To Kuala Lumpur!
It was up and at ‘em before 5am today. Bill needed to finish up some work at the office for month end today. He popped over to the office for an hour, then came back to get me for the 6amshift change. We brought the 3 double-dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme that we bought last night for the team to enjoy.
It was a really nice welcome and sendoff from the entire Goway Manila team. They all wore floral tops in my honour and presented me with a lay and a beautiful handmade paper flower bouquet. They are so lovely! What a wonderful and thoughtful gesture by their team! They also did a great job singing and playing guitar - Leaving on a Jet Plane - to thank Bill and say goodbye from their office.
We were also treated to breakfast of Pancit Bichon, which is served during special occasions in the Philippines. It was an angel hair type rice noodle dish with pork, chicken, pea pods, carrots, and cabbage. It was very delicious and will save us some time now that we don’t need to have breakfast at the hotel.
While Bill continued to work, I went back to the room to pack up, so we could head straight to the airport when he finished work. I was able to get everything ready, do some blogging, reading about Malaysian food and have a short nap while waiting.
Bill returned to the room around 8:40and we were checked out and in a cab shortly thereafter. The trip to the airport was uneventful and did not take too long.
It took an hour to check in and go through immigration, then we had time to buy a matcha tea latte and some delicious dark chocolate and mango treats. Our plane was delayed arriving, so we began boarding 30 min later than scheduled.
The flight was good, we watched a few episodes of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel that I had downloaded onto the iPad, so that helped to pass the time. I was not impressed with the bug bomb that they subjected us to before landing in Malaysia. I feel like they should not be haphazardly spraying chemicals in an enclosed space like that anymore. Has no one told Malaysian Airlines that things have changed since the 80’s? I also strongly disapprove of their outdated policy of turning off all electronics during takeoff and landing. Again, “hello that is not a thing (and never should have been) people!”
We were greeted by Roy who shared our plans with us for our time in Malaysia, then escorted us out a lovely new sedan, where Henry expertly guided us through heavy, by orderly rush hour traffic.
We checked in to the Traders Hotel around 7:00and have the great fortune to have a room that has a view of the Twin Towers and the park. Hurray!! More good news, there is free wifi that does not require a password. Why every hotel does not already do this, is beyond me.
OK! Enough of the ranting. We are heading out into the rain to hunt down some terrific food.
We walked over to the Grand Hyatt to JPteres restaurant. And yes! More password free wifi!
We ordered Nasi Ayam - roasted chicken and ginger rice, and Rendang Daging - braised beef with lemongrass and galangal.
We stopped at the Sky Bar on the 24th floor, poolside bar at our hotel. We ordered a Basil Smash & a Pandan Sour.