30 Hours in Luxury

Tuesday 5^th July 2016

After successfully negotiating the exceptionally confusing Colombo airport (which included three separate sets of security), I found my way onto the more than half empty plane to Kuala Lumpur. As it was a three hour overnight flight (with a +2.5 hour time difference on arrival) I was thrilled to find I had three seats to lay down over for the duration of the journey. I got no sleep, but at least felt rested when we landed at the painfully early time of 4.30am.

On arrival at KL airport I found myself the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. It was very strong, and made with a little condensed milk, reminding me of all the delicious coffees I consumed in Vietnam six years ago. In my sleep deprived state I found the taxi counter, purchased a ticket and found the taxi to take me into the city. The hour drive to the hotel was mesmerising. The buildings everywhere were so damn tall and beautifully lit up in an array of lights. I remember being in New York a few years ago and being completely unable to comprehend the height of the skyscrapers. This was a similar feeling, made all the more awe inspiring by the thousands of lights against the dark night’s sky. I arrived at my hotel at 6.30am where I was told my room would be available at 11am and I could relax by the infinity pool until then. Despite my complete lack of sleep, I was wide awake and so full of energy from the excitement of it all. I sat and watched the sunrise over KL with only a very lovely security man for company. It was a very relaxing morning and that child-like sense of wonder had deeply set in. I couldn’t help but think of my baby cousin Reece at Christmas. At 17 months old, he’d just learnt the word “wow” and everything he saw and every present he opened received an enthusiastic “wow” as if he really was that excited about everything. That was exactly how I felt right then. Like a child seeing something for the first time.

I’ve stayed in posh hotels in Europe as a teenager. The only perk of my dad working away from home were the Hilton points he collected meaning free/cheap stays with executive room upgrades in  Hilton hotels across the continent. But I’ve never stayed in a nice hotel that I’ve paid for myself. And this hotel was incredibly posh. My room was huge and complete with sofa, dining table and small kitchen. I felt like a mini celebrity throughout my stay, with staff being so helpful with everything. I thoroughly enjoyed my hot power shower followed by snuggling up in a fluffy white dressing gown and lying across my soft and squishy king sized bed. I felt so grown up yet also an imposter in the adult world at the same time. It was the kind of hotel that would easily charge over £200 a night back home; where businessmen would stay after important meetings, or rich families would take their holidays. Yet I had paid a mere £40 (admittedly four months ago) and that included breakfast. I simply couldn’t believe my luck.

I was instantly taken with KL when I went out to explore the city. It was an incredible mix of East meets West, with roadside stands selling local Malaysian food next to a large shopping mall containing a H&M that became a slight lifesaver (I needed new sunglasses, I broke mine because I’m clumsy…). Everything in that city was huge. Each building towered so far above me. It should have been intimidating, but it wasn’t. I actually felt remarkably at home. It had enough familiarities of the West along with all the charm of the East. The Petronas Twin Towers were the highlight by far. Towering above all the other buildings, you could not miss them. I had another “wow” moment as I stood at the base of one of the towers and looked up. I could not see the top. It seemed to go on forever, disappearing far into the clouds. I spent quite a while walking around the towers, examining them from every angle including from a small distance. They were truly a remarkable piece of architecture. I’m not usually a fan of buildings, preferring natural wonders over man made. But this really was spectacular.

I left KL with great sadness; thirty hours was not enough time to witness all the city had to offer. But I felt so well rested and ready to face Indonesia.