The flight from Auckland to Melbourne took 4 hours and was all very pleasant, a bargain at 50 squid! When I got to Melbourne things got a little bit hairy as it turned out I DID need a visa even for transit and had been misinformed. So my bag was in Australia and I was in international airspace.... The immigration guys were very kind and said they COULD grant me entry but only on the airlines approval as would fine them 5000 dollars! The air hostess who I cornered about it looked freaked and 'went off to find out' - never to return. Feeling a bit bummed out by this point, I was wondering what to do for the best when a kindly immigration officer came and took me upstairs to the departure lounge, telling me to contact the airline about my bag and go on my way to Malaysia.
Just as I was going through security ( and being frisked and scanned for explosives- just my luck!) my mobile rang (thanks god I gave them my UK number when booking!). Pacific Blue had my bag and they offered to check it on to my Air Asia flight to KL for me. I was doubtful as to whether I'd see it again, but thought it was the best option.
The next thing was to wait for 7 hours til they started to board my flight and then try to get a boarding card- I was told this would all be fine. After a supper of potato salad and Werther's Original and some paracetamol for my stress headache, I booked a train from KL to Thailand online and then settled down to try and sleep. Sleep did not work out well at all and felt grim by the time 1am rolled around. The Air Asia crew rocked up and were very helpful, they had my bag and my boarding card in tow which was a great relief.
The flight to KL was very comfortable- I had 3 seats to myself and a window which was great! The flight was all very professional and friendly, couldn't believe the value for 150 quid! I can't recommend Air Asia enough. Managed to get a little bit of kip which was a bonus.
On arrival at the Low Cost Carriers Terminal in KL I was hit by a wave of humid heat, despite it only being 7am! I spent half an hour wandering round feeling very confused, trying to get in taxis but being shooed away to get a coupon. I finally found out where to buy a taxi voucher (12 pounds) and then got in a cab. The driver assured me he knew the place and we set off. After a while he started to sound unsure, so I called Gopala who talked him through the directions. To cut a very long story short, we ended up driving around KL for a good 2 hours and making at least 20 quids worth of phone calls to Gopala from my mobile. I got so fed up and the guy finally admitted he was new to the area and very apologetic. So I jumped out and into another local cab who got me there in 10 minutes for 3 quid. Woohoo!!
I spent 2 days in KL- sorted out my visa for Thailand (super easy and turned out they are issuing them for free at the moment! Bonus!) and a few last minute bits and bobs, enjoyed some lovely Indian and Malay meals, and tried to adjust to the heat and the spices. I think I did pretty well and enjoyed staying with the Gopalas again, brought back some lovely old memories.
I also met a really interesting swiss girl called Sonja at the Thai Embassy. Turned out she know Raphael, a swiss guy I met at Boom last summer. Small world! We sat in the park by the Petronas towers and chatted for a bit, may meet up with here again when she comes into Thailand.
On the evening of the 3rd day I boarded a lovely sleeper train to set off for Thailand....
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