Night bus to Thailand

After several nights in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I'm on my way to Thailand in an hour. I had planned to see a bit more of Malaysia, including an island or two close to the Thai border, but the universal feedback I get from other travellers who came from there was to make for two of the smaller islands on the Thai side of the border instead. If I had another month or more left, it'd be worth spending a week or two of it in Malaysia seeing a beautiful area up in the hills and another small group of islands. However, I've only got 9 days left (yikes!), so I'm being selective with the time I have left.

It also takes a while to get around, so I have to allow for that. Yesterday morning, I felt like I was satisfied with KL (even the locals call Kuala Lumpur that), so I headed to the main bus station to see if I could get a bus all the way to the main transport hub in southern Thailand. Being the main bus station for the whole country, it's a bit of a zoo in there. Not quite as huge as the one in Istanbul, but this one happens to be about 110 degrees inside (over 90 and thunderstorming outside, packed with people and food stalls inside, and zero ventilation, let alone AC). But I managed to get my ticket for late that night and find a place to store my bag for the day before I passed out, then fled for the nearest exit.

I spent a relaxed day stocking up on more reading material and catching a movie at one of the massive (and well air conditioned!) malls here. I don't know if this one's the biggest in Asia (if it was they would probably have told me), but it's certainly the largest I've ever seen: 10 stories of shops, a full amusement park with a proper roller coaster that does loops and everything, a 16 screen theatre, and at least 5 Starbucks. What more could you want?

Cutting it a little close (I had to take a monorail and a train to get back - they've got one of every type of mass transit here, none of them really connected), my clothes were completely drenched with sweat even before I got to the bus station/sauna. Then I start trying to figure out where in this complex my bus is. With a couple minutes to spare, I finally find the right bus company, but they don't know where my bus is either. Finally, I'm pointed out to the street, where it's about to take off. I get my luggage stowed, board the bus, and start trying to get the guy to move who's sitting in my seat. What I fail to do is check my ticket closely. I have the wrong date! I don't know if the woman at the counter mistyped something, or if this was just the first available seat, but I definitely feel dumb.

Not really feeling like facing a hostel at this point, I luck out finding a good, reasonable hotel right across the street. It has awesome AC, hot water, and most importantly, the door locks (3 things I'd been without for a while - yes, there's a story here).

Getting a little earlier start, I decide to make for the main tourist site outside town, hoping to beat the rain. These are the Batu Caves, a collection of spectacular limestone caves at the top of a 272 step climb. They're filled with Hindu temples and the walls crawl with monkeys. More on these when I get the monkey photos online!

I've spent the rest of my days here in KL being rather lazy. The climate was more of a shock than I expected, as I don't think I've ever been anywhere quite this humid and warm all the time. I even felt like I had a bad fever the first couple of days (I didn't), but my body got used to it, and it's usually no big deal now. Taking the time here to adjust also gave me a chance to get to know a bunch of cool people at what seemed like a pretty decent hostel. I'll share more on my fellow travellers when I get the photos up. Despite there being a lot of great folks staying there, I probably should have bailed on the place earlier, as it was clear the part owner/manager wasn't the most ethical guy.

My schedule here is mostly governed by the rain. I guess a lot of places get afternoon thunderstorms, but it's incredibly regular here. There's sometimes a small 2nd storm too, but there's always a massive thunderstorm (lightning striking all around you) for over 2 hours, mid-afternoon. Even after a couple of days, you can easily predict how many hours (or less) you have before the sky opens up, by either looking at the sky or feeling how sticky the air is.

This does pose a challenge for sightseeing, though. If you're going anywhere outdoors, you better get started early in the morning, or risk having you and everything you're carrying completely drenched (unless you're carrying an umbrella, but where's the fun in that?). Hence, I've not done all that much proper sightseeing! I've also learned to adjust my meals a bit so I either have a long, late lunch or an early dinner, while enjoying a book and watching everyone else drown like rats.

Anyway, I better go get my pack so I don't miss my bus. Unlike the station, Malaysian buses are known for being somewhere between a meat locker and cryogenic suspension inside, so I'll be sure to dig out my Manali gear before boarding.