Now officially in Kuala Lumpur, I made it!

Just now checked into my hostel here in Kuala Lumpur. It’s nearing 9:00 pm here, 6:00 am Colorado time. My body feels pretty good but sure it will love some rest. I’m going out for a walk in China Town after a quick shower. It’s only a block away.

The trip here was great! Everything flowed, I had another fantastic experience flying with Singapore airlines, met a number of interesting people, and am now ready to rest before the rest of my adventure takes off. It’s a bit noisy here where I’m staying so I’m very glad to have great ear plugs along. Those are clearly essential!

When I arrived, I debated taking the express train directly to the Sentral Station or to take a bus? The train is quickest and drops you right at the station. The bus is more local so I opted for that. It only took questions to two people to find the right bus at the airport. It left within 15 minutes of me sitting down and I was the only tourist on the bus. Before the sun set, I got to see at lest the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. This might surprise you but, it looks like a CITY! Construction zones, concrete trucks, toll booths, etc. I’m not big on cities and am changing that this time around to spend time looking at what KL has to offer.

The bus stopped at Sentral Station and I had to find the light rail system. Up the stairs and into the station, I walked slowly looking around for a sign. Within moments I found it, found the ticket booth, had small bills because I asked at the airport, bought my ticket and got on the wrong train. Chuckle! A woman helped me and told me this was the right train. Yes! Now I’m reminded of travel policy in Guatemala and Mexico. The people in those cultures are so helpful and desire being helpful so they won’t ever tell you “I don’t know”. To find the right place, it’s important to practice the law of averages: ask at least three different people then average the responses. Taking into account, of course, the confidence they express. However, that has backfired on me several times (they always sound confident) so you are still rolling the dice.

I got off the light rail at the first stop. Since I was only going one stop and this one didn’t have the name I needed, that decision was real easy. Down the stairs, I found a sign that indicated which train went in which direction. There were two rails and I had gone up the wrong stairs.

The train arrived quickly, I went past where I had started, the next stop was mine and I found my way to street level. I walked out directly onto the street I wanted and three blocks later, I was at the door to my hostel. I’d take a picture but some of you might become concerned so just trust me when I say it is fine.

My first trip overseas, I was much more nervous and concerned. Tonight, making decisions on the fly, finding the bus, taking the wrong train, and wandering through a strange town in the dark of night, I realized how comfortable I’ve become from my past experience. Of course that is true with everything, experience makes everything easier!