Heading 'Home' Soon.. Insha'allah

It's raining, again!  I mean I am living in the tropics, and it is the wet season.  But no problem.. I am safely tucked away, yet again, protected from the brilliant lightening flashes and the earth shaking thunder cracks, by the local Starbucks.  

They call me by name now. 

I have a little table in the back and am writing on my little 11" MacBook Air.  It is soooo small!  I love it!  Weighs nothing so I can carry it on the plane, with my wallet and.. I guess that is all.. am travelling light today! 

Like.. REALLY light. 

I was worried, yet again, that I may be carrying too much cash into Canada.  (You know, the Jackie even that-shall-not-be-mentioned).. I was collecting cash from the woman that is taking over my 'house' in SB, Heidi, and also needed to 'clean out' my account.  I do worry about those little plastic cards letting you down when you are overseas.. or need them most.  So I was downtown yesterday sending money home.  

No problem.. well, not really.  It didn't take tooooooooo long.  The Maybank in Bangsar is not going to win any prizes for customer service, but the job got done. At least I think it did. I left just a little so that the account could stay open.. like about $100 for a possible check for this month and my tax return.

Here in PJ (a suburb of KL) Vas wanted to buy me a new lens for my camera, and who am I to argue?!  BUT.. I insisted we use some of my cash rather than his credit card.  We could even things out later in Oz..  I owe him money.  

All good.. my 'stash' got a little smaller.   

But then this morning, Vas got an email. The movers have apparently decided to come tomorrow, and they want cash: all of it.

An ATM only lets out so much money at a time, and we both had to take out our limit.  

No problem.. 

Vas offers, but I decline, to pay the hotel bill, and off he goes on the bus back to Sabak Bernam to meet up with the new renter and finish cleaning up for the movers tomorrow. 

And I go to pay the bill.. 

I had forgotten.. I cancelled my Malaysian Credit cards.  

I had emptied my account so my debit card was no good. 

My Canadian debit card doesn't work at the hotel.. I had taken out my limit for the movers. 

AND.. I forget, yet again, the pin number for my Canadian Credit Card.  If I try three times, I lose it.. 

Plastic.. grrrrr

I need 700MR and I have about 20..   I wonder if the Shah really is the Hotel California.. as suggested much earlier in the year.. you can check in, but you can never check out.  

I go to the ATM machine at the mall.. it gives me 300MR.. the $100 I had left in the bank to 'hold' the account.. $10 should be enough? 

Then I head downtown.. on the train.. spending precious MR as I had given Vasi my Stop 'n Go Card to use on the drive in with Judi.. and get off at Bangsar..  It is back to the Maybank to be tortured yet again.  It takes about an hour to work my way to a counter in a back room where the Malay lady behind the desk keeps asking me about my money.. 

"What is it?" R & B.. from China.. That's Mao on the front there.. 

"What is it worth?" 

"Well.. that is what I am asking you".. it took forever to get the money back, get back on the train and continue my journey to Central station and a money changer.  

I cashed it in, no problem: I had about 60$ apparently.  So I handed over all my Australian cash and finally walked away with another $350MR.. I had enough for the hotel.  

Then I got into my suitcase and checked every pocket and every bag and have managed to scrounge enough cash for the train ride to the airport tonight.. a sandwich (a veggie from Sunway) and this coffee at Starbucks.  

I mean it is raining outside.. REALLY raining!  But I am sitting here very comfortably.. waiting for tonight and the flight home.  Korea.. Vancouver.. No worries!  By the time the plane lands it'll be tomorrow and I can start again at the ATM.  

At least that is my vision of things. 

As I go to leave, the woman at the hotel asks if I want my bag weighed.  "You don't want to pay extra if you don't have to" she says. 

I don't want to pay extra because I don't have any extra! Don't expect any last minute shopping at the KL airport.. it's NOT going to happen!  And I hope they don't have an airport tax!

Don't you just LOVE travel!?!