After the
border crossing the train became dirtier. Malay train staff apparently didn’t
really care about their vehicle. We eventually arrived on time in Butterworth
from where I took the ferry to Penang. After a quick walk I reached my guest
house and tried to check-in. The guy was friendly but without bringing
Malaysian Ringit he didn’t get me into the room. So my next stop was the nearby
mall in order to change some cash. The room itself was a bit awkward with a
choice of furniture and an air-con randomly put in the room. The place could
also be cleaner...
Penang is
not as nice as expected. When keeping in mind that it is a UNESCO world
heritage I would have expected more. The view from Penang Hill was nice but due
to the ever horrible traffic in Malaysia I missed sunset. The guided walk on
the next day for 8 US$ was definitely overpriced so I was happy to be off for
Kuala Lumpur around noon next day. The bus travel was comfortable but delayed
for an hour. I’m not even sure if the shady travel company had as many busses
as shown on the schedule.
Arriving KL
with its high rise building is a stoning event. But to finally reach the centre
we had to beat the bad traffic. We were dropped in front of the central bus
station and I made my way to the central market where I did my check-in at
Marquee Guesthouse. Staff here is great and the location can’t be beaten.
Whenever you’re in KL make this your base!
KL I
explored on the Hop On bus but here again the only thing which came up to
standard was the high price. Commentaries are barely made and only in English.
On the open deck you normally don’t have any. But it brings you to the good
places of KL and is convenient. Personally I liked the view from the
independence monument and the visit of the Orchid Garden in the green belt.
Next stop was KL Tower from which I walked to the Petronas Twin Towers. The KL
landmark is just impressive and standing in front of it and looking up must
fascinate everyone.
Later on I
headed for the Kuala Lumpur Pub Crawl. The crawl is a nice thing to team some
travellers up and to have a good night together even doe the drinks served for
the 25 US$ where not that special. At a pub crawl in Barcelona or Amsterdam you
definitely get more for your money.
The
hangover next morning I enjoyed during my bus ride to Malaka. Malaka is the
second Unesco World Heritage I visited in Malaysia. I have to admit that Malaka
is definitely nicer than Penang. The ever present traffic jam of Malaysia is
present here as well but it was not as bad as in KL or Penang. The pleasant old
town I walked for about four hours before boarding the next bus which brought
me to the Singapore boarder at Johor Bahru.
I planned
to jump over the border and take the bus to the city of Singapore for dinner
and some photos. Unfortunately the administration took more than two hours due
to holyday season. I rarely saw so many people at one border. The queue for the
bus was more than 400 meters! When finally arrived in the Woodlands I jumped
into the next taxi which gladly brought me to the airport just in time to reach
my flight. So this time I spent about one hour in Singapore…
The flight
back home was as pleasant as the first flight. I would definitely recommend Singapore
Airlines whenever traveling to Asia.
