Rajeev's World: Selamat Tinggal, Kuala Lumpur!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Selamat Tinggal, Kuala Lumpur!

Finally, the time has come to say goodbye to the "Muddy Confluence" of chaos, modernity and tradition, of cultures and and everything else that falls in between, a confluence called Kuala Lumpur.

It was indeed a bit too much to expect that KL would stack up to the high standards that we had become so used to in our two visits to Singapore, but KL did, surprisingly, delight us in ways more than one.

And that is what an intrepid traveller has to get used to, to always expect the unexpected and take it in your stride. That was the essence of the promotional video that played on our hotel's inhouse channel, which I recorded before we checked out of the hotel to head to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at Subang, a good 30 kilomtres from KL Sentral...

Let's face it...
No one ever left home to find the ordinary...
No one ever packed a bag and went off in search of the everyday...
...the commonplace.
Because the whole idea of travel is to find new experiences...
...to discover something different, exciting, special...
...in our world and in ourselves.
Explore a new city,
discover you're a photographer...
eat something you can't pronounce...
embrace the local custom...
[...PROMO...]
....we've hosted and witnessed...
...and been the setting for some of the most memorable moments of history.
And the best thing about history is that...
it never stops being written.
We all get a turn of the day.
And right now, somewhere...
there is a page waiting for you...
A journey that could lead to memories you have for ever...
At .... we know everyday, everything we do, it's setting the stage for you...
...Coz, what may be our stage, it's your story!

So profound. These golden words exactly summarize how I feel about life, travel and history!

KL is notorious for its cabbies who charge a bomb, so we went the app-way - we downloaded the MyTeksi app and booked a cab to take us to Subang.

As we checked out, preparations were on in the lobby for the Lion Dance celebrations later in the day. We would be missing that.

The drive to Subang took about 30 minutes on a smooth highway that took us through Brookfields and Petaling Jaya. Thankfully, the cabbie was a decent guy - there was no negotiation on the fare, we were charged as per the meter reading. These apps have made our lives so much more easier, not only in India, but also in Malaysia.

Checkin at Subang Airport's Skypark Terminal was smooth. The airport resembled the old Terminal 1B of CSIA, Mumbai, before it was redeveloped. Compared to KLIA2, Subang is tiny. It is a hub for turboprops of low-cost carriers. Clearly Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi need two airports, well-connected with the city centre, to decongest existing airports.

After check-in, we proceeded to the Peugeot Lounge where we had a Malay breakfast - Nasi Lemak and then we proceeded for a bit of plane-spotting...