We came to Kuala Lumpur on bus from Singapore. When we bought our tickets we were informed that the bus was going to Time Square in KL. We noted addresses of some hostels nearby and happily set off.
The bus was very luxurious and comfortable - nothing to complain there. But then we arrived in KL and the driver said that the journey was over. We asked whether we were at Time Square and he said that it was not far. We later discovered that we got off about 50 minutes walking distance from where the driver was supposed to bring us. Anyway, we found a place to stay and didn't think about it any longer.
After a couple of days, we decided to travel to Cameron Highlands (a few hundred km north of KL). This time we booked a door-to-door bus. The driver picked us up from our hotel all right. There were three groups of people on the bus going to 3 different hotels. The first group went to the hostel associated with the bus company we used. They were brought directly to the entrance of the hostel.
The second group of people were told that the road leading to their hotel was too steep for the bus. They were dropped off at the main road and had to walk their way up. And then the last group - us - was informed that the road leading to our hostel was broken and so we had to walk too. Needless to add that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the road, we inquired just out of curiosity.
Finally, we planned to go from Cameron Highlands to Melaka, a town in southern Malaysia. There were no direct buses but we were informed that the bus from Cameron Highlands would arrive at the Central Station in Kuala Lumpur, where we could take the bus directly to Melaka. Well, guess what. We were left off at some big parking lot at the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and the driver disappeared before we could ask him where we were.
We started asking around about buses to Melaka and a taxi driver confirmed that we needed to go to the central station. We went with him. When we arrived at the station and asked him if he new which direction we need to go to find buses to Melaka, he answered: "Oh, you wanted to go to MELAKA? Then you need to go to a completely different part of the city!" I suppose he expected that we would pay another taxi fare and then who knows where we would end up - Thailand? :-)
So once again I have a confirmation black on white: trains are the best! And if you can't take a train? Well, prepare for a lot of unplanned sightseeing...
Ania is putting a positive spin on things here I swear. The taxi driver is a fraud who took us on a ride, even though he knew we did not need one at all. Another traveler we had met in the bus needed to go to KL Central. I told the taxi driver (before we embarked) that we needed to catch the bus to Malaka. He said we needed to go to KL Central too. I asked him if he was sure: is KL Central the place we need to go to to catch the bus to Melaka? His answer - yes.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is he heard the other traveler say that she would take the metro if she had to go alone. But then the three of us in the same taxi would cost just a bit more than three separate rides. That's why the taxi crook lied to us so blatantly. It was either we all go together or he gets zero from any of us.
Bastard...