[Reisender]

@Lukeskywalker - Nice pics and excellent coverup. I really liked your kido pics. She is indeed an Angel..

Thanks

[Lukeskywalker]

Day 10 - Driving across Cameron Highlands

With the nocturnal scare behind me, it was another day, fresh and bright, the mountain air was intoxicating,
We went to the restaurant for breakfast, it was a novel affair, along with the usual buffet, the chef had presented his specialties and one could choose from the list, they even had a hive dripping with honey to showcase the freshness.

The breakfast spread


We had a substantially large breakfast and then decided to drive out some 20 kms till Brinchang, which was the last of the towns on that road,

One for the family album


The roads were fantastic and as it is I enjoy driving on hill roads and this was driving nirvana for me,

















The car was easy to handle and there was hardly any traffic, we went past Tanah Rata, the biggest town in Cameron Highlands onwards till Brinchang, we saw many hoardings advertising Tea plantation visits and Strawberry farm visits, but we have enough and more of those at home and decided to skip them all. Before noon we had retraced the road back to the hotel and with nothing else to do, we decided to check out and head back to Kuala Lumpur.

It was an easy relaxed drive back to the highway and once again a halt for lunch at a rest stop,

The highway E1 once again


We reached the outskirts of KL as the evening rush hour was starting, I switched on the GPS with the pre saved destination and started following the instructions, I had calculated that we had enough and more fuel till our drive back home and had decided to fill in some near home before returning the car, for some strange reason, the GPS unit showed our destination much closer than what we had anticipated and once we reached Kuala Lumpur city limits, it was guiding us along an unfamiliar route, we were puzzled as we did not seem to remember any of the places from our onward journey the previous day, by now the Low Fuel indicator started to blink and we decided to fuel up as soon as we came across a fuel station, but blame it on Murphy's Law of uncertainities, we did not come across a single fuel pump on our side of the road and we were continously in heavy traffic and unfamiliar areas.
Suddenly i was asked to take a left turn into a shopping centre in Puchong and the Garmin unit declared in a very satisfied tone that we had reached our destination!!
We had no clue as to where we were, one thing we were certain was that we were quite far away from our intended destination and very very low on fuel. I reset the GPS unit with the address of the apartment complex we were supposed to go to and the renewed co ordinates showed us that we were some 25kms away. Then I discovered that I had erred in saving the initial starting point and the unit had saved the default location which was the car rental company's office.
So we started finding our way back with a low fuel light blinking and no fuel pump in sight, I made another mistake when I entered a lane for "touch and Go" toll booth and discovered that it was not manned and there was a long line of vehicles behind me, I could not even back out, I asked my wife to walk out to one of the manned booths and explain our situation and pay and ask the barrier to be lifted.
I expected to be honked at and yelled at as I was blocking peak hour traffic, but not one peep of a horn, the people behind me realised that I was in some kind of trouble and patiently backed up, all the cars in a line and chose a different lane. A booth operator came took money and opened the barrier, meanwhile my poor wife was dodging cars and barriers and trying to get back, she finally came back and gave me looks which could have frozen an elephant in that sweltering heat.
Once the toll booth incident was behind us, we still had the fuel issue, still no sign of a fuel pump on our side of the road, finally I came across a board which showed 500m to the nearest pump, but just after that was a sign which showed our destination, I knew we are in the vicinity of our destination so chanced it and drove away from the fuel pump, we reached the parking lot and the heavens opened up, I for one, was never more relieved, I decided that I'd pay for some fuel when the guy came to take back the car and we were finally home.

The sun sets on our penultimate day


...Contd.

[Lukeskywalker]

Day 11 - The last Day in Kuala Lumpur

We had kept aside this day to look around KL, shop and pack up. When we started packing we realised we had bought more stuff than we had anticipated and we did not have enough space in our bags, we decided on another run to the Midway Garden mall, where there was an Aeon supermarket.

So after breakfast, we set out to the supermarket, here our little girl fell asleep on the shopping cart, this provided a great opportunity to my wife who assigned me the task of cart pusher and went on a shopping binge, we first bought a big travel bag, bigger than what we had, then she ensured that the bag was filled even before we checked out of the mall, over all we spent time till late afternoon before heading back home.

that evening when our friend came back, she took it upon herself to treat us to dinner and decided we'd go to KLCC or the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, this is where the famed Petronas Towers are situated and I prayed that the rain would keep away for some photography at night.

It rained all through the cab ride and even as we got off, I was quite cheesed off as we had not been stopped by rain all these days and on the final day the Gods were not giving me a chance to click the Petronas building. We walked around the Surya KLCC mall which again was beautifully decorated for christmas.

Surya KLCC decorated for christmas




By then the Gods decided to pity us and the rain stopped, we rushed out to capture the lovely musical fountains and the towers in all their glory.

The Petronas Towers


The fantastic musical fountains














These buildings never cease to amaze












Completely sated with the photo op and a lovely meal by the foiuntains, we were ready to call it a day. We headed back by the LRT and went to bed on what was our last night at KL as well as our wonderful holiday so far.

Day 12 - The Return Home

The friendly cab guy was again called for the ride to the airport, he kept chatting all the way non stop for the one and a quarter hour it takes to commute. We reached the chaotic LCCT once again and by now we knew how to handle the crowds, or at least we thought we knew.
After standing for 20 mins in a queue to drop off our baggage, the lady at the counter informs us that all flights to India and China are in a different place, no signs or indications whatsover, we rush to the new counters only to see long lines again, we stand in what seemed the shortest line, another half an hour gone and by now it was getting a little late to get checked in, in time, suddenly an Air Asia lady comes and hollers that all passengers bound for Bangalore can go to a dedicated counter to save time, here's where the panic mentality of people was displayed, people who were almost at the counter on hearing the announcement broke the queue and made a mad dash tripping over luggage and jostling and pushing to be in the new line, we stayed put, we were some twenty people behind before the announcement, once the madness started we were at number 2 in the queue, we checked in our baggage and people who were way before us were now at least 20 minutes away from being checked in.
Another long line at security and immigration, by now it was time to board.
There was a bit of duty free shopping planned, but the long lines ensured that we managed to just make it on time to board the aircraft.

Exhausted with the ordeal of boarding at LCCT we belted ourselves in, we did not even have time to introspect on our holiday before we were on the aircraft. Four hours later we were back on home soil, the last day's rushed program dented an otherwise complete relaxed and peaceful holiday we had for the past 11 days.

But like they say, There's no place like Home at the end of it all.

Thank you all for reading through.

[naveenroy]

Awesome photography and I can just see the joy on your faces. Very nice! Love your little kid's ability to make friends so easily!

But the best has to be the shot of "lovely scenery" ;P

[paragsachania]

Was waiting for this one Hari. So finally its up and as usual your excellent capturing skills!
Very well detailed day wise coverage to help anyone like us to plan such a trip in future. Rated 5 Stars for some superb clicks and a complementing narration.

Did I say a travelogue on Team-Bhp is incomplete without sitting behind the wheels? Well, you have managed to do that in this trip too :-)!

[chef-de-jeep]

Hi Luke, Thats a great set of pics , took me back to the year that i spent at bali. Looks like you missed the seafood on the beach- Jimbaran @ muiya(pronounced as mooooiiyah- a la bali. unless you are vegetarian), its right next to the intercon.I used to work at the Ritz -Carlton Bali then( now Ayana Resort and Spa).If theres one great thing there it is the passion for restoring classics , the beetles and vespas especially. Once saw the Vespa club meet, their creativity and passion can bowl you over

[Lukeskywalker]

Awesome photography and I can just see the joy on your faces. Very nice! Love your little kid's ability to make friends so easily!

Thanks for the kind words naveenroy.

Was waiting for this one Hari. So finally its up and as usual your excellent capturing skills!
Very well detailed day wise coverage to help anyone like us to plan such a trip in future. Rated 5 Stars for some superb clicks and a complementing narration.

Did I say a travelogue on Team-Bhp is incomplete without sitting behind the wheels? Well, you have managed to do that in this trip too :-)!

Thanks Parag, as you know this was why our road trip did not happen this season, and as far as getting behind the wheels, you know me too well.

Hi Luke, Thats a great set of pics , took me back to the year that i spent at bali. Looks like you missed the seafood on the beach- Jimbaran @ muiya(pronounced as mooooiiyah- a la bali. unless you are vegetarian), its right next to the intercon.I used to work at the Ritz -Carlton Bali then( now Ayana Resort and Spa).If theres one great thing there it is the passion for restoring classics , the beetles and vespas especially. Once saw the Vespa club meet, their creativity and passion can bowl you over

Thanks chef-de-jeep, we were told of Jimbaran, we just drove past, it would rain most of the times and by the time it was dark, we would be exhausted to venture out anywhere, especially with a tired 2.5 year old, hence had to skip many activities at Bali.

[ramkya1]

Yo.. man this is one rocking T-log with lots of details, very useful for anyone wanting to do a Bali / Indonesia holiday. I had spent a couple of days in Bintan Island with family, but then there's so much more to Indonesia, as seen form your story. Rocking pictures, loved the night shots.

Your red lungi picture is great and so is your 'lovely scenery to photograph' lots of colors :P

Thanks for sharing.

--Ramky
======

[NPV]

Hari - Nice travelogue with excellent pictures and narration to go with it, thanks for sharing
Some of the pictures are wallpaper material, especially the ones taken outdoor in the evenings with the colourful lights
Rated 5 *'s!

[samm]

Srihari - great travelogue as usual, outstanding pictures, especially the night shots!

What's your camera gear?

[SKavuri]

Lukeskywalker,
Great travelogue. I work at KL and stay close to Bangsar so I could relate to a lot of things in your write. I went to Cambodia and Bali from KL - both memorable trips.
Pictures at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/kasi67/sets

By the way, which car hire company did you use? Did they accept indian driving licence or you had an international licence? Perodua Myvi, as you might have noticed is THE most popular car in Malaysia, like our Alto.

Lastly were you here when the KL International Motor Show 2013 took place?

[Top-Gear]

That's a lovely travelogue. Interesting to see the influence of Indian culture on the Indonesians. Nice pics. Above all, was great to see your li'l fairy's pics. She's very sweet. Language isn't really a barrier when your heart is open, is it?

[Lukeskywalker]

Yo.. man this is one rocking T-log with lots of details, very useful for anyone wanting to do a Bali / Indonesia holiday. I had spent a couple of days in Bintan Island with family, but then there's so much more to Indonesia, as seen form your story. Rocking pictures, loved the night shots.

Your red lungi picture is great and so is your 'lovely scenery to photograph' lots of colors :P

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Ramky, yes it was indeed very "scenic" .

Hari - Nice travelogue with excellent pictures and narration to go with it, thanks for sharing
Some of the pictures are wallpaper material, especially the ones taken outdoor in the evenings with the colourful lights
Rated 5 *'s!

Thanks so much Narayan.

Srihari - great travelogue as usual, outstanding pictures, especially the night shots!

What's your camera gear?

Thanks Samm, I use a canon 550D usually with the 18-55 kit lens, on this outing I had a borrowed 70-200 f4 lens.

Lukeskywalker,
Great travelogue. I work at KL and stay close to Bangsar so I could relate to a lot of things in your write. I went to Cambodia and Bali from KL - both memorable trips.
Pictures at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/kasi67/sets

By the way, which car hire company did you use? Did they accept indian driving licence or you had an international licence? Perodua Myvi, as you might have noticed is THE most popular car in Malaysia, like our Alto.

Lastly were you here when the KL International Motor Show 2013 took place?

Thanks SKavuri, I used Gaya car rentals, I think their office is in Puchong, I just picked them at random. They did not even ask to see my licence.

That's a lovely travelogue. Interesting to see the influence of Indian culture on the Indonesians. Nice pics. Above all, was great to see your li'l fairy's pics. She's very sweet. Language isn't really a barrier when your heart is open, is it?

Thanks Top-Gear, yes you are right, kids have their own language and make friends faster than us.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

The whole idea started off with planning a 15 day road trip to the North East, lot of enquiries, itineraries etc. later my wife looks at the schedule and costing and says "We can travel abroad for this kind of moolah". So, there was a complete shift in the planning and we decided to take the plunge and book tickets for a foreign trip.

I should agree. The cost of travel outside India is definitely becoming more economical now a days. Ofcourse, the dollar rate have made it little worst, but still a good option.

I think you have some soft reservation for Malaysia. I lost count of how many trips you made to there in past couple of years! Enjoy.

Seems like your daughter is now a world-wide kid celeb