travel – Page 7 – (documented) by jess

5 Ways To Make The Most Of That Layover in Kuala Lumpur

** Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Traveloka, however all opinions contained herein are based on my own experience.

If you live in Australia and love to travel, chances are you’ve had at least one long layover in Kuala Lumpur. It’s one of the bigger gateway cities for us Aussies on our way out to the rest of the world, and when you’re travelling on a tight budget, you can often find yourself with a few hours to kill before your connecting flight on to the rest of Asia or Europe.

When we travelled to Europe several years ago, we had the option of saving a few hundred dollars on our flights, with the compromise being a 14 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur. We were already going to be ticking 5 countries over 2 continents off our list, so we figured it would be a great opportunity to see a bit of the city and add another continent to our itinerary. When we told people we planned to do this, they all told us we were crazy; the standard response is to complain about the long mandatory waits, and here we were ready to take advantage of it instead. With a bit of pre-trip organisation, it’s actually not that hard to do – here are a few tips that helped us enjoy the layover…

1. Book a hotel for the day
If you’ve saved significant money on your flights, the small amount of money you’ll spend by booking a hotel for the day will be more than worth it. If, like us, you’re arriving into the city around 7am and leaving after dark, having a hotel room is a godsend; you’ll have somewhere secure to store your luggage, and be able to have a shower and get changed into fresh clothes after a day out before your next flight. You can book a room in Kuala Lumpur online with Traveloka with hotels a stone’s throw from the airport from as little as AUD$20.00 for a day – that’ll save the stress of finding something when you land.

2. Check the booking options
Some hotels cater specifically for layover guests, like the Plaza Premium Lounge KLIA 2; they have options for stays as short as 4 hours from AUD$65.00, as well as 6 hours, 10 hour and overnight bookings. If you’re only stopping over for a few hours, you may find that you can get a better rate on a 6 hour booking rather than an overnight booking.

3. Check out the hotel facilities
Because the more that’s included, the easier the layover will be. A lot of hotels will offer things like airport transfers, wifi, luggage storage and 24 hour reception, and they make the world of difference when you only have a short amount of time to work with. Most hotels also have multi-lingual staff who are happy to help out, so it’s worth speaking to team on the check in desk to see if there’s anything going on in the city that may cause extra delays in getting back in time for your next flight.

4. Public transport is your friend
It’s quick, clean, efficient, and definitely the easiest way to get around. The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) website offers some good information on how to get around using the Express Rail Link, which connects the airport to the main city centre in under half an hour. Much easier than car hire or taxis.

5. Be realistic
You’re only there few a few hours, so be realistic about what you’ll be able to see and do. The best bet is to pick out a couple of things close to each other, so you can enjoy a bit of time in the one area without having to rush too much. We decided to head to the Petronas Twin Towers and spent a bit of time wondering around the air conditioned shops below the towers at the Suria KLCC complex. We also took a walk around the streets nearby and relaxed with an ice cream by Symphony Lake before heading back to our hotel for a cold shower.

Accommodation, Personal musings, Photo Journals, Travels, Travels: Australia

Stay here: Bunjil Farm, Victoria

Bunjil Farm
Kyneton-Springhill Road, Lauriston, VIC
http://bunjilfarm.com.au/

A beautiful drive up through Macedon, Woodend and Kyneton brings you to Bunjil Farm, run by the lovely Lyn Stephenson. Lyn’s property is open, lush and absolutely stunning. It performs double duty as both accommodation for city escapees needing a break, and a hemp farm.

Hemp, for the record, is not the same as marijuana; Lyn’s crops are grown under license, subject to strict testing, and are used to produce, oil, textiles and building materials. You learn something new every day…

But, back to the accommodation. Paying homage to the original owners of this nation, the farm was named after Bunjil, the creator of the earth (you can read more about Bunjil’s story here). It’s instantly clear that so many details of the farm have been carefully thought out with respect for the earth in mind. There are a few options for accommodation at Bunjil Farm; when we visited, we stayed in the Settler’s Hut. Having visited in winter, the fireplace was a big selling point.

This beautiful little hut has been carefully restored and kept as close to the original 1850’s version as possible, without compromising too much on modern comforts. There’s no TV or stereo or central heating, but there are very comfy couches, the aforementioned magnificent fireplace, and plenty of space to read, write and draw. The stone floors, while beautiful, are also pretty cold if you visit in winter, so pack your wooly socks.

The kitchen is spread across the hut, with a big wooden cabinet holding your breakfast provisions, tea, coffee, flatware and what not. The water in the hut is bore water, so a large glass jug full of fresh drinking water is provided, too. A sink over in the opposite corner, however, holds modern luxuries like a toaster, mini fridge, electric kettle and dishwashing detergent.

The bathroom is stunning, with the original plumbing still on display in the shower, but with modern plumbing actually in use, which means there’s not long to wait for a nice, hot shower. Thank goodness. Soft, fluffy towels are provided for you, as are some good, old fashioned hot water bottles to keep you warm and toasty at night. I hadn’t used a hot water bottle in YEARS, but was incredibly grateful that Lyn had the foresight to mention them as the temperature dropped later in the evening.

The bedroom is simple and the bed is very comfortable – lots of big pillows to rest your heads on and a double doona will keep you warm overnight. There’s also a very efficient plug in heater that warms the bedroom up perfectly.

And don’t forget to head out the back and say hi to the neighbours – we met the most beautiful horses that Lyn keeps on her property for one of the city’s horse-and-cart owners. One was a bit feisty, but the others were incredibly placid and sweet-natured, and very photogenic. This gorgeous red-head followed us along the fence line, gently nudging our hands with his nose, to get a bit of a pat.

You can also expect breakfast to be a pretty impressive affair, with Lyn providing everything you’ll need; yoghurt, fresh milk, eggs, a very fresh loaf of bread, jams, butter, muesli, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, even Vegemite. You might be picturing an elegant, civilised breakfast in front of the fireplace, and maybe that’s what your breakfast will look like. In our case, it looked more like two large, pyjama-clad kids wolfing down fresh toast like they hadn’t eaten in days. And this kid polished off the marshmallows that Lyn kindly left on the table, along with some nice, long metal swords, so that I could toast them over the fire.

When we visited Bunjil Farm, we both desperately needed a break from life. Being able to literally switch off from life with no TV, put our phones away, not have to rush around to see or do anything, and just BE was the perfect way to reset. Lyn’s created the most wonderful atmosphere at Bunjil Farm, making you simultaneously feel like you’re totally comfortable and at home, and a well looked after guest at the same time.

Photo Journals, Travels, Travels: Australia

Photo Journal: Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania

Australia was basically founded as one big convict colony island. Despite the fact that we’re a really quite a young country, there really aren’t many (any?) places left where you can see that side of our history.

From the website, “The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830. Originally designed as a replacement for the recently closed timber camp at Birches Bay, Port Arthur quickly grew in importance within the penal system of the colonies.”

And who was shipped off to Port Arthur?
“After the American War of Independence Britain could no longer send her convicts to America, so after 1788 they were transported to the Australian colonies…. The convicts sent to Van Diemen’s Land were most likely to be poor young people from rural areas or from the slums of big cities. One in five was a woman. Numbers of children were also transported with their parents. Few returned home.”

And walking through the remains of the colony, from the prison building itself to the church, the asylum, the staff and family housing and the beautiful gardens, you start to get a real sense of how different things were for the convicts as opposed to the officers. Looking out over Carnarvon Bay, it was honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. It must have been such a bittersweet feeling, arriving into this picture-perfect place, knowing that you’d most likely never see freedom again.

You can read about the rest of the history on the website, but the thing that really surprised me about the site was just how beautiful it was; I had no idea. It has been really well looked after and restored, but even if it had been left to fall to ruins, the stunning natural setting is something else, particularly in Autumn when the sun is still shining and the leaves are turning.

Photo Journals, Travels, Travels: Australia

Photo Journal: Tasmanian road trip – Hobart to Port Arthur

Port Arthur gained attention for all the wrong reasons 20 years ago. On 1996, it was the site of Australia’s worst massacre. But I’m not here to write about that. I want to tell you about what Port Arthur should be known for; it’s BEAUTIFUL, and the site of one of Australia’s best-kept convict colonies.

But first we have to get there. We drove from Hobart, which is only about a 90 minute away, but we decided to drag it out and stop off at as many sweet little towns as possible on the way, including…

Sorell

Forcett

Copping

Bream Creek

The Federation Chocolate Factory

Pirate’s Bay

Tasman Arch and the blow hole

Honestly, this was one of the best parts of the trip. Having the car meant that we got to stop off whenever we wanted. Any beautiful scene we drove through, we stopped to enjoy it. Yes, you can absolutely get there quickly; hell, you can even do it as a day trip from Hobart if you want. But why would you when you can take the slow path and enjoy every step?

Photo Journals, Travels, Travels: America

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
Corner Washington Ave & Prytania St, New Orleans
http://www.saveourcemeteries.org/lafayette-cemetery-no-1/

In stark comparison to the clean lines of the mostly shiny white marble of the St Louis Cemetery No. 3 and a little closer to the beautifully dilapidated St Louis Cemetery No. 1, Lafayette No. 1 is surrounded by the most beautiful trees (as one might expect for a cemetery located in the middle of the Garden District). We visited in winter, and most of those trees had shed their leaves onto the tombs below. It gave the impression that the elements were somehow protecting their residents.

This cemetery is not only the oldest of the seven city-operated cemeteries in the city, but it’s also a non-denominational and non-segregated resting place for not only natives, but also immigrants from 25-odd other countries . Over 7, 000 souls in total are entombed in the cemetery.

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Sorell

Forcett

Copping

Bream Creek

The Federation Chocolate Factory

Pirate’s Bay

Tasman Arch and the blow hole

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