I've always wanted to say:
"I want the next flight out of here".
I got my chance when upon arriving at Penang airport i find my flight is cancelled. I ask the guy at the counter why, and his reply (after 5 minutes deliberation) is that my credit card has been refused. So my flight caused the whole of the flight to be cancelled?! - perhaps I was the only customer?! Unfortunately his incompetence and the aggressiveness of the Malaysian queuers (I'm far to British) causes me to have to check-in with only 30 minutes to go. I'm not too British to go to the management and jump all the queues. I make the flight with about 1 minute to spare - we then sit on the run way for 20 minutes...typical. It's unusual for me to get stressed while travelling, i blame the 5am start and the 2 car crashes i witnessed on the way to the airport. When i got in the back of the taxi to go to the airport (i don't do it often), i automatically went to put my seat belt on. The seat belt of course didn't exist. The taxi driver says "we don't need those here!".
I like what I read in the paper on the flight too - "Citizens should not worry about the water as we check the quality of the rural and urban supplies every few months". The water in Penang really was foul.
KL, I only knew it because of the Petronas towers - how ignorant am I? It's a really nice city as far as cities go. It doesn't have the vibe of Bangkok, but it oozes what i can only describe as a pleasant feeling. It has amazing shopping centres, great architecture, terrible museums and fantastic green areas such as the lake park and the bird park. Those of you who know me well, know I'm a bad bird watcher. Bad because I'm terrible at naming the birds. If I'd known the bird park contained enclosed areas and cages i wouldn't have gone - what should I have expected in a city!? - doh!
I don't get to the sky bridge on the Petronas towers because you have to get there for 8.30am to have a hope of getting a ticket and I'm suffering from insomnia (seriously). Too much stress I think ;) I console myself with a trip up the KL tower instead - much higher and scarier. The 'twin' towers are incredible though, I felt very small indeed stood underneath them. It's gazing up in awe that i have my first real conversation with a local - typically all he wants to talk about is money and politics. The English influence here is evident, curry for breakfast, cups of tea -although they like to drink their tea with condensed milk (I nearly spat mine out all over the table) and mosques everywhere.
I was also wrong with what i said last time about hassle and hawkers - visit China town and you will see. Not a bad start to Malaysia though.
