I’ve been in Malaysia for a little over a week now, and to put it simply….it’s beautiful. The people, the land, the food (oh the food)…..it’s just incredible. You know what they say about assuming, and that’s exactly what I did day one….what a mistake that was.
Let’s rewind to my first 24 hours in Malaysia…..hold on for a bumpy ride…..
Originally we were supposed to fly into Kuala Lumpur (KL), and then hop on a train that night to head to our final destination. Well that got thrown out of the window as soon as we landed (if you haven’t learned already from our multiple route changes…..things never go as planned…..I’m learning to embrace that more and more each day). Instead, we were informed that we would be staying the night at a hostel in the capital. So we loaded up on a bus, and headed on an hour long journey to Chinatown.
Once again…..plans didn’t go accordingly. The people at the bust station told us we could stop and get train tickets for the next day, and then drop us off at the doorsteps of our hostel after…..hahahahahaha who were we kidding? Next thing we knew we were being dropped off on the side of the road in the middle of Chinatown. We tried talking to the driver, but that wasn’t happening. Before we knew it he was in the process of trying to take half of my team, and all of our luggage with him. Aca-excuse me?! I don’t think so. Needless to say, I’ve never seen 7 people unload out of a bus and get packs on so fast in my life…..thank you adrenaline.
We were all together, with our luggage…..safe…..and stranded, but only for a brief moment. A man gave us directions to our hostel, and off we went, and shortly we arrived. Upon the arrival to the hostel my initial thoughts on staying in one revolved around the movie “Hostel”…..and it wasn’t pretty (if you’re not into scary movies, then I don’t recommend it). Turns out I was being a bit dramatic on the situation….shocker, I know. We hoisted our packs up two flights of stairs, and unloaded our stuff in a room with 20 or so other strangers. I’ve always had a dream of backpacking through Europe, so I take this all as preparation. We were blessed with warm showers, wifi, and breakfast…..is this real life?
The next morning we were able to explore some of the city. It was beautiful. We trekked to see their twin towers, then trekked some more to a butterfly garden. There was so much beauty in such small things. Joy totally came in the morning!
We made it to the train station that night….in one piece…..safe and sound. It was my first experience on a train, and it was a sleeper train…..with my big pack, and day pack, and purse, and myself….all in a top bunk.
Welcome to the World Race!
My team and I are safe and sound at our location in Pahang, Malaysia. We’ll be teaching While we’re here, and it’s already fantastic! Things are moving within my team, and within this place…..I’m already at a place in my life that I never thought possible!
