Post-Gibbon Experience, we were supposed to head back down the Mekong and into Vang Vieng, a backpacker's mecca with lovely surrounds and tubing. The destination sounded delightful, but the journey didn't. I looked at a map. "Hey Bill, Chiang Mai [Thailand] looks like it's right here". Bill looked and agreed. We were both tempted. A few more inquiries and we learned that it was a mere border crossing and 4 hour minivan ride away. It took about 3 seconds to decide.
We went back to our favorite city thus far and just lounged for a few days. Back to our old food haunts, specifically Chiang Mai Saloon. Faang, our favorite waitress, was excited to see us. A few tacos later and we were in heaven.
Somewhere along the way, our air ticket got screwed up. It's a complicated ticket and a lot of people have had their hands in the pot and it was inevitable. It had been screwed up for months and we realized it about the time when we were sitting in Thailand waiting to fly out of Bangkok for India. Bill, thankfully, looked at the ticket and realized - oops - that we were now flying out of Singapore. Hmm. Just 2 countries away. Calling the airlines was fruitless; there was no record of the change. We went through a flurry of emotions but resolved to make the best of it. Bill had never been to Malaysia (I went once a couple of years ago for work) and Malaysia was between Thailand and Singapore. It's not perfect logic, but we aren't perfect (despite what my mother may tell me).
We bought an Air Asia ticket from Chiang Mai to Kuala Lumpur (KL). KL is a futuristic looking city. Like Singapore, it is clean, full of nice restaurants and in my opinion, rather unremarkable. Don't get me wrong, I like the place, but there's not a ton of stuff to go see or do save for the Petronas Towers (formerly the tallest building in the world, but now usurped by a larger one in Taiwan) and KL Tower.
Bill in front of Petronas Towers, the world's largest, er, second-largest building after another one in Taiwan
We cashed in some Starwood points and stayed at the Sheraton Imperial, where I had previously stayed on my work trip. Malaysia does have phenomenal deals on hotels and this was categorized as the least expensive hotel category. In fact, when I last stayed here I paid a corporate rate of $45 USD a night! Awesome prices aside, this also just happens to be one of the best hotels in the world. The service is impeccable and the rooms are a delightful retreat for a world weary traveler...make that 2 world weary travelers.
The KL Tower as seen from the view in our hotel room
I am a little ashamed, but not too ashamed, to say that we did absolutely nothing noteworthy by our own volition (actually we did go to the Little India market one night). Our brief stay in KL involved the hotel pool, electronics shoping, Starbuck's, TGI Friday's nachos and KFC (Bill said a bucket was overkill for 2 people). We have really enjoyed eating food everywhere that we go and Malaysia was no exception, we did have several Malay dishes. But a little taste of home was sinfully delightful.
On our last day, we hopped on a luxury bus to Singapore, just a short six hours away. The 16-seater bus had seats that resembled your dad's Laz-Z-Boy as well as on-demand videos, music and games. Imagine Bill and I's delight when we found the original Super Mario Brothers as a gaming choice!
Bill in his happy place on the luxury bus from KL to Singapore
When we arrived to Singapore , we hopped in a taxi that immediately took us to our slum hotel, recommended by Lonely Planet. [Sometimes, I really question the criteria for making a guidebook.] A good meal down the street and a lucky find of a wine bar next door made the stay palatable (pun intended).
Bill and I both found ourselves getting excited. Nearly Christmas-morning-excited (but everyone that knows me also knows that it is impossible to rival that feeling). We started thinking ahead to India, our next destination. We had heard so much, but we knew so little. Would children and poor men and women be clinging to us for money? Would the smell be awful? Would the dress really be as colorful as we expected? How would the food taste - would it be as good as what we think of as Indian food at home? These were all unanswered questions in our mind.
We were nervous, we were excited. Everyone says you either love it or hate it. We were ready to start a love affair with India...
- Chrissy