Tears and Coffee Everywhere

You know your trip is off to a good start when you spill coffee on the pants you'll be wearing for the next 48 hours before you even get off the ground. So after walking through the Gold Coast airport looking like I'd had a little accident, we were off to a good start.

On a brighter note, our bags somehow weigh less than they did when we left Melbourne. 6.4kg and 8.2kg of checked baggage. A pretty good effort for a six month trip I think.

So after an early morning, learning what Bhang balls are, a teary goodbye, spilling coffee on my trendy zip-off pants, considering pretending to be a foreigner in an attempt to be forgiven for our hiking boots and shorts combos and deciding that the Gold Coast is probably one of the few airports in the world where a sign insisting shoes are worn is necessary, we are on our way.

Tip: when you tell security your water bottles are empty, because for some reason you think they magically emptied themselves since you left the house, and then security scan your bag and realise the bottles are not empty, don't try to help them out by fishing the bottle out of the bag yourself. When they say "don't touch the bag" they mean it. And if you do try to help them out and reach into the bag after you've been warned, you will get a swift reminder of the "don't touch the bag" policy in the form of a slap on the wrist. Literally. She swatted me away. I felt like a child being scalded and Chris, naturally, thought it was hilarious. However, one empty drink bottle later, we are through.

We landed in KL at 3:15pm local time and after checking in decided to take the hour long Sky Bus trip into the city (KL Sentral). 28 RM return for both of us...bargain. The road from KL LCCT to the city passes an out-there mix of jungle, sprawling suburbia, run-down shanties, cows, endless seas of trees and fancy high rise apartments and hotels. And KL itself just amplifies this eclectic mix further.

We wandered into what we now think must have been Little India and found a great road-side food place full of locals. With not a Westerner in sight we figured the food must be good. Roti Canai, Mee Goreng (recommended by a friendly local), coffee, water and a delicious doughnut of bread all for 9.50 RM, the equivalent of $3 AUD. and despite swearing to be vegetarian for the majority of this trip, as soon as they offered to throw some chicken into the wok, we couldn't refuse.

We bought some fresh fruit on the way back to KL Sentral, including some delicious longans which, for those playing at home, are similar to lychees.

After a bus trip home in the pouring rain and peak hour traffic we were well and truly ready for bed in our tiny air conditioned room of Tune Hotel.