Clueless in Malaysia

LEFT THIS COUNTRY FOR THREE DAYS…

This is a way past due blog post. I should have written this in June but there’s so much things to be done that I have to put aside my post on my first travel abroad. Yes, out of the country!!! Where did I go? MALAYSIA, truly Asia! Haha!

The preparation for this trip was a blur. It was a Thursday when I was told I was leaving for Malaysia. The flight’s on the following Tuesday. Now, that was pretty fast. I mean, it was my first time to go out of the country and my first time to ride on an airplane. Not to mention, I’ll be going “alone.” So, I was more nervous than excited. Add that to the fact that I just lost a friend the week before. I didn’t have time to prepare because I went home to the province that weekend before the Tuesday flight. What should I freakin’ do?! What should I freakin’ bring?!

Well, for starters, a laptop bag (no laptop though, it was filled with kikay kits, my docs, some mints, etc.) and a medium-sized luggage (for my clothes and other knick-knacks)… Pucha! Nagkamali ako ng pili ng bag. My luggage trolley was fidgety. It kept on leaning towards either side that I had to literally drag the thing across NAIA’s departure terminal. So much for using its wheels! Argh!

Anyway, I didn’t checked in online (what the?! I don’t know how to use it!) so I stood in line for a couple of minutes to reach my check-in counter. Where are all these people going?! I was rather early (yuck, excitement!) but still, the line was loooonnnngggg! I decided to check in my luggage (I didn’t know that with my luggage’s size, I had the option not to). Anyway, I was lost for a while after getting my boarding pass. Now where do I go?! I was already in line for the customs counter when I realized I shouldn’t be on it. Haha! It was time to ask. The guard pointed me to the immigration area. That was a breeze.

I met up with fellow IT press members Sir Jing and Julls at the Boarding Area. Good thing, they were there. I mean, I could have just lost myself (Not that I’m bad in direction. I’m actually pretty good at it. I’m bad at “first times”.)

Here’s a blabbery summary of this FIRST TIME:

INHALE, EXHALE. HERE I GO. 1. So this is the NAIA’s departure area. Hmn, nice. (Nasabi ko yan before ko makita ang airport ng Malaysia at Singapore.) Papa dropped me off at NAIA at 5:30 in the MORNING! 2. I waited for Sir Jing and Julls on the travel lounge but nasa boarding area na pala sila. Hehe! Silly me. 3. Singapore Airlines – one of the best in the world. The flight stewardess(es? Hehe!) were all wearing batik uniforms in different colors according to their designation (that’s according to the booklet on the plane). 4. The rain started pouring in. This was my view from my window seat. Hay… inhale, exhale. Here we go…

THE FLIGHT. I “borrowed” these pics from Julls’ blog coz I didn’t took photos during the flight. I was stupid enough to abide by the plane’s rules of not using any electronic device! Hehe! Anyway, we basically had the same view since I was sitting on a window seat too. (My seat was far from Sir Jing and Julls.) Love the clouds and the sceneries below but most of the time, it was just ocean. Since it was my first time, I was hesitant to touch anything on board but my seatmate was so funny I couldn’t help but be fascinated with her.

She’s part of a group of students going on an OJT in Singapore for six months. Masyado ngang obvious because they were a group of teens wearing white blouses and polos and black slacks. My seatmate (whose name I totally forgot, sorry) was so jologs! So bubbly jologs that I liked her! It was also her first time and she was the type of girl who croons whenever she sees clouds “Ay ate, clouds!” or gets so excited over the parts of her chair “Ay, pa’no ba ‘to gamitin? Ay, tv!”… She was so funny that her cheery vibes calmed my nerves. She was also messy. Hehe! She spilt milk on her shirt while we were eating breakfast. Hay…

Anyway, the ride up was rather nice. It’s the feeling you get when you go up the roller coaster but when you’re already up there, it was like riding any other vehicle. The flight was peaceful (aside from some turbulence when we passed through rain clouds and my seatmate’s squeals of delight).

That’s me and Sir Jing walking at the travelator to catch our next flight to Kuala Lumpur. At the hotel car with Julls. Drivers are at the right side instead of our customary left.

MALAYSIA. When we arrived, we were fetched by a really nice hotel car from the Sheraton Imperial Hotel. Sosyal! Anyway, the road from the KLIA to KL was like our own North Luzon Expressway but the sight in KL was filled with, er, palm trees! Buildings, buildings, buildings. That’s the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, the Petronas Towers, and the Menara Tower.

VIEWS FROM SHERATON. These are the views from my room (3017 – On the 30th floor, Room 3017). The glass-paneled walls were incredible. I can literally see everything outside. Does this look like Manila or was it just me?! Anyway, too bad I was not facing the Petronas (Sir Jing was luckier). But I’m kindda happy with my Menara. Hehe!

MY ROOM. I was actually thinking that Julls and I will share a room but no, we had separate rooms in different floors! Anyway, I was amazed with my room coz it’s huge. Well, kindda. It’s king-size! 1. The bed looked so inviting that I wanted to just lie down and sleep. 2. TV!!! As if I’d have the chance to watch anyway. There were a few channels, most of them in another language. Though I caught Harry Potter 4. I also spent some midnight minutes on the comfy reading sofa. The study desk was also inviting though I didn’t want to write just yet. 3. The bath essentials! 4. The bathroom has a nice view. Cute!!! I spent an hour or so having a bubble and salt bath! Heheh!

KRISTAO. My first dinner in Kuala Lumpur was at Kristao, a resto serving Malaysian-Portuguese dishes. The owner was really friendly and the place was really cozy. 1. It’s a mural on the wall of Kristao depicting a Malaccan rural scene. 2. I love the spicy shrimps and chicken curry. 3. Evidence of that is this empty plate (er, filled with shrimp shells. Hehe!) 4. The dessert, which I really didn’t like. It’s sago in coconut milk. Lasang lana.

A MORNING IN KL. 1. Bagong gising sa Malaysia. 2&3. Nice views from where I’m standing 4. Breakfast at the Sheraton’s breakfast nook. 5. Parts of my breakfast – roti bread, dumplings, quail egg, turkey bacon, and hashbrown. The Intel event was at 10am. It ran pretty smoothly. There were other journalists from other Asian countries. I even met someone from PC Magazine Malaysia! Anyway, I won’t talk about the processors that much here. Hehe.

GOING AROUND. After the event, we decided to tour around Kuala Lumpur. Julls and I had a hard time figuring the map given to us by the concierge. Hehe! The street names were so long and the first three words were the same! What the?! Anyway, we tried our luck. Go, go, go! We visited Petronas Tower! Too bad the tour up was already closed for the day. We also went to KLCC Mall. We didn’t roam KLCC coz we’re more interested in looking for souvenir shops.

SCENES. Eating at McDo. Julls and I were hungry after our shopping spree and we weren’t brave enough to try local dishes so we went to McDonald’s instead. I didn’t know their drinks and fries when made upsize was twice the size of the upsized version here in Manila. And the spicy chicken was oh boy SPICY! Shopping Spree. Being the shopaholic that I am, I bought batik, shawls, souvenirs and shirts for the ones back home. I enjoyed this but I haven’t gotten around calculating my expenses. Never mind. Wahehe! Street Photos. We’re tourists so we just couldn’t resist! At the MonoRail Station. Their train was cute. So small and so clean. (Nothing reminds me of LRT and MRT. Hehe!) Back at the Sheraton. After a tiring yet fun day!

THE NIGHT AND MORNING AFTER. After our tiring day, we decided to just rest. Forget dinner. But after sometime, Julls and I couldn’t resist but scour the place around our hotel for a convenient store (for midnight snack). We were directed by one hotel attendant to the Majju Junction, which was a few blocks away. It’s a mall but most of the stores and boutiques are already closed. Good thing their grocery was still open. Anyway, at my hotel room, I sat back and read a tourist book while munching on a hotdog bread from Starbucks (at the Junction) and drinking this orange and mango soda (F&N Blazt) – tasted really weird. Not Just Another Morning. Seems like it isn’t morning yet. We have an early flight to Singapore so I rose around 5:30 and went to breakfast around 6. I ate some beef bacon, roti bread, and pandan siopao (which was yucky). I also had some fruits. That’s Jing and Julls, my super friendly and fun to be with companions. We left the hotel around 7.

BYE, MALAYSIA. It’s time to go. Sigh… These were scenes from the car to the airport. Malaysians are more disciplined than Filipinos. We kindda looked like them so it was easy to blend in. But it was weird seeing more Muslims. But it was okay. It might have been like being in Mindanao. While waiting at the airport for our Singapore Airlines flight, Julls read a book while I snapped some pics with my phone cam.

STOP AT SINGAPORE. We had to wait at Singapore’s Changi Airport for our flight to Manila. Well, I wasn’t complaining! This airport is so cool! All the best brands in the world are there! I shopped for some souvenirs (multi-colored pens and keychains) and stopped for photo ops. Hehe! Julls and I had some coffee at Cafe Ritazza. I also tasted their banana muffin. Yum! Then, it was time to go. Aww…

HI, MANILA! I’m back! I definitely enjoyed the trip but yeah, it was good to be home. We arrived around 6:00pm. I had to wait for an hour and a half before papa could fetch me because our car was color coding that Thursday so I ate kopi bun and drank iced tea at Kopi Roti first. I was still in awe at the experience. I wish I can travel more. Hmn?!? Hehe!

I learned lots from that trip. I’m not so clueless after all. Hehe.

It’s a treasured moment.