One fabulous thing about Asia is that hotel check out time is usually 12:00, so you're never rushed to get out. Air Asia's hub is in KL, so they have a separate airport for the budget airlines, dominated by Air Asia. The main airport can be reached by metro, but the budget airport is reachable only by bus. We learned that buses left every hour or so from KL Sentral, so we checked out of our hotel at noon and, keeping our fingers crossed, asked the doorman to call us a taxi. As luck would have it, one company agreed to send a cab, and when he arrived, he agreed to use the meter. We were excited that we might be able to leave KL without another taxi incident. Alas, it was not to be.
G- (quietly to Phyl) – Shouldn't he have turned left back there?
P- (also under her breath) – Yes, unless he knows another way.
G- I think we're about to get screwed again. We could have walked to KL Sentral quicker. He's gonna take the long way.
P- What can we do? We have no choice but to go the way he takes us.
G- (to the driver) Why are you going this way? We could have walked to KL Sentral faster than this.
Driver – Many one way streets.
P- Yes, he's running up the meter, but we'll be out of here tomorrow and we won't have to deal with these assholes anymore. Chill.
As luck would have it, we arrived at the booth just as a bus was about to leave. We paid our 21 ringgits (about $7.00) and were quickly ushered onto an almost full bus. The driver did not even contemplate taking our bags to put them in the luggage compartment, so we squeezed down the aisle with the greatest of difficulty. I took the first available seat, and Phyl sat about 5 rows back. Our pack just sat in the aisle, and I kept my day pack on my lap. The ride was much longer that we had expected, and it was about 1 hour before we were deposited at the airport terminal.
G- Well that was difficult with our packs on. You look like you were struggling. Did anyone help you?
P- No, as a matter of fact, when the jerk sitting in the seat in front of me saw me struggling to turn in the aisle, take off my pack, and get into my seat, he reclined his seat as far as it would go. I'm sure his name was probably Dick.
G- Well that was nice of him.
P- That's ok, remember what happened to that bitch who showed up at the Orpheus parade 2 minutes before the parade started, after we had been there for 5 hours, and stuck her tall ladder right in front of us?
G- Hahahah! Yes, I remember. She completely blocked our view, and she grabbed every pack of beads like an octopus so we couldn't catch anything.
P- Yeah! And you remember how I got rid of her?
G- Of course, it was classic. You grabbed that pack of long, big beads at the same time as her and yanked, then when she pulled back to rip them out of your hands, you let go and she smashed the whole dozen into her own face. LMAO!!! Had to hurt like hell and she did it to herself.
P- Immediately after she got down and moved her ladder some place else.
G- That was great! But how does that story relate to now?
G- Excellent! You're such a bad ass!!! You think he learned a little lesson today?
P- I doubt it.
G- Let's go see if there's a shuttle bus to the Tune hotel. I see it right over there, but it's not really in walking distance.
P- Thank God Laurie & Bo told us this airport was far away from the city and that we made a reservation for tonight at this Tune.
G- They said it was far, but I had no idea it was this far. Can you imagine how miserable we would have been if we had to leave the Olympic to get to the bus station, then to this airport by 5:30 am.
P- I know how miserable I would have been. I would've had to shoot you!!
G- Damn skippy!
We found the shuttle bus and were dropped off at the front door of the hotel. I had forgotten that I'd have to show my passport, so I had to step to the side of the counter and unzip my pants so that I could reach into my secret, interior, velcroed pocket. My mom sewed one into each of my 4 pants and they have been invaluable for safeguarding our passports, extra credit cards and cash. The pocket is a little awkward to access in times like these, but I'm getting pretty good at being discrete.
The bathroom was similarly efficient, was very modern and had a glass enclosed shower with a large rain shower head. It was small, but we loved it! We could shower and not get the whole bathroom wet. We could wake up during the night and go to the bathroom without walking through puddles. Such little things make us happy now. The Tune is pretty cheap and you add on the extras that you require. Air con can be purchased in blocks of 12 hours, wifi in blocks of 24 hours, and you can purchase a bag of soap/shampoo/towel or use of the blow dryer. When you put your credit card style key into the reader, you are told how much time you have for each purchase.
G - You see that green arrow on the ceiling?
P- Yes. What is it?
G- I'm not sure, but there was one on the ceiling at the Olympic hotel also. In fact, when we were in the deluxe room, it pointed toward the Petronas Towers, then when we switched to the cheaper room, it pointed toward the bathroom. I hadn't paid much attention to it, but now I'm curious.
P- It looks like it has words on it, what does it say?
P- That is exactly what it means. That points to Mecca, but it would be impossible to get on the floor and pray in this room. They'd have to go out onto the hallway.
We had only purchased 12 hours of air con, so instead of sitting in the hot room, we returned to the airport to get some lunch.
G- You want rice, chicken or McDonald's?
P- None of those choices sound good, but I guess McDonald's. Look at that sandwich, the McJoy. They make that advertisement sound sexual.
G- Maybe you can bust McWood while you eat it.
After lunch we sat in Starbucks and enjoyed the fast internet connection. We watched people come and go and uploaded several blogs, then we took the shuttle back to the hotel. Basically you're in the middle of a rainforest, so there is nowhere else to go. Upon entering the room..............
G- What the hell?!
P- What?
G- Freakin ants all over the bed.
P- Where'd they come from?
G- Beats the hell out of me. I only see them on the bed. These damn Asian ants have some kind of special powers. They can appear and disappear at will. They are so tiny! Like the ants in Ubud.
P- What are they after? The food bag is on the night stand and they're not in it.
G- Shit!!! They're in my Frosted Flakes. Whah!! How can I get them out of there?
P- Baby, don't be ridiculous. You can't save the Frosted Flakes. You'll have to throw them away.
G- ARRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!! I want my Frosted Flakes. If there was more room on the floor I'd throw myself down and have a tantrum.
G- Oh yeah, because they're on every corner. Every grocery carries them and they're so easy to find. WHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P- How about if we go downstairs and drink some beer. Would that make you feel a little better?
G- (sniff, sniff) Maybe a little bit.
We sat under a canopy in front of the hotel and had a few beers. Much to our surprise, the little cafe served shepherds pie and chicken pot pies, so we ordered one of each. They were very yummy. We talked to a few other travelers, then went to our room around 10:00 pm. The alarm was going to ring at 4:15 am!
