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...Finally embarking on the adventure that for so long had seemed like a distant dream, I failed to put pen to paper as I tried to describe the melange of thoughts and emotions running too fast for my mind to translate...

Miserable in Malaysia

Asha Patel
2006-08-23 10:57:03

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-- KUALA LUMPUR --

...Finally embarking on the adventure that for so long had seemed like a distant dream, I failed to put pen to paper as I tried to describe the melange of thoughts and emotions running too fast for my mind to translate...

...My solo travel through Asia: first stop - Malaysia. This conjures images of an exotic land, rich in culture and beauty. Driving up the west coast to Kuala Lumpur, such preconceptions do not appear fallacious. Irritated and uncomfortable in the bus, I am nonetheless impressed by the surrounding landscapes of emerald green palm trees and native bush spreading miles beyond visibility...

...Yet still, still there is a distinct inertia to continue travelling that makes me feel homesick. If Singapore was by any means preparatory for Asia then it was purely on a climatic basis, for by now I am becoming accustomed to feeling the asphixyating heat of the equatorial temperatures. Though of course the clean, orderly state of Singapore is culturally distant from its Asian neighbours...

...Arriving into KL, outside the former colonial railway station, no sooner had the bus stopped than the hoards of local taxi drivers began crowding themselves at the door, hungry for their feed; their staple diet being tourists wanting to be transported to the city centre. Absorbed in my own self pitiful state of affairs, I ignored the prowl and collected my luggage. I eventually negotiated a price for transport to town and was oblivious to the drivel of the taxi driver as he entertained himself with idol conversation in which I had no interest. I know. sound like an arrogant, self absorbed, culturally ignorant westerner... which at that particular moment, I probably was. I asked for a ride to the Istana hotel on Jalan Sultan Ismail, and allowed the concierge to help me with my bags before asking for directions to the hostel, for as much as I would've liked to walk into the five star marble floored hotel, ...