Yeah, so, that day was all about walking around Kuala Lumpur and exploring markets and mosques and a sultans palace, and we kept hearing the call to prayer over loudspeakers (which was someone saying 'allahu akbar' many times) and it was so amazing. There was a back road we decided to go down (cuz there were trees all lining it and it was beautiful) and we walked until we saw someone standing in front of a building holding something, and I looked closer and stopped dead in my tracks and halfway through my sentence because heeee had a gun. Like a really big gun. He was just kinda standing there smiling at us, and i waved, and he waved, and I said "We're just gonna. Go back now" and he smiled and waved goodbye and we left. So that was the time I almost died in Malaysia (like not really but at the time it was pretty freaky).
After all that we found a way to Temerloh, a place in between where we were and where we had to get to for our hostel that night (Jerantut). It was there we realized no ATMs would accept any of our cards, and because we're trinket-happy tourists (or at least I found out I am) we had just a few hundred RM left, which amounted to just under a hundred Canadian dollars, which was noooot enough for all the expenses we would need to pay. We decided to take a cross-that-bridge when we come to it attitude, because like, there wasn't much else we could do. Just had a wait for that one Malaysian ATM that would hopefully accept my Timmies Double Double Visa card.
So after that we were looking for buses to get to Jerantut and discovered thaaaat it was actually Eid that weekend, the annual Muslim religious celebration, which is why we kept hearing the call to prayer. That also meant there were no buses. But we found a friendly fellow willing to drive us there for an almost-not-outrageous price and an hour or so later we were in Jerantut, standing outside a closed up and gated off building that we had made reservations to spend a night at (like there was one of those metal bar things you pull in front of locked doors. Like prison bars. I've been googling it forever and for the life of me cant find out what they're called). Safe to say we felt a tinge of alarm, but we got the driver guy to call them and the person told us to simply pull that gate away, push open the door and wait, and after a while we were greeted by a funny, chipper 20 something year old who would be housing us.
He liked to talk, a lot, whenever he could. We discovered that when we asked him the bus times and he said 'ok. I tell you my story' and sat cross legged on our floor and chatted with us until late. We heard a lot of good-natured racism (he tried to convince us Africans could hear over a kilometer because he saw it in a movie about Africa, before we googled it and found out the movie actually took place in the Amazon and the people weren't African) and funny anecdotes. He liked feeding us pastries and changing his mind about the times he was sure the bus would be coming. All in all he was a super fun guy.
Our evening in Jerantut was cool. Not temperature wise though. It's so dang hot in Malaysia. Anyway we were walking around upon arrival trying to find a workable ATM (no luck) and found ourselves being followed by a slow moving car. Eventually it stopped and an old man got out and beckoned us towards him. I was like, no thanks, but Anneke, having once hitchhiked across Canada, was less wary of people in cars and we walked up to see what he wanted. He found out what we were doing there and offered us a ride to the bus station, which we politely declined, but he did seem super sweet.
Later we kept walking around and found a very active and pretty mosque and were chased down three times by a bike gang of 10 year old's wanting our picture while striking 'Western' poses. We fiiinally also found an ATM that would actually exclusively only accept my Tim Hortons Double Double Visa Card, so money-wise we were more or less alright. That evening we found an awesome little family run business where for 2 dollars I ate one of the best meals I've ever had. The next morning we were looking forward to a trip to Taman Negara, a tour-led trip through a Malaysian elephant-and-tiger infested jungle. We weren't getting a response about where their office was, which was where we were going to get picked up by the shuttle, but fortunately we found it on our walk around Jerantut that evening. I finished the night attempting to go out solo and find the source of fireworks that we could hear nearby that were celebrating Eid, but a few wrong turns later I ended up at some really sketchy train tracks and in some back ally areas with the fireworks somehow sounding even further away, and I decided my navigational skills were not to be honed that night and went back to the hostel.
The next morning we left early to go to the office, and upon arrival discovered that there were no shuttles coming because they didnt receive our RSVP. After everyone being a little confused and freaked out for a bit, the guy there said we would be getting a special ride just the two of us if he could get a driver, and then found a place for us to have breakfast that served exclusively toast and coffee and asked us to wait patiently. After surprisingly amazing toast and coffee (that's a theme here all the food in southeast asia is incredible) we were told that although we couldnt get any drivers, the owner himself was driving the hour down and hour back to pick us up, which I'd say is pretty special. After a very pretty and very winding ride, we were in Tamen Negara.
So we went on a jungle tour where we were climbing a mountain and doing a canopy walk. While our group was waiting for our turn, our tour guide actually let Anneke and I go off on our own and explore, which was great. Eventually we did the walk (which was a little terrifying cuz i keep forgetting when I sign up for these things that I'm scared of heights) and climbed the mountain. Afterwards, while we were waiting to ride the rapids, we were informed that there was someone who could check with the Jerantut bus schedule and let us know when the next bus to Kuala Lumpur was, which was super helpful, considering the internet suggested the bus station was in an area where there was nothing but four tents and a bench.
We got lost (as we do) but eventually found our group again, and clamored into a rapid-bound boat on its way to the tribal village known as Orang Asli. There were about 7 of us on a narrow boat heading to the local tribal village, and after driving for a minute, our driver killed the motor and we were just kinda chilling in the middle of the water for a while. We were all silently wondering why he wasnt still driving, when we turned around and saw another boat coming for us. Now is a good time to mention that I had kind of struck up a friendly rivalry with our main tour guide, who was a hilarious older and very jungle-experienced man, and he went by us on that boat with his hand in the water and completely drenched the entire lot of us. The journey then turned into a competition where the boat drivers tried to splash each other and take us through rapids while rocking the boat for the sole purpose of getting us wet. They were a great group. My rival though tried to distract me by pointing at a nearby mountain then got near us and for about 10 seconds sprayed water until he'd utterly drenched me, which I couldn't let go.
After getting to the beach, I had revenge in my heart, and continued the rivalry with the completely dry tour guide by chasing him around the beach with a water bottle (ending with me falling spectacularly, getting sand into every inch of my clothing and having everyone laugh at me). We went around for a while, taking pictures and observing daily life for the village, and i eventually got the leader back while he was giving a speech to our group by dousing him with a nearby bottle, and all was right again (he thought it was hilarious). We also learned a few things about the Orang Asli culture (like how its bad luck for a leader's child to be born in the village so the wife has to deliver the baby in the jungle, and how they hunt with poison blow darts). Then I was selected by my tour guide rival to be the first to demonstrate hunting with the weapon, which I did perfectly (pay no attention to the video). We left a tad early to see that one guy about buses, and found out there were actually no buses out of Jerantut that night, so. We were kind of stranded.
We were given a ride back to Jerantut, where we went back to our hostel and were very grateful to see that our chipper talkative friend would take us for another night (he just showed a big smile and said 'nooooooo problem' so that was nice). We went to get food at that one nice small family business place again, where we saw a lot of the same people from the night before, including the friendly old man we encountered upon entering Jerantut, who gave us a nice wave and a smile. We had a nice walk around some kinda sketchy areas (but literally everywhere we went people were so friendly and it was great) and were whispered about, stared at and greeted as we went. 'Twas quite the time.
So the final day, all we knew was we had to be back in Kuala Lumpur airport at 5:00 at the very latest for our flight. We left early to get to the bus station, and found out that there were no buses back to Kuala Lumpur from Jerantut. We asked about other buses, and there was one leaving to Temerloh at that moment, so we hopped on that one, hoping to find better bus luck there. An hour later we arrived in Temerloh at just about 9:30, was gonna get some breakfast but asked first when the buses were leaving for Kuala Lumpur. We were told that there were no more buses available heading to Kuala Lumpur, and to try again tomorrow. We impressed the importance of finding one, and she got on the phone with somebody. Eventually someone came and said there are two tickets to a 9:00 bus because there were two no shows, so we could buy those, and with them try to get on the 9:30 bus. We got them and went running, got to the bus as it was starting up, and showed him our tickets. He told us they were the wrong tickets and was very hesitant. Soon though the guy who sold us the tickets came over and told him to let us on, so we hopped into 2 empty seats and got the last bus out to Kuala Lumper. It was definitely a roller coaster of a day.
And then back in Kuala Lumpur we took a few more buses to get where we needed. We bought some street non-meat (some crazy carb loaded vegetarian stuff that was actually super tasty) and explored Little India, which was beautiful. I think I might wanna return to southeast asia someday. We managed to get to the plane by 4:00, and got to our flight and was back in Shanghai. We actually then slept in the freakin airport until the subway opened to save money (Anneke's idea. We totaled 15 hours of transit that day so I was too tired to object) then poof. Weekend over.
For my first during-travel travel experience, it was pretty amazing. Lots to see, lots of experiences and lots of last-second luck. Work is getting super super crazy (we're getting like 5 new students in the last month for some reason) so who knows what things'll be like when I write next. Guess we'll have to see. So far, I'd say the adventure is going pretty well. 2 months down, 6 to go ✌️