Disembarking from the plane was so much more efficient than getting on it. We were the very first ones off, so much so we didn't manage to get a picture of Bob living his best life in business class. It was actually more like a premium economy, but was still waaaay more comfortable than economy class. Our assistant escorted us off the plane and there was MIldred waiting patiently for us to arrive. Once transfered into her, we set off at warp speed towards the security and customs desk. All passed through there with no issues apart from having to have our index fingers printed again, although that wasn't an issue, just weird in my opinion. They didn't require Bobs prints though. We got through it all so fast, for the first time ever, we had to wait for The Sturdy One who was once again wrapped up like a mummy! That is unheard of, usually the sturdy one is just slowly circling the carosel like billy no mates looking sad and pathetic!
To get to the Hotel I'd pre booked a taxi with booking.com at a discounted price. As we came out of the arrivals gate, we were looking around for a sign with our names on and there was nobody there... Whilst we'd managed to sleep on the plane, we were still tired and cranky, (well I was) and just wanted to pile into an airconditioned car and get there. When I booked it i ensured that they would track the flight so if we were delayed we would still be picked up. with no sign of anyone bearing a board with our names on the assistant who escorted us through tried, 6 times to get through to the contact details we had for the driver. Each time it went to answer machine, with no option to leave a message. I then started a chat with booking.com to find out where it was. four bloody times! Each time i started to get somewhere i got kicked off and had to start over again. Finally successful, we were told that they'd refund the amount and we were to get a taxi from the airport. I was distinctly unimpressed and looked forward to writing a review on their customer service on our arrival at the hotel.
A gentleman approached us as he could see we were having problems, and offered to call us a taxi, he had limo's, and frankly that held no appeal for us whatsoever! He very kindly rang someone and within minutes a car pulled up and we were loaded in. Si tried to get his name and business card, but he was very reluctant to provide us with the information, and kept saying he was a nobody! Hmm I don't know about a nobody, but we now suspect he was a little dodgy!
The car took about 45 minutes to reach the hotel which was a pleasant surprise. Initially I was a little disappointed as I'd emailed them several times with a few requests and they hadn't got back to me. But, our room turned out to be a suite, and a large one at that, and we had breakfast included. The views out of both the large windows over the city are great, although there's a bloody great big building in the way of our view of the fireworks for new Years Eve. Also the pool isn't on the roof !
After throwing the sturdy one into the room we went to have a nose around the hotel. The restaurant is downstairs just off the lobby along with the pool and gym area. Having found the essentials we decided on a quick 5 minute nap, which turned into a good couple of hours! When we'd finally come around we went for a walk around the area and looked for a supermarket of some description to get some washing powder. Mundane I know! That proved to be a fail, but we did find a nice restaurant that was having a happy hour so we went in for a beer, just sat on high stools, at beer barrel tables and watched the world go by. The waiter was hilarious, really entertaining and very efficient with his bringing of beer!
Kuala Lumpur is even more humid than the Maldives, today was 88% humidity and temperatures hovered around 35*. It was very sticky and for that reason we headed back to the hotel for a swim and for Si to train. The pool was like a bath, and getting in was pure pleasure, although I could only just touch the bottom on my tippy toes. After an hour, it began to rain and the temperature dropped a little, not massively but a smidge. Being a tired and boring tired thing I was struggling to keep my eyes open so once we got back to the room, I decided I was done for the day. Before crashing completely we chucked our clothes in the machines in the hotel basement and within half an hour they were clean and in the tumble dryer. Cost us less than £2 for two loads of washing and the 90 minutes of tumble drying time.
The hotel restaurant has a nice menu, and the serving sizes are enormous, Si went down and had some really tasty dishes which could have been sharing plates! Very tasty and enjoyable by his account. Despite selling alcohol, the hotel will only serve it outside the restaurant by the pool, so Si had to make do with an iced tea. Although, after a week in the Maldives with no alcohol, I can't say as we've missed it really, so it wasn't exactly a hardship!
While he went for food, I trawled through trip advisor for some tours we could take. The one I decided on was an 8 hour tour, in an air conditioned car with driver. There is the option to do hop on hop off bus tours, but that didn't hold much appeal, despite them being wheelchairs friendly. Ugh, people. No thanks.
The reviews were pretty good, so I was happy to book it. Even better, the tour company messaged within minutes of my booking it to confirm the time and to give me the drivers name, vehicle type and the registration number of it. After that, our driver messaged and introduced himself and confirmed once more the pick up time.
A little nose around the room revealed white fluffy dressing gowns, an ironing board, iron, safe, table and chairs, sofa and easy chair, coffee table, fridge microwave, kettle and crockery and excellent air conditioning! The toiletries in the shower are lush, peppermint shampoo, and the most amazing lemongrass shower gel. Hopefully it keeps the mosquitoes away too!
Much love
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