For The First Time

In my younger years at CSA, we were usually arranged alphabetically and so it was no surprise that V would always sit side by side with W. This is how I met my good friend Nena. We were classmates in pre-school, hung out in grade school, grew apart in high school, reconnected in college, was sidetracked by work and law school then finally met up again in 2006. But in all our years as friends, we never really travelled anywhere together except for a college retreat in Tagaytay that doesn't really count because we were not allowed to do anything but pray (yeah right!).

So after talking, ym chatting and emailing about it, we finally, finally took that trip together! We booked way back in May, had a planning dinner two months ago and met up in the airport last October 30. Then the nightmare on Cebu Pacific's Check-In Counter began.

Fellow travel companion Hannah was refused check-in because her passport was nine days short of the six-months validity for passports. Hannah was shell-shocked! She didn't know what to say---we also didn't know how to comfort her. She tried calling her friend who works in CebuPac, I called Reymond to ask him to talk to his friend in Immigration and Nena and Rina (another fellow travelmate) was trying to convince her to check-in at another counter. But the one thing we couldn't assure her was how the Immigration in KL would handle her case. Makalusot man sa Manila, we still had KL to deal with. That being the case, we didn't push the issue anymore and so we sadly let Hannah go. Pero as i said, this trip was years in the making. I told Nena that we needed to shake off this speed bump and just have fun in Malaysia!


In my previous trips to KL, we would always have Sherbert waiting in the airport to take us to Marriott. This time, Nena, Rina and I decided to take the bus to the city. There were no money changers open when we arrived (it was around 1am) and so we were very lucky that Rina had some left over HK dollars (small bills) with her to pay for bus tickets. The StarCentral Bus kiosk located at the Arrival Area of the LCCT accepts any currency when purchasing tickets. The only hassle with taking the bus is that you have to wait until it gets full before you can leave. The other hassle was the unpredictable behavior of the bus driver! Mr. Yearbook Yourself Hairstyle No. 1 was continuously swerving from left to right and from our angle, his eyes seemed to be half closed. When we told Rina who was seated directly behind the driver, she reprimanded him and the bus conductor who had the gall to laugh at Rina's comment. She even clapped her hands (lola move) to make sure he was awake which left me and Nena in stitches! Thankfully though, we got to Royale Bintang in one piece---bus dropped us off right in front of the hotel. Since my roomie was detained in Manila, I had the room all to myself. Sarap? For me, no! Im so used to having either my hubby or my kids in the room. It felt so weird talaga. So weird that i had to put chairs on the knob of the adjoining room door and the main door itself. Prani.....

Because of our early morning arrival, our day in KL started at 10am already. The breakfast buffet experience in Shanghai last December has left me wary of hotel packages. Thankfully again, our morning meals were the typical buffets served in normal hotels. Talagang may balat lang ako sa Shanghai! A quick stop at the money changer in front of the hotel then we were off to our first stop.




The Petronas Twin Towers is the most recognizable symbol of KL and its imposing structure is found in the heart of the city. In a previous trip, we were able to make it to the 41st floor. This time around, we didn't have boys to line up at 630am to get tickets to the viewing deck. We just contented ourselves with looking around KLCC Suria (the kiosks in the middle have the most interesting items!) and taking pictures right outside the towers. After the towers, it was off to Merdeka!





The Merdeka Square or Dataran Merdeka or Independence Square is also found in the heart of the city. It is surrounded by other well known structures such as the Royal Selangor Club Complex which is situated on one corner of the square, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the National History Museum and the Memorial Library, a building dating back to 1909, St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral, a Gothic style building which is more than a hundred years old and the impressive modern Dayabumi Complex. You can stand in the middle of the former cricket field and start clicking and turning and everywhere your camera points is an impressive landmark. Nena had a field day here!



From Merdeka, we walked until we reached the Masjid Jamek also known as the Friday Mosque. How appropriate too since we came to visit it on a Friday! No wonder there were hordes of people by the gate. If Nena and Rina didn't shout to stop me from going in, I would've probably offended the people inside seeing how i was dressed in a skirt plus my arms and my head were also exposed. Nena and I wanted to go in to take pictures of the mosque but we were limited to pictures by the gate. Ho-hum. So off we went in search of Little India.





This too proved a little tricky as there were numerous Little Indias around KL. The particular Little India place we were looking for was not in this area but was in Brickfields. We got a bit frustrated walking around so Nena suggested we try the Imbi Market off Bukit Bintang. After walking through Sungwei Plaza and Imbi Plaza, we realized only too late that the Imbi Market closes at noon. Bummer! It was already 2pm so we were desperate to eat lunch. We found our way to Kopi Club at the Plaza Low Yat and what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. Rina was the winner with the nasi goreng ayam berempah! It is basically deep fried chicken marinated in spices. The chicken is very fragrant and the skin is crisp. But my fried flat noodles (char kuay teow) and Nena's curry chicken and cuttlefish (nasi lemak ayam sotong) were also just as yummy!


Imagine our surprise when we realized that Plaza Low Yat was right behind our hotel! As we walked into the lobby, we were already making plans to head on over to Ikea when the concierge informs us that there is a FREE shuttle departing from the hotel at 345pm. Not only that, the FREE shuttle would also be taking us back to the hotel at 8pm. As Nena would say, walang ganyan sa Marriott! Hahahahahaha! Really, this hotel was heaven sent. All my apprehensions about it were useless. The location was great, the room was clean and spacious and there was a FREE shuttle to and from IKEA. Winner! We also used the free time to extend our stay to 11pm the next day. Our flight was very late so we needed at least one room to store our luggages and for last minute changing. The room extension cost us 120 MYR or approximately P1,660 (500 plus each). Nena also booked us for a day trip to Melaka the next day. Everything was going right!


Too good to be true? Guys, there's no catch. The day was really perfect. At 345pm, we rode on the shuttle that would take us to IKEA, about 40 minutes away from KL. When we got there, I was awestruck. Believe it or not, I have never been inside an IKEA store in my life. I was super excited and Nena and Rina were telling me to take it easy. Heehee. True enough, I had spent the most! My packages were also too much for me to carry. Its a good thing Rina and Nena had extra fingers. Heehee. By the time we got on the shuttle back to Royale Bintang, we had already made arrangements with LBC-KL. Cebu Pacific only allows 15kgs baggage allowance so there was no way our purchases would be less than that. I was really too happy! Could anything possibly go wrong?



WALA PA RIN! After freshening up and leaving once again for dinner at 930pm, we found out that Nena's restaurant of choice taken from the Malaysian foodies and bloggers was a mere 100 meters away from our hotel. Jalan Alor is street food heaven and the particular stall we were looking for was a sniff away. Although we passed on the very plump frogs (eewww), we enjoyed all the dishes we ordered. Nena and Rina loved the barbeque chicken while I was admiring the grilled stingray. While I thought it would have the consistency of squid, I was surprised to see that it looked and tasted like fish. Something new : )





After dinner, we strolled along Bukit Bintang and chanced upon an usual offer --- a fish spa. Nena had it on her list of things to do in KL and so we all agreed to try it. OH MY GAD. These little fish were not so little and harmless! The minute your feet are submerged in the water, the little piranhas attack! Hahahahaha! It is a weird sensation and I can't quite describe it accurately. It feels strange and ticklish and we all had to switch places until we found the area with the smallest critters. And since the fish in that area had 3 pairs of feet and legs to feast on, they were not as wild as the killer piranhas. After 15 minutes of the fish spa, we indulged in 45 minutes of pure foot spa bliss. That feels much better! And less ticklish!

And so ends Day 1 in KL. Yes, Day 1 palang tayo! It was a very long and productive day. We accomplished a lot and Nena had a lot of checks on her to do, to see and to eat at list. Time for some culture and history. We're off to Melaka tom.!