Luckily for our
stomachs and our sanity we left Langkawi by plane, and didn’t have to endure
another atrocious boat ride. We boarded a flight, and left Langkawi, the
Langkawi lads, malaria mosquitoes, motorbikes, beaches and cheap booze behind.
It was a mere 45
minute flight back to KL, as a pose to a 3.5 hour boat ride and then a 4 hour
bus. When we arrived back in KL, we were locked out of Viv’s house for three
hours – because she was sleeping. Sleeping.
She lives in a resort-type apartment complex, and the 20 billion gate
keepers, security guards, and security personnel laughed at us with our
sunburn, tired eyes, grotty clothes and backpacks and refused to allow us into
anywhere. We managed to sneak into the pool after 2 hours with a cunning plan,
some deception, and (on my part)the stealth of a fox.
The next couple of
days passed soundly in KL; Viv’s mum cooked mountains of Malay food for us, we
swum in the pool, drank cocktails and lounged about. It was great to see and
stay with Viv again for a bit, as after KL Ann and I chip off to explore more
of Asia, Bridge flies back to Melbourne and Viv is left in KL wondering where
we all went and why our time together passed so soon.
We’ve had a couple
of crazy nights in KL, soaking up the nightlife in expensive rooftop bars (Viv
has some very generous friends),
meeting other Australians, sister-in-laws and friends of many people. We danced
at exclusive clubs in which we had our own private lounge, and bottles of black
label whiskey and spirits poured for us, by personal waiters. It was a little
slice of a life that I’ve never experienced before.
One place I would
absolutely recommend in KL is firstly Devii’s; a chilled out street café which
attracts young people for drinks, shisha and cheap street food; mee goreng with
fried eggs on top, instant noodles with chicken and tofu, that sort of thing.
Also; Martini’s on
57 is ‘Malaysia’s highest rooftop bar, restaurant and lounge” and has a
spectacular view of the Twin Towers.
Secondly, Cavell’s
is a bar in downtown Kl famous for its ‘KTFO’ cocktails. They are appropriately
named the “never ending drink” because they essentially never end. It’s a
secret recipe, and it’s quite a tradition to drink one of them, overseen by
friendly bar manager Jackie. If you can do it in record time, you’re a champ
and you’ll get your name on the wall. Jackie is a lively local who looks after
her guests personally, and will shake and make cocktails to perfection, before
pouring them into a seemingly endless glass, which is guaranteed to give you a
buzz.
Anyone that has been
on an exchange or is going on one knows that they’re the best fun in the world
and you’re bound to make many friends. However, we have discussed at length
just how lucky we all were to have met. These are people I met in the most
random ways, in a random place, at a random point in my life and I’ve been ever
so grateful for it. We spoke frequently about our days in college; the frat
parties, the ridiculous American laws, the gossip about old college buddies
(like, two people, only 6 months down the track are getting married, after having
met at college, eek!) and things that no one else would understand but us. It
is something that ties us all together, and as the others would say; I’m the
sticky, get-stuck-on-the-bottom-of-your-shoe glue that holds us all together.
These people are without
a doubt some of the best I’ve ever met on all my travels, and the fact that
we’ve all found away, all pushed ourselves to get together for a reunion is
proof of that. I came home from my 7 months abroad with a broken heart, a half
empty backpack and around $14.50 to my name. I had no idea that a mere 4 months
later we’d be trekking half way around the world to see them all again, and I am
ever so grateful for it.
They say friendship
is measured in different ways. These are the people that have seen me at my
best, have seen me at my worst, have been there holding my metaphorical hand
when I had a stomach bug, know my dark secrets, know my flaws and value me for anything
and everything in between. Truth be told I’m getting a little emotional right
now but I’ll never tell them. I’ll just think about something else, like how
Ann decided to film me spending significant time in the bathroom in the height
of my stomach bug.
YEP sentimentality
over.
But despite it all,
travelling with these guys has been absolutely amazing, just as trekking around
America and Canada was. It’s sad to say goodbye, but we know it won’t be long
until we meet again.
P.s: …my last post
about Malaysia would NOT be complete without mentioning Damien one more time.
Viv’s brother has stolen my heart and I want to bring him home with me so bad.
His cute little Asian grin, the way he pushes his glasses up, his little high
pitched voice as he tells me about his day…my heart melts. He gets so excited
when I tell him about where I’m from, and he’ll get his little map out and
point to the different countries to name them, before running off to watch
Spongebob or do his Chinese homework. And his voice. Le sigh. In a completely
non-predatory way, there’s just something about 6-year-olds, I guess.
 |
| Damien |
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