and it is also the place to go in terms of night life. You can choose from a strip full of bars and restaurants.

A Chinese community.

Before going back to our guest house, we dropped by a convenience store to buy snacks and water. By the way!! We had no idea that Malaysia has a different format when it comes to plugs. To those who’ve been here, you know what I mean. We had to by an adapter for us to be able to charge our gadgets.

Reflection: Since this was my first out of the country trip, I couldn’t help but marvel at the diversity I have faced. I came to realize that there is so much more of the world to see and that getting to be in the middle of a different culture is an irreplaceable experience which money can’t buy. Now I know the feeling of tourists in our country who ask locals for directions with a matching language barrier. It’s even more difficult in KL because people could hardly speak English. But in the end, everything turned out fine. The feeling of being in another place far from reality was just so surreal. It felt so good walking around without people knowing who you are and with people who KNOW HOW TO MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS. It just felt so refreshing. Words couldn’t describe the feeling. Well, I guess I’ll have to end it here. This is just the first night friends. More posts to come. Feel free to comment. I would love to hear from you. XO.: )