Ahh. New Zealand coffee must be of a new variety “ mimicing Sweden, the coffee is roasted dark and bold. Just the way I like it. Glancing out thewindow a flurry of rain hits the people walking around, all darting for cover like little ants. Finally realizing how much the Internet has become a part of my life, I feel like half my time is spent looking for the next hot spot. And cheap hot spot.
Work in Kuala Lumpur stagnated due to the red tape of Telekom Malaysia. What do you mean your SDSL modems can’t be put into bridge mode? And we can’t buy our own? Needless to say, I was quite frustrated and even confused. Since I had been working rather long days I decided to go to a little island called Penang “ a spot known by many for the laid-back beaches and cheap eats. The last night in KL I worked until 4:30am finishing a prototype for the website, and tying up a few loose ends. I awoke at 6:45am, picked up by Chen, and brought to the KL bus station. Three nights in Penang should be relaxing, and I decided not to bring my laptop.
Initially I fell asleep in the bus station waiting for my bus; not before asking three people to make sure to wake me up. At about 8:15 I woke up and looked around: nobody was to be seen! The lady to my left had left, the conducter guy was MIA. I have always had a good internal clock where I could awake at just the perfect time. Apparently the bus was delayed (due to technical or low sales I will never know). At 9:30am I boarded the next bus and immediately fell asleep. A few hours later I awoke and there was a sandwich and drink in front of me. I was so asleep that I didn’t even notice. I made an excited exclaimation, and then began talking to the lady across the isle. She immediately had an accent, I noticed, but I couldn’t place it. It was some hodge-podge of English and Aussie, but with something else. Quickly she expressed her birth in Germany, upbringing in London, middle life in Australia and œretirement? in Bali. Hence, entering my life the first (from what I can remember) expat I had ever met.
We chatted for hours upon hours, swapping stories about marriages (her), medicore-for-lack-of-a-better-word relationships (me) and traveling (both). Her stories were illuminating. I was quickly pained a picture of Bali “ everything from her maid to the work ethic of the Balinese. I heard stories of wealth and fame and poverty “ digital photos included. We jumped in a taxi and went to a shopping mall “ my goal to find a pair of board shorts and hat, her goal to find some little trinkets for her friends daughters. I was quite unsuccessful, however wishing I had another bad. Much of the clothing in Penang was very inexpensive “ most new shirts averaging maybe $3-4USD. And these shirts are not plain, they are the Gap to A&F variety (most authentic I believe, but most just surplus from the factories). It is interesting seeing shirt that in the US would cost $70 and in Penang costing, at times, 70cents.
Dinner at a sea food place entitled more chats, topics seemingly endless. I have always found it interesting when I can talk to people for hours upon hours. A taxi ride home planted me securily into bed. A good nights sleep before a long day.
Woke up rather early and wandered around some more. We were on a mission to find Lafala or something like that, which when we did, tasted pretty crappy (but apparently is a must-have for Penang/Malaysia). I have grown accustomed to amazing eats, but Penang seemed to mark a downhill journey. Around Noon I strided off on my own, my goal: the mountain in the background. For those of you interested, you can get a satalite image of Penang at maps.google.com (Penang, Malaysia). I walked from the seafront (or two blocks in) all the way into the hills in the background. And back. Needless to say, that through all the winding streets it took the rest of the afternoon “ maybe a total of 7 hours. Upon arriving at the hotel I went for a massage (warning to all: don’t get a massage in Malaysia. Trust me. I’m not na�ve; but just trust me, very very akward). You’ll have to buy me a beer to get that story
The next few days were unfortunatly not very relaxing, I had work on my mind and, since I couldn’t get online easily, was continuously thinking about what I had to do. I had an open invitation to Bali, which was quite appealing, and I was very close to buying tickets (about $150USD each way from KL). Finally finding a cafe I sat staring at one window with my work emails, and the other with airasia to Bali “ I decided I had to get to Singapore and sit in an internet cafe and finish my work. Bali overruled. As many of you know, I had luck on my side this time. Never before have I had work possibly save my life. And for those of you concerned, my friend wasn’t and doesn’t go near the tourist areas that were attacked.
Soon enough I was on the bus heading back to KL, and was picked up shortly after arriving. I went into work and tried to figure out how to cut through the red tape. With Jane leaving for China the next day and TM seemingly incompetent, I decided to bring a new DSL modem in sometime in the future. With my work œdone? I stayed the night near Chinatown and in the morning boarded a bus for Singapore.
This entry is from my journal and was written on Oct. 10, 2005. It's been tagged with Travel. There have been 0 comments so far.