On my way to a land down under, I had to swing by Kuala Lumpur for a
couple of days of relaxation. I wasn’t sure what was going through my mind, to
be honest. There were indications this was going to be one heck of an
adventure. I could say I wasn’t exactly nervous. I am so used to packing and
flying that the usual nerves that come with traveling has evolved into calm. God,
I miss the jolt of electricity that used to punctuate these arrivals. To start
the journey, Air Asia emailed me for
an unexpected “task”; that as a
frequent flyer, I’ve been chosen to be their “Eye in the Sky” for my flight from Clark Field in Pampanga to the
Malaysian Capital. Was this a practical joke? Or has serendipity played a
little game on me? Am I an “Eye in the
Sky”? Guess.
There was a shortlist of things I had to take note of: How many people
were on my queue at the check in counter? How long did it take to accommodate
these people before my turn came? The difficult part was getting the complete
name of the check-in counter staff and the flight attendant who served me. Did
they seriously think I was going to ask for their phone numbers next? Ultimately,
I had to ask for the attendant’s name because they didn’t wear name tags. They’d
ask why, and I had to explain myself. They’d be anxious and I’d have to explain
further.
The
rest of the KL flight was uneventful. After clearing immigration, I hopped into
a Skybus, half empty, lugging around
my 12-kilogram bag. At high noon, the comfortable whiff of the AC eventually
induced me to sleep, canceling out an hour of my life into a dreamless slumber.
Upon reaching KL Sentral (the city’s main transport hub), it was an easy walk
to the Monorail; paid my 1.80 ringgit to Imbi station, then walked to my first
hotel, Beltif, along Changkat Thambi
Dollah Street.
It was another normal day in the capital.
With nothing planned for the rest of the day, I took a quick meal (below) then decided
to just disappear into the dark world of movie halls: Hong Kong’s “Cold War”, a police thriller about the
mysterious disappearance of a fully loaded police van, including the five
highly trained officers who manned the vehicle. It stars some of Hong Kong most
gorgeous cast too (and three male Superstars – Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Tony Leung).
The second movie was a Tamil flick called “Thuppakki” (The Gun) which follows the adventures of a special agent (Vijay) as he traces the whereabouts of the 12 sleeper cells
who wrecked havoc during the Mumbai terrorist attack. I am not too fond of
plump guys shaking their booties all over Jammu and Mumbai, but this Kollywood number, the second highest grossing Indian film of 2012, was indeed a
compelling nail biter with an equally unnerving antihero.
That night, I slept with images of the Indian army and their overweight
lead star shaking their derriere to a pulse pounding song. You think that was healthy? But who can say the same about their first day in
Kuala Lumpur?
This is the Eye in the Sky!
Sinfully delicious noodle dish admixed with slices of chicken at Berjaya Times Square. |
Sunny Luk and Longman Leung's "Cold War" |
A.R. Murugadoss's "Thuppakki" (The Gun) - Dancing soldiers in the midst of terrorist attacks. Where else can you find that combination? Only in India. ;) |
Bintang Walk near Pavilion mall. |
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