Random Observations

So I’m bored sitting in the KL airport. I’ve been here three hours already and can’t check in for at least another 90 minutes, so it’s time for some random observations!

-There are many police officers here at the airport. Most of said police officers are carrying submachine guns. I have no clue why so many officers need to be here carrying such guns, it seems like overkill to me, but I’m also not head of national security so I guess I’ll leave those matters to the adults.

-Continuing a trend of many Asian cities (and I guess some American ones... I’m spoiled by Logan), the airport here is nowhere near the city center, which is annoying as hell. As a consequence of it being so far away, I needed to get here before midnight for a 640 am flight (taxis are pretty much not even an option here. Malaysia has the worst taxi system in the world- there was even a study done to prove it! Drivers refuse to use their meters. Being here two weeks, not one was willing to use a meter. Whenever the subject of a meter was brought up, they laughed and said no. Refusal to use meters means we were at the mercy of drivers to charge us fair rates. Anyone who’s read this blog before knows where this is going. We were repeated over charged. Most fares within city limits should be 10RM or less, considering taxis start at 3RM. The cheapest fare we paid the whole trip was 15RM. Ridiculous. Last night we were charged 20RM to drive less than a kilometer. I don’t even want to think about how much a taxi to the airport would cost...). Anyway, no taxis mean I had to rely on the bus system, which stops running at midnight. When I first arrived, I landed at 230am and was wondering why so many people were camped out at the airport. Now I know. The place is crawling with people because if you have an international flight before 8am, you pretty much have to spend the night at the airport, which sucks. Huzzah for no sleep!

-So I’m going to start a new series on the blog (which means that I’ll write two or three specifically themed posts then forget about the whole ting.. like ‘Only in China’ or my Turnpike Memorial Series). The new theme will consist of times I probably should have died. This may seem morbid. However most of these stories are actually pretty funny (keeping in mind that I didn’t, in fact, actually die) and should be shared with the world. This also means that the infamous Popeye’s story will finally make its way to the interwebs to be shared for posterity’s sake.

-I just went up to order some McWings (which are the balls) and some guy in front of me ordered the last batch. They won’t make any more tonight. I’m incredibly steamed about this development because McWings may be the best part about McDonald’s in Asia. (Yes, that makes me a fat kid. It’s not as bad as the gorging that took place twice in KL because we found Wendy’s, which does not exist in China. I’ve never felt so heartbroken in my life as last night, when after a day of travel and looking forward to eating Wendy’s, finding it to be closed. I seriously need some help).

Ok well my mind is officially mush from lack of sleep, so for being a post predicated on being long and rambling, this is actually short by my hefty standards. Anyway, more new stuff in the near future.