By Yong Xi Yan
This final spring break was a wild stretch for its unique activities. Throughout the past seven years, I have been to Kuala Lumpur seven times, almost as regularly as if it were a neighboring city. These trips encompass some of my incredible memories, with examples including a meetup with fellow cousins and creating collaborative YouTube videos, constructions of solo travel plans around the city, utilization of weekends for open campus events, and other errands. Just a day ago, on March 24, I embarked on yet another trip to the city, but this time with my friends: Daniel Willoughby, Hudson Brooks, and Iyan Sandahl. (12)
Outside school grounds, I have only been on vacation with my parents or relatives. I have never traveled with friends on this scale. After some hastened planning, we organized train tickets and an Airbnb, mitigating tons of costs otherwise presented by hotel booking and other factors. Plans for tourist attractions and other locations emerged over days of rigorous thinking. All that remained was the boarding and enjoyment.
Boarding the ETS Gold train at Butterworth, bound for KL Sentral, we found ourselves talking non-stop, taking dumb photos, enjoying the view outside, and more. Upon reaching, we were engulfed in a huge station incomparable to the tiny station at Butterworth, with a huge mall and elevated LRT trains. As a train enthusiast, I found in awe that KL, despite major shortcomings such as the presence of one central station and the lack of rapid service trains, still developed a system incomparable to Penang, which lingers with sickening traffic and slow cars.
Going to numerous towers and taking pictures, touring our large Airbnb with the perfect view outside, and checking out massive, four-times-bigger malls, were among our events. Particularly stunning were our photographs of the Merdeka 118 tower, where we got to take a ground shot of ourselves and the tower and some infrastructure-themed photos, and our lunch at one of the fantastic tens of Japanese restaurants surrounding the final floor at the Lot 10 and Isetan department store. Spending our time in various malls and towers meant an utterly distinct experience from what we had in Penang.
One trip organizer and great friend, Hudson reflects on our trip opportunity: “The most fun part of the trip for me was being able to spend time with my friends. We've been friends for a very long time, but we never really had the opportunity to do something like this.”
Daniel also reflects on skills he practiced, “I was able to practice my planning and budgeting skills, since it was fully up to us where we went, and how much we spent on food and transport.”
As we headed back to Penang, we realized the opportunities we had taken to sharpen our management and cooperation skills and, most importantly, our strong friendship over these seven years. It wasn’t just about the break that allowed us to rest easy, but this fun trip that brought us to new places.
Picture of us at the Merdeka 118 Tower
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