My flight to KL leaves at 1715. I’m very good at wasting the day away. I slowly repacked and went rambling around old Yangon before having a foot massage. I managed to fit in yet another South Indian meal before checking out at midday. I have South Indian too often in Yangon because the central area where I’m staying is very Indian and Indian-Muslim.
There was only a couple of hours to kill on the computer before going to the airport at 1430. At the airport, I ran into this couple I met at the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington during a Ramadhan dinner a couple of years ago. They had moved from Masterton to KL recently. It’s such a small world.
The flight left about 10 minutes late, so we landed equally late at 2140. I promptly made my way to the bus and boarded one to Pudu Raya station (new territory for me as I always head to to KL Sentral).
After an hour plus, I checked into the Swiss Inn and got into my room at 2340. On the stroke of midnight, the eve of Thaipusam begins. So I only had 20 minutes to spare. The procession would leave the temple around the corner for Batu Caves, which takes about 13 hours.
I booked the Swiss Inn for its proximity to the temple at a ridiculously cheap price which turned out to be an error on their part. It wasn’t a price they could honour but they came back with a great rate which was 25% off their highly discounted rates and threw in some freebies. It has been perhaps 10-15 years since I have been Chinatown. Will be interesting to see the changes in daylight tomorrow.