Day 45 - Wed Dec 17 - BKK -> KUL -> HKK

The 10:30 am flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur is short and uneventful; the main terminal building where our flight lands is dull and in transition.  Wall posters line the corridors advertising the names of shops, saying "Stop by and Shop here.  It'll be just what you want." After a short walk around, we figure out that this message means that the stores are coming (soon?) but that right now there's nothing here to window shop.  Our stopover is only about 6 hours long - not enough time to take a guided tour from the airport into the city - so we resign ourself to sticking around the terminals.  A shuttle train takes us over to the Satellite Building where we can kill time and catch our next flight. 

The Satellite Building is the usual mix of liquor/tobacco/electronic shops.  I usually find that those kinds of stores hold few surprises, so I'm pretty impressed when I find this:

Yes, wooden Lord of the Rings tobacco pipes, with a different design for several key pipe-smoking characters.  Now you too can own your own tobacco pfiefe.  I don't remember ever seeing these in Canada - maybe it's a German thing?

We wander around to stretch our legs, and ride on the long pedestrian Travellator conveyor belts ("The Travellator has ended").   Airport signs are all in English, Malay, Chinese, and sometimes Japanese.  After 6 weeks of inscrutable Thai script, Malay with its Latin script is a treat.  Malay seems like a pretty language.  Take the term Tuala wanita for example - no other language has ever made "sanitary disposal" sound so good.  Some words, like "Immigation/Customs" are clearly borrowed from English (Imigresen/Kastam).  Other words have no links.  "You are here" becomes Anda Di Sini, and the word for children is so nice they use it twice (kanak-kanak). 

We manage to find a reasonably (by Canadian airport standards) priced meal at a Malaysian coffee shop/deli chain called "Doma." Pierre enjoys his Malaysian meal, but is more blown away by my fish and chips ("It's what all fish and chips should aspire to be"):

Our flight to Hong Kong leaves around 6:30 pm, and on account of the time change we don't arrive at Hong Kong International airport until around 10:45 pm.  Between  immigration (passport stamp is good for 90 days for Canadians), customs, search for Internet access (to find our hotel address), and locating the bus to the city center, we just barely manage to catch the last city bus into town.  At 30HK$ each (around 5$CAN), the bus is several times cheaper than taking the speed train and metro, and much more convenient.  Pierre's been to Hong Kong a few times before so he gets to lead this part of the dance. We settle into our bunk-beds well after 1:00am and are very grateful to finally stretch out and sleep.