After the end of a hectic term, especially given I was resigning we were finally on our way to the airport late on Friday night for our 2.40am Emirates flight to KL. It was a struggle keeping my eyes open to even board the flight so sleeping on the way wasn't too much of a problem. We arrived in KL and it started to set in that I was on holidays for an indefinite period & nearly 2 years of planning our European odyssey was becoming a reality!! Whoop whoop!!!
A little weary bit ready for adventure we put our bags in left luggage & took the KLIA Ekspres into Sentral station. It was not as humid as we were expecting but we still quickly defrosted from the Melbourne winter. After a big coffee & a Panadol we took the metro to Batu Caves where we faced 272 stairs straight up the cliff, overlooked by a massive gold statue & some crazy monkeys who were stealing gullible tourists Pringles & snacks. A quick look in the cave & it was back down the stairs. We took some respite under the shade of a tree & almost the moment I said 'wouldn't it be funny if I ran into Judith (from Emmanuel College & holidaying in Malaysia with family)' they walked in front of us. A quick hello & intro to the family & we headed back to the metro, into the city & located the monorail to take us across the top of the hustle & bustle which is KL. A short wander around an airconned shopping centre & the discovery of green tea icecream & it was back to Sentral & onto KLIA to check in for our flight. We were early to check in at the Etihad counters and everything went smoothly to collect passes into the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge thanks to Sean's gold Frequent Flyer Card. This was certainly not how I normally travelled- it felt very opulent!! A bit of childish skipping (not in view of the lounge of course) & we were being ushered into the vast expanse of the lounge with its complimentary sports bar, comfy lounge chairs overlooking the planes, buffet of hot food & desserts as well as shower rooms & relaxation room. Wow! This was the life! It was nearly a shame to have to leave & catch our flight but we had plenty more adventures to come so it was onto our Etihad flight bound for Abu Dhabi. Arriving sleepy & sluggish at 11pm we found ourselves waiting in the hot midnight air for our 1am courtesy bus to Dubai where we finally arrived at 2.30 to check into the Sofitel Jumeriah Beach. Being a recent Accor member I presented my card number at checkin but as the booking was in Sean's name I wasn't able to get points but somehow we instead got an upgraded sea view room & complimentary drinks- score! More than ready to test out their beds it was up to our plush room with cloud soft king size bed & sleep. Amazing first day- even with the sleep deprivation & flying!