Day 97 – Day 99, 25-27/5/2012
We cannot stay in paradise forever, can we? As much as I didn’t want to, I had to leave the Perhentian paradise and return to Kuala Lumpur for 2 more days before finishing my Asia journey and returning back to Europe.
I was leaving on a friday afternoon and according to the people in the hotels on the island, there was no problem in getting a bus ticket from Kuala Besut to KL. Ha, they didn’t know that it was the school holiday. When I found that out, I tried booking a ticket in advance, but all buses were full already. There was nothing left to do as to hope we would find a place nevertheless. On the boat from the islands back to the mainland I met a Canadian with whom we had arrived to the islands together from Taman Negara – but somehow I hadn’t seen him at all during my stay on the island. Again we were on the same boat and both hoping to get back to KL.
Of course, the buses were sold out, and buses from the 2 closest cities were also full. No, please don’t tell me I will have to spend a night in a god-forsaken town? That’s one of the reasons why I was returning back to the mainland that day – I could have stayed a day longer on the islands, but then if something went wrong with the buses, I’d be in a lot of stress not to miss my flight. But I had hoped nothing would go wrong and I indeed didn’t want to spend a night in Kuala Besut. We met 3 other people who had an idea to take a bus to KL from Kuala Terengganu, and get a local bus from Kuala Besut to Kuala Terengganu. We managed to get the bus tickets to KL and were told where we could catch the local bus, but it sounded very encouraging: “Maybe there will be a bus, maybe not. After 5 pm they don’t go often, if at all.” It was almost 5pm and our bus was leaving at 10pm from the other town, which was about 120 km away.
While waiting, the Canadian proposed we could try hitchhiking. Hitchhiking in Malaysia? Why not. While the Canadian was looking for a piece of a cardboard or a plank of wood to make a sign, I was trying to stop cars on my own. I certainly caused a lot of interest as every car was slowing down, waving at me, honking, but none of them stopped. I figure it is not a common sight to see a foreigner, wearing a skirt, hitchhiking alone in Malaysia, but when my friend came back with a sign “Kuala Terengganu”, he was not happy to acknowledge our perspectives – if noone stopped while I was alone there, who would stop for the 2 of us? Meanwhile, there had been a public bus that passed but didn’t stop at the bus stop. Go figure. As there was no bus in sight, we continued trying to hitch a ride, and indeed, a car stopped. We looked at the driver and both concluded that there’s no way we are getting in that car – for my Latvian friends I can explain that the driver was the Malaysian equivalent of the sweatpants-with-two-stripes-and-a-leather-jacket type we have in Latvia. Every country has them, but I don’t know the international equivalent for this.
Luckily the 2nd car that stopped was heading the same way as we and the driver was a young muslim man who spoke almost no English, but he seemed – and indeed was – genuinely nice, and dropped us at the bus station. So – hitchhiking in Malaysia – not a mission impossible!
I blame it on the friday evening and that all people were in mosques or at home praying, because there is no other reason that could explain why we met 3 people on the streets in Kuala Terengganu whom we could ask for directions. The town was dead. No people on the streets, and as we were getting lost trying to find a place where to eat, there was noone to ask directions to, and in the dark alleys with bats flying above us and squeaking we didn’t fell like wandering much further. Later we met the other 3 guys from Kuala Besut – turns out the local bus never came, so they had to take a taxi. The bus to KL had its air-con set to “freezing” and we had seats at the back of the bus that didn’t recline much. What an unforgettable bus ride.
We arrived in KL at 5.30am, so I headed for a hostel I had booked in advance. Very welcoming indeed – I could check in at 6.30am and get a bed already. After the night in the fridge, I mean, the bus, I was too happy to get a bed with a blanket.
Over the weekend my depression about returning back home started kicking in, so I didn’t do much. Some shopping for sweets and spices, some Indian food, some sightseeing of KL Tower and Petronas Towers and a visit to Batu Caves, parks, Orchid Gardens and Chinatown was all I had energy left for.
The Batu Caves are old hindu temples built in caves. Amazing, how such a place can be reached in a matter of minutes with a train from KL. Coincidently, on my last day in Asia, I was finishing it with what I had started with more than a year ago – an India experience. Crowds of Indians, ladies dressed in saris, masala in the air and food and Indian sweets being sold at the stalls, people spitting, monkeys chasing each other and looking for goodies, girls doing hanna paintings, and again – people, people, people. It was a bittersweet feeling seeing all this and realizing it is over for me, at least this time.
The Lake Gardens are a perfect place for a stroll in KL – that’s a well maintained and beautiful park/botanical garden, and it was empty on a Sunday afternoon. I guess the heat keeps people in air-con indoors, but this place was so lovely that I expected it to be full of locals picknicking and lazing around. I was aiming for the Islamic Art Museum, but while I was getting lost with my lousy map, I found myself in the Orchid Gardens which had a free entrance (a nice change in a city where most attractions have a hefty 10-20 dollar entrance fee), and when I finally made it to the museum, I was too tired to actually go in. Then – my last quest for a veggie meal among fishhead curries and pig-intestine soups, my last batch of tropical fruits and my last taste of sweet mangoes and pineapples. These months in Asia went by way too fast. Until next time then, my dear Asia!
Chapatis, curries, rooftops and holy cows 