Today we were down in the hotel lobby by 6 AM. We left before the breakfast area opened, but we had an even better alternative! Last night, Stephanie and Eugene's mom (our friends from La Sierra's mom) left us a care basket at the hotel. It was jam packed with fresh and delicious food including two types of mango, dragon fruit, coconut water, and curry puff pastries. Not only was it delicious, it was exactly what we needed today, because there was no other place to get breakfast. We were all so thankful to have the food!
We went straight to the ferry station, but unfortunately we arrived a couple minutes too late to catch the ferry we wanted. We didn't have to wait very long though, because the next one came about 15 minutes later. It was an open-air commuter ferry with space for cars below. It was free for all of us because we were leaving Penang, but Dr. Perumal told us that it costs money to get into Penang on the ferry. We got to watch the sun rise over the city while we were on the ferry, which was worth the early wake-up call.
We walked with our backpacks to the train station to see about getting a train to Kuala Lumpur. Initially, the attendants said that the train was all booked. We were gearing up for the long walk to the bus depot when another attendant told us that a large group of travelers had cancelled last minute, and that if we hurried we could still make the train. We quickly bought the tickets, loaded up, and ran to the train. I was so excited that it worked out, because I love traveling by train. It's relaxing, you can walk around, and there tends to be much more leg room on a train than there is on the average bus. The scenery was fantastic as well. We were able to see the beautiful countryside, rain forests, small towns, and even a herd of cows crossing a river.
The only downside to the train was the lack of vegetarian food available. After breakfast at 6 AM, I had a few of the snacks we brought onboard the train. I was really ready for lunch when we got to the Kuala Lumpur train station after 2 PM.
We were able to walk from the beautiful, historic train station in KL to our hotel. We are staying at the Swiss Inn in Chinatown. They have gotten very creative with their marketing materials, and have dubbed themselves "an international hip hotel."
Our street is literally completely full of small shops selling things like sundresses and knockoff purses. I say completely full, because the shops are so tightly packed into the street that there is only a two-foot wide walking path on either side of a center row of shops. The outer edges of the street are lined with shops as well.
After we checked in, we went in search of food. Almost our entire group headed out together, and soon we found an entirely vegetarian Chinese restaurant. It was delicious! Although, to be honest, I would probably say that anything was delicious because I was super hungry.
It rained while we were in the restaurant, so we went back to the hotel so people could get their ponchos before we went out exploring. I was able to do some souvenir shopping while waiting for the group. It was, once again, very fun to haggle on the prices with the vendors.
When the group had reassembled, we went towards a shopping mall because Daniel Larios had heard that there was an amusement park inside. We found the mall. It was gigantic! We got some milk tea, and wandered around the shops a little bit. Sure enough, there was an amusement park inside, complete with a roller coaster! Three of the guys wanted to go into the amusement park, so while they did that, the rest of us went shopping. It was such a huge mall that we didn't get to every floor.
One of the sections of the mall was called Tiny Taipei. That was probably my favorite section, because the shops were arranged in little blocks, with cutesy road signs and an adorable food hall. I ordered a rice ball that they made-to-order with a variety of ingredient options. It was brown rice filled with cucumbers, pickled veggies, peanuts, and inari strips. It was so amazing, and pretty much the perfect sushi-type meal for me because it didn't have seaweed!
We met the thrill-seekers back at the amusement park, and we all decided to go back to the hotel. One more cool thing that we found in the mall: a musical staircase! That's the first time I've seen one of those in person!
We got back to the hotel without any rain! Tomorrow we have a full day, and a test on Wednesday! 😁 Time to study.
No comments:
Post a Comment