Meeting the Klights

Our journey couldn’t have been any better. Sue kindly picked us up and drove us to Heathrow. I have never checked in so quickly; I didn’t even get chance to get my passports out. We had checked in online but still had to put one bag in the hold. We had a few beers, got on the plane and took straight off almost on time. Very pleasant flight with Sri Lankan Airlines as all our food and drinks were free. We had forgotten what it was like to fly with a decent airline. Claire made the most of the red wine and slept like a baby but

I read for another hour then slept like a baby for 2 hours before being woken up for our second meal. I managed to find a couple of strange but interesting books in the OU library. I managed to snatch moments after that but felt wiped out when we arrived in Colombo. We walked off the plane and round a corner then spotted our check in gate for KL without a queue and we had already been given our boarding cards so were straight on that plane. The staff on Sri Lankan airlines cant do enough for you, they really are pleasant, even when we were tired. We had breakfast then slept for the entire journey so felt quite allot better by the time we landed in KL.

KL Airport is very modern but we still had to wait for immigration like everywhere else. You have to pay for your taxi inside the airport then take your ticket outside to the cabs; a bit like in Goa. The price to our hotel was between £15 to £20 which we thought was a bit steep until we learned how far it

was out. It must have been 50 to 70km and we had 4 motorway tolls to pay so it was a bargain really. The town is absolutely chock-a block but we eventually arrived outside our hotel. The added bonus was that I had spotted the place where we are meeting Tom later on not far from our hotel so we

know where to go. We were very disappointed with our room, it doesn’t even have a window and there is only about 1 foot around 3 sides of the bed to the walls. We have a wet-room that is 3 tiles by 4 tiles square; well not exactly square but small anyway. But the added bonus is that you can be taking a shower whilst sitting on the toilet thus saving valuable holiday time. The hotel has wifi and is cheap at £20 a night but we wont be staying here when we return. For those more interested in cheap (like me) we are at the Cube Hotel (www.cubehotel.com.my) in Buket Bintang which is right in the middle of the golden triangle. Claire chose it by the way so don’t start blaming me. The hotel that we have booked tomorrow night in Phuket looks a lot better.

We met Tom and Youngja outside the Maybank which is right next to the Metro and bright yellow so its easy to find. They have been living and working here for just over a year in KL and can therefore be officially called KLights. KL is a great place for travelling around Asia especially with the emergence of cheaper air travel. We will be basing our travel around Air Asia. They immediately let us to almost the next street which was a Chinatown street will restaurants lining the side of this wide road. It is very much like a similar street in Bangkok old town. Anyway, Tom and Youngja ordered food for all along with two very large bottles of beer which came in an ice bucket. Literally and ice bucket. Or a bucket full of ice. We had chilli crab, beef in hoysin sauce, rice, lots of little dips, a pork dish and a huge plate of green vegetables something like sanfire which turned out to

be waterlilies. Very nice, and the first time that I have eaten spicy since I started my radiotherapy. So far I seem to have gotten away with it. No sooner had we started eating and it started raining so the staff picked up the entire table and contents and dropped it under cover. As soon as a beer bottle was emptied another one came; thats the sort of service I like. However,

alcohol over here is relatively expensive compared to food and

transport prices. In a restaurant, a pint is about £5 but in the chinese cafe area probably closer to £3. Im not sure how much they cost there as when I came to paTom. Tom and Youngja insisted as it was our first day and also my birthday. They had

even bought me a birth

day present; two Malaysian shot glasses. Im sure that they will get some use before we leave. Even the staff bought us all a present each; a bottle opener. Again, I don’t think it will be long before they get used. I went to settle the bill but it had already been settled by Tom. This was a special treat as its our first day in Malaysia and also my birthday. Again we owe you guys.

Tom is the youngest son of my good friend Jim who runs Deskarati and also Mertech Switchboards back home. I have known Tom since he was born when his Mum Shriley brought him into work (at Mertech where I worked with Jim) along with their 2 year old son Dan. When Tom finished his degree he was

approached by an agent for a job teaching kids English in a remote area of South Korea. Tom worked there for over two years and also met Youngja there and they have been together ever since. Joungja is a lovely girl and the two of them are very well suited. They returned to England for a short time before both finding work in KL. Tom is now teaching foreign adults English while Youngja works for a computer company. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, out comes Tom with a birthday cake full of candles and everybody sang Happy Birthday. I made my wish and we shared the cake; what a great night thank you guys!