Lessons Learned from Traveling to KL

you would think i would have this all figured out by now. but apparently i do not. so here are all the lessons i have learned from this trip:

1. do not wear an itsy-tiny-weeny-black polka dot bikini in a muslim country. i was in the the jacuzzi all by my lonesome and enjoying myself quite nicely while staying at the mandarin. then, my relaxation after a very long day was disrupted by a young lad about the age of 14 who came and joined me. he plopped himself down exactly right across from me and just stared. and on top of it, this jacuzzi was a bit odd as it was a large square and very deep but the seats were at an awkward level. so i tried to get comfortable any which way i could. i would go to the corner, the boy copied me. i would float sideways, the boy copied me. i would go down to my chin, the boy copied me...ok, you get the picture. finally, after a game of copy-cat, to my relief, he started to climb out but to my complete shock, he was rockin' a woody. down boy...
2. do ask as many people as possible where you are going. much like hong kong, kl has named its buildings. locals know these buildings and that is good enough for them. but for poor directionally illiterate saps like me - it is next to impossible in finding these buildings and NO google maps does not work.
3. bring something to cover your nose. as i sit here now i am overwhelmed by the smell of B.O. i was on the monorail on the way to another train to the airport and yet another train (apparently they are all owned and operated by different companies and they will not work together - kind of like arguing siblings - from the same family but nobody will play nice together.) anyway, throughout the entire journey, i realized that nobody wears deodorant. cheers for a sensitive nose.
4. always ask for an earlier flight. i was in the loo and i heard "cathay pacific flight to hong kong now ready to board at gate c29" so i jogged down to the gate to see if i could hop on an earlier flight but i discovered you have to yet again go through another security check so that doesn't much work...boooo.
5. do not buy stamps from a machine in a "developing nation". i bought a postcard for my friends back in the new york office and thought "wouldn't it be cool if i could send it from kl instead of hong kong?" so i scoured the airport and found one lone machine that dispenses stamps. i had no clue what i was buying but i picked the most expensive one figuring it was "international". i put my ringgit in and viola...nothing. like a fool, i rang the number on the top of the machine that said to call with any enquiries and found a barely comprehensive man telling me to go to the info desk and ask for my 4 ringgit back. 4 ringgit is like a buck so i decided to let it go...

so anyway, i am back and completely knackered. looking forward to a nice supper and quite night. the weekend is already shaping up to be a bit nuts so i think i will need to preserve myself a bit.