KL Couchsurfing Trip

It has been a long time since I posted on this blog. However, I have not stopped traveling. I will be posting some of the trips I did during this 1 and half year of blog absence to the best of my memories, which sadly hasn't been very good lately. However, I will try to reminisce with the photos I took during the trip.

Traveling period: 28 Jan 2011 to 31 Jan 2011
The 1st trip I will be posting happened almost 2 months after my road trip to Phuket. It was a very short trip and the main focus of this trip was to couchsurf and meet couchsurfers.

How this trip came about was rather incidental. So the story goes like this, there was a couchsurfer named Emma from China who was transiting to Thailand through KL. Apparently, my last logon location on the couchsurfing website showed that I was still in KL. Therefore, she sent me a message looking for a chinese-speaking guide in KL. However, despite the mistake and since I was free during that weekend, I though why not just have a short couchsurfing trip to KL to meet up with her and other couchsurfers.

I started looking for a host and events that are going on during that weekend in KL. I was lucky to find a Pakistan couchsurfer, Umair, staying in KL who happened to be able to host because his family was away in Pakistan at that time.

On the evening of 28th Jan 2011, Friday, I speed my way towards KL with my Honda SP.



Since Umair was out with his friends. I met them at KLCC.



We immediately headed back to his apartment near Midvalley. Me on my bike and them in Umair's car. After a night of rest, the next morning, I went to LCCT to pick Emma up. We headed for an couchsurfing event to eat ban mee at a famous restaurant, Kin Kin. The ban mee wasn't too bad but I ate better. The meeting brought a group of 8-10 couchsurfers of many nationalities together. That's pretty much all I can recall about the meeting.



After the couchsurfing event, I showed Emma around KL. I headed back to Umair's place in that evening, after I sent Emma back to LCCT for her flight to Krabi, Thailand. It was raining heavily that Saturday night and all Sunday so I pretty much stayed at Umair's apartment and couldn't make my way back to SG. That gave us plenty of time for conversations about life in SG or KL or Pakistan, religion, work, family etc.



I went back on Monday morning. Sadly, I had to waste an urgent leave for that day. But I would say it was a rather fulfilling trip, meeting new friends, learning about their lives and enjoying food.

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Meebo

The Meebo shoutbox not working as well as I expected, therefore, I didn't receive the messages anyone left me. Please post a comment to leave me any message. Thank you all for reading my blogs. Looking at the site stats really motivated me to blog more of my riding adventures. Stay tune. = ) If anyone looking for riding/traveling kakis for future trips, can drop me an email @ paul_tan_7@hotmail.com.

Conclusion

Number of days traveled: 23days
Total distance traveled by my bike, Honda NSR150 SP: 3784km
Number of photos taken by my camera, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3 6.0Megapixel: 3029
Places traveled: Malaysia(Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka), Thailand(Krabi, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Phang Nga)

This was an experimental and learning trip for me. To see how I can traveled, the stuff I like to see or do. It was also to get me out of my comfort zone, to meet and talk to strangers and make friends, to do things I wouldn't normally do, to experience things I won't normally dare. I met quite a number of interesting people, made a few friends, had a few close encounters and learnt alot more about myself. I won't say it was overall a fun trip as there were tough times as well as enjoyable moments. But I would definitely do this again, to other places. Where shall I explore next? Calling for traveling partner.

Home sweet home

Day 23 (06/12/2010):

This was the last day of my road trip. 5 more hours of riding back to Singapore. I stopped by Melaka for food and sight-seeing. I had durian chendol at 88 Jonker and chicken rice balls at Famosa Chicken Rice Ball at Jonker Street. What is special about the desserts at 88 Jonker is their special brown sweet sauce, nicely sweet. As for the chicken rice ball, it is pretty amazing how they can make normal rice stick together in a ball, they were definitely not glutinous rice. After the food and some sight-seeing, I headed back to Singapore. Yet again cold and wet.

[caption id="attachment_248" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Christ Church"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_249" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Fort Famosa"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_247" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="St Paul's Church"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_250" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Back in SG"][/caption]

Madworld

Day 22 (05/12/2010):

When I woke up in the morning, Elma and one of her son just came back her hometown. She brought back many of different types of fruits. Elma fried one of them, known as the Breadfruit. It was probably my 1st time eating it. It has a bit of the jackfruit taste and the texture of the sweet potato.

[caption id="attachment_234" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Fried Breadfruit with tea"][/caption]

After that, I went for another dosage of Krispy Kreme before heading to the Petronas Twin Towers. At the exhibition centre, there are 4 interesting brain teasers. I had to leave the exhibition centre with 1 unsolved.

[caption id="attachment_235" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Petronas Twin Towers"][/caption]

After walking around KLCC for awhile longer, I headed for Taman Bahagia in Petaling Jaya for the pork noodles Shuling recommended. Due to the roadblock at Jalan Parlimen, the road I always take towards Petaling Jaya, my direction got thrown off and had to went with the road signs instead. I somehow managed to reach Taman Bahagia after getting a better map at a petrol station, just to find the pork noodle stall was closed at 3pm. The time was 4pm then. However, I was informed by one of the shop assistant that there is related pork noodle stall owned the sister of the owner of the shop here in Taman Bahagia. The shop assistant couldn't tell me which road or which area the shop is neither could he tell me where it is on the map. All he told me was turn left after 2 traffic light, u-turn after another 2 overhead exit which I don't exit and turn left after the u-turn. I decided to go with the directions. Those directions were pretty exactly and I could reach the area with many shops. All I need to do now is to find the pork noodle shop. After wandering around the area a little bit, I managed to find the pork noodle shop, Ah Or Chu Yuk Fun. I learnt that Ah Or is the older brother of the 2 sisters.

[caption id="attachment_238" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Ah Or Chu Yuk Fun"][/caption]

The pork noodles looks pretty simple but I totally enjoyed it. It wasn't that it tasted extraordinary but just the overall consuming experience was just simply nice.

[caption id="attachment_239" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Ah Or pork noodle"][/caption]

Heading back to KL was much simpler. I quickly headed back to Elma's place for a change of clothes before going to the "Madworld" at DUMC, yet again in Petaling Jaya. Madworld is a joint evangelistic production between SIB KL and DUMC. A combination of dances and musical put together pretty nicely. It is about 2 man, one who have everything yet a broken marriage and a broken self, the other who lost everything and wander the streets bitter and aimlessly. IMO, the production was rather short and inconclusive but I still enjoyed the dance and music very much.

[caption id="attachment_240" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Madworld"][/caption]

After "Madworld", we headed for supper at Taman Megah. I had the most delicious Sarawak handmade noodle, one of the best handmade noodle I have eaten, and a very big honeydew juice, just simply satisfying. Also tried other food like the fried oyster and banana pancake, not as nice. My day ended with a smooth Kilkenny beer at a cafe with a live performance in KL.

Day out with Miranda

Day 21 (04/12/2010):

Miranda invited me to go cycling with her cell group in some park area in Shah Alam. It was a pretty good workout, been a long time since I cycled so many slopes.

[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Cycling in Shah Alam"][/caption]

After cycling, we headed for Klang to have Bah Kut Teh lunch. The Klang Bah Kut Teh, which the Malaysians are so proud of, is indeed delicious, definitely better than what we have in Singapore. It is very different from Bah Kut Teh in Singapore. It has less of the pepper taste and added mushrooms, pig intestines and vegetables with brown base soup instead. Pretty nice stuff.

[caption id="attachment_226" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Klang Bah Kut Teh"][/caption]

In the evening, I attended Marinda's church, SIB KL. I also witness the installation of Miranda as a member of SIB KL. Congratz Marinda.

[caption id="attachment_227" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="SIB KL"][/caption]

For dinner, we went to a restaurant named Asian Food House. They have Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean food. I had the Taiwanese pork ribs noodle and bubble tea recommended by Shuling. Pretty good.

On the way back to Elma's place, I picked up half a dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts. Yes lah. Finally, I had my awesomely delicious Krispy Kreme donuts. IMO, they beat all other donuts I have tried.

[caption id="attachment_228" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Krispy Kreme"][/caption]

Familiar Faces

Day 20 (03/12/2010):

Another day of traveling. I rode out of Pulau Pinang at noon. I managed to find my way to my couchsurfing host, Elma's place in Kuala Lumpur. Elma stays in a nice cosy terrace with her sons, daughter and 5 cats at the border of KL. The cats are really playful and cute. At times during the night, one would cuddle and lie next to me.

After settling into Elma's place, I went to Miranda's cell group meeting at another side of KL. After 20 days of traveling, they were the 1st familiar faces I saw, Miranda and Shuling. They were my care group mates back in Hope Brisbane when I was studying in Australia. It was really nice to see them again. It reminded me of the days in Brisbane which I still misses.

[caption id="attachment_216" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Miranda and I"][/caption]