DAY TWENTY
The flight was uneventful. It was a good thing I had some cookies from the Edinburgh train. I paced myself through-out the trip. I had ordered two meals, but there is a good 9-10 hours in between them.
Upon arrival, I was surprised to see ALL Malaysian workers with face masks. We had to go through a single-file line with a heat-sensing camera aimed at us. They were taking no chances with passengers arriving from countries which have had cases of H1N1 flu, and London flights were on their "high risk" list. It was like being on the set of Outbreak.
I arrived with no cash, and my bank doesn't allow activity from Malaysia, so for the first time I was in a REAL pinch. There was an exchange counter open and we discussed our options. He said the minimum to charge from a visa is $300 Ringits - or $89 USD. I crossed my fingers and another angel made the impossible happen.
While waiting for the money to process, I mentioned wanting to find a Rotiboy bakery. I wasn't saying it with the right accent, but he finally knew what I was talking about and told me there is one in the shopping center at the bottom of the Petronas Twin Towers.
This time I knew exactly where I was going. I stopped at the "left luggage" to drop off my two items of checked baggage (referred to as "hold luggage" in Europe). Since there is free wifi at the airport, I had some iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie and checked my email. After an hour I went to the AirAsia Skybus which took me directly to the Sentral (sic) station in Kuala Lumpur.
Several taxi drivers were there waiting and I chose the first one to take me to the Swiss Inn Hotel in Chinatown. By midnight I was checked in and watching TV from a comfy bed.
DAY TWENTYONE:
After a quick shower, I went to the breakfast buffet which wasn't very appetizing, but sufficient. I gathered my things from my room and checked out. I had purchased a few Malaysian postcards the first time around but hadn't mailed them. The front desk was able to provide postage and take them for posting.
There was a taxi guy in the lobby so I arranged to go to the Petronas Towers. The ride was short and since I explained I was looking for Rotiboy, he dropped me off at the closest entrance. Once inside the doors of the shopping mall at the ground level of the towers, I stopped at the information desk to speed my journey. He was very helpful and seemed pleased someone had taken advantage of his usefulness.
The Rotiboy was just at the bottom of the escalator. I was so excited - it had been 3 years since I had one! They are this amazing bread (kind of like a roll, but not exactly), so soft with a hole full of butter in the middle. In Thailand they regularly wait 4 hours in line to buy them. I had bought them first thing in the morning when I only had to wait 2 hours. I was determined to see what the fuss was about.
At first I asked for 10, but that was TWO BAGS and I knew there was no way I could get everything on board as carry-on so I took one bag of five rotiboys. Then I wandered outside to a plaza where I could take a picture of the Petronas Twin Towers. I decided to go back to the information desk to find out where the underground train station was located. He told me to go down the escalator and then turn left and I would see it there. Wait a minute, I thought, that's where the Rotiboy is. I confirmed this and we both laughed!
I took the train a few stops to the Sentral Station, where I got the Skybus back to the LCCT airport. There was plenty of time to pick up my "left luggage" and check it in. I got onto the free wifi and checked my emails. When it was time to board, there was a gentleman with a duty-free bag of Johnny Walker Blue Label. I chatted that he had made a good choice for his gift. It was so funny to arrive at my seat and find him sitting in my row!
We talked about business in Cambodia and I happened to mention the rotiboys I had brought from KL. He said he is best friends with the founder who has been trying to find someone to franchise in Cambodia. How synchronistic because I would love to open one in the future! So we will be staying in touch.
There was a girl sitting in front of us who asked some advice about where to stay and how to get there from the airport. I suggested Okay Guesthouse for the "backpacker" level and offered to share a taxi since it is near where I live.
Upon landing, Phnom Penh's airport also had a thermal camera, but it was just aimed at the crowd as we all came down the stairs, unlike the single-file line in Malaysia. No one was wearing masks either. I have a multiple-entry visa so I went straight to passport control. From there I picked up my luggage and waited for the girl.
She finally got her visa and had met another backpacker in the visa line, so we all shared the taxi. We offered the driver a little extra to take a route that would give them an orientation of the city. After dropping them off at the guesthouse, the taxi driver took me home. The motodups were happy to take my bags upstairs for me. I waved to my friends sitting in front of Rory's guesthouse. I was finally home!
--
Mariam Arthur
CEO
Kmy Films
+855 (0)12 54 30 74
http://www.kmyfilms.com/
http://www.filmcambodia.org/
02.07.2009 | Cannes's blog
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