Today was our free day and we started our day out pretty late. We went to a very cool private beach club with a completely man-made beach. We relaxed by the pool and played volleyball with a local youth group. We also met a Russian guy named Andre who played volleyball with us and then proceeded to dominate the court and make fun of us for being bad at volleyball.
While we were looking out at the ocean we saw a large Water Monitor lizard that looked like a small Komodo dragon, very exciting but I don’t think he liked us. After the beach everybody was very tired and we went back to the hotel for an early night.
The travel day was long and had many stops. Some of these stops included multiple checkpoints for immigration and customs. Once through, we found ourselves traveling over a beautiful bridge allowing view of the water separating Singapore and Malaysia. Many boats occupied the water seemingly for business and pleasure. This area was neither Singapore nor Malaysia and, as we understood it, was a sort of ‘No Mans Land’. Later on in our travels we stopped at a food and store outlet which allowed many us a much needed opportunity to eat and use the restroom. Here we would first experience the lack of infrastructure for digital payments that is all over Malaysia. We were unable to use credit or debit cards and there was no ATM on scene to allow for cash withdrawal. Some were wise enough to have exchanged currency prior, while others were less fortunate and had to wait. Another noteworthy part of the outlet was the restrooms. There were prayer rooms right before the entrances where we found many shoes at the door and people on their knees in prayer. We found this to be fascinating and a genuine reflection of the strong ties Malaysia holds with religion. The bathrooms themselves were also interesting, having the toilets be lowered all the way to the floor with no toilet paper offered. This was a shock and not Ideal for anybody. Following this we continues our journey finally arriving at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The hotels lobby was magnificent and undoubtedly the most sizable that we had experiences thus far. After meeting in the lobby for laundry load for the group, we enjoyed the wonderful hotel amenities including the pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, ice bath, spa, and gym.
Around this time it began to pour with thunder & lightning accompanying. This self treatment was highly enjoyable after the long day of travel and combined with the weather was likely the leading influence in our evening plans.
These plans included resting, hydrating, and falling asleep early to brace for the wild times that would undoubtedly be ahead of us. It was a good and rejuvenating two nights in.
business and culture of the pacific rim 