Throwback Thursday.

Hey, it's Thursday! Younger moi on the cable car to Sentosa Island, Singapore. 2010.

Kuala Lumpur 2014: Our first meal / Mehran's Restaurant

We arrived at our hotel in Chow Kit at around 2:30am. There's really not much of a night life in Chow Kit (or at least the part near the train station), so after walking around a bit  and having little luck looking for a place to eat nearby that isn't fast food, we decided to check out the Persian restaurant just a few steps from the hotel.

Here's some of our first meal in Malaysia. I got a chapati (about 2 MYR), while J got a chicken biryani (about 9 MYR).

We ended up eating at Mehran's for breakfast every day that we were in Malaysia because our hotel did not serve breakfast. It wasn't such a bad thing because the food was good, the service was great and the servings were huge. Also, the price was pretty reasonable.

Mehran's Restaurant is located along Jalan Ipoh, near the train station. Across the Shell gasoline station.

Back to Kuala Lumpur 2014 index.

I miss the sea. 

Kuala Lumpur 2014: Arriving at Kuala Lumpur via the LCCT.

We flew to KL through Cebu Pacific, which, like most budget carriers, arrive and depart through the Low Cost Carrier Terminal of Kuala Lumpur.  Our flight arrived at around 12:30 in the morning.

Here's a pic of the view that will greet you once you get out of the plane -- looks a little like Mactan, right? haha.

Immigration was quick, though I don't know if that will change after the Malaysia Airlines MH370
incident. Here's the baggage claim area. Nothing fancy.

The airport is several kilometers away from Kuala Lumpur and there are several options you can take to commute from LCCT to Kuala Lumpur -- taxi, bus or train. The train does not connect directly to LCCT, but to KL International Airport (KLIA). You can take a shuttle to KLIA and then take the train from there. The train stops at KL Sentral.

 

We chose to take the bus. It's not as fast as going by train, but it's also cheaper. The Aerobus cost us 8 MYR per person from LCCT to KL Sentral. There's a line of booths near the exit of the LCCT. 

 

This is the Aerobus --

  

 

Not only was the bus cheaper, but there are no transfers, unlike the shuttle + train option. The bus ride, like the train, stops at KL Sentral. From there, you will have to walk or take a taxi or bus (if you're feeling a little braver) to your final destination.

Our hotel was at Chow Kit. Unfortunately, after midnight, it's hard to get a taxi that will run on the meter. They usually ask for a fixed price, especially if you're a foreigner. And even if you run on meter, there's a surcharge for after midnight rides. We paid 20 MYR for the taxi ride (premium or big taxi because of our luggage -- not a light packer, sorry! hehe) from KL Sentral to Chow Kit.

Here are some pics of outside the LCCT --  

Total spend per person - 

Bus - 8 MYR

Taxi - 5 MYR

Total - 13 MYR

Back to Kuala Lumpur 2014 index.

Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur 2014

March 1-6, 2014. #adventuretime from start to end.

So we went to Kuala Lumpur last week. Tickets were, of course, promo tickets, which were supposed to be a direct flight from Cebu-Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, Cebu Pacific decided to scrap that route (maybe because of lack of passengers?) and so we were re-routed and had to have a stop over at Manila. It was a little bit of a hassle because each trip will take longer because of the stop over, but what the heck. I tried asking if we can go via Singapore instead so there's a direct Cebu flight, but it's not allowed. :( sigh.

So anyway,  before I blab too much, the links to the Kuala Lumpur 2014 series:

•  Day 1: Arrival at Kuala Lumpur via the LCCT. 
• Day 1: Our first meal / Mehran's Restaurant.
• Exploring Kuala Lumpur
• KL Tower
• Sunway Lagoon
• Petronas Towers
• Batu Caves
• Genting Highlands
• Little India
• Unplanned trip to Putrajaya
• Itinerary and Expenses

Just got back from a trip a week ago. New pictures, new stories! Though I have so much backlog, I'll try to give this travel diary another shot, starting with my latest trip. Good luck to me. heeeee

From Incheon to Seoul

Incheon International Airport is about an hour's ride away from Seoul. There are 3 ways to commute to Seoul -- by taxi, train or bus. 

Taking the taxi is the most expensive option. When we were exiting the airport, a middle aged man approached us and offered to take us to Seoul for 80,000 won. I guess we really looked touristy because, then, one of our co-passengers approached us and helped us out. He said that he was a Christian who has been working in Cebu for several years already and that he already saw us when we were still in Mactan. He helped us buy tickets for the airport limousine (bus) to Seoul because it was a cheaper option. 

Anyway, if you do decide to take a taxi, it's always best to let the meter run and not pay a fixed price. 

 

 Option number 2 is to take the train. South Korea's metro-rail system is very efficient and has a wide network. We had considered taking the train because when we asked our hotel for directions, they advised us to take the train from the airport to Seoul station and to ride a taxi from there. However, my father's sister-in-law advised us against taking the train because Seoul station, she said, was very big and we were bringing our huge luggage bags. :s

Option number 3, the option we took, is the airport limousine (bus). The ticket counter is just near the exit of the airport.

 

 Just indicate your stop. Ours was Nandaemun Market. We paid 10,000 won each. 

After getting our tickets, we went to the bus stop. The ticket will indicate the bus stop location and the bus number. Just look for your bus number in the bus stop and wait for the bus.

 

 Our bus -- 6015 -- has several stops, including Nandaemun Market, where we will get off. Make sure to tell the driver what stop your getting off. We've heard some stories of people missing their stop because the driver thought no one was getting off there.

 To Seoul we go --

 

When we got off the bus, we tried to hail a taxi. Tried. A word of advice. Mind what day of the week it is when you fly in. We flew in on a Friday night and it was almost impossible to get a taxi! Sure, there were was one or two vacant taxi's but we weren't able to get in because we had difficulty communicating to the driver the location of the hotel. After about 30 minutes of trying (in the cold) and with the help of some friendly English-speaking locals, we decided to just walk to the hotel, which was luckily not thaaat far away.

South Korea 2013 Series Menu