Visa Run FAIL in Kuala Lumpur

We’ve had the busiest few weeks! To update you all quickly, on Tuesday 12th June we moved from Hua Hin up to Bangkok to live. So Tuesday evening we moved all of our stuff (a whole car full!) up to the hotel we’re staying in for two weeks until we find somewhere else.

On Wednesday 13th June Skye and I travelled to Kuala Lumpur to get a new tourist visa for my stay in Thailand. For anyone that needs help in knowing what documents you’ll need, I just checked out the Thai Embassy website here! It gives you a checklist with everything you need to bring with you to the embassy.

We got an early flight to KL which was quite cheap and when we arrived we ordered a Grab taxi. It was quite difficult because you can only get Wi-Fi in the middle of the airport so we had to order the taxi and then run out to the front and wait for it. The taxi was easy and cost us around 70 ringgit = around 575 baht/£13. It wasn’t bad for a 45 minute taxi trip.

We arrived at our hotel, which was the Ambassador Row Hotel Suites, and the lobby was beautiful! It only cost us about 4000 baht for the 3 days/£90. And this was including breakfast. There was also a 200 ringgit deposit though too = around 1650 baht/£38. The room was huge, with a great view of KL. It was a little bit dated but great for the price; it even had its own kitchen. We stayed literally a 10-minute walk away from the Thai Embassy just so we could walk there easily in the morning.

We then went to a restaurant called Healey Mac’s, which was over the road. It’s an Irish pub full of Western food but it was a lot more expensive than we thought it would be. Skye had Spaghetti Bolognese and I had a chicken salad sandwich. We then just wandered around a little bit more before heading back to our hotel and relaxing and watching TV.

For tea we went out again and found a Canadian Pizza place. It was buy one get one free so both pizzas were about 50 ringgit for both and it was just down our street.

One of the extra documents you might need for your visa run is proof of onward travel so that evening we booked a flight to Yangon in two months’ time. I think it cost me about £25.

So the next morning we woke up early and went down for breakfast. The hotel had a buffet out, full of literally everything you could think of- even curry! We got there early and there was hardly anyone around but on all the other days we actually had to queue for breakfast. So we ate breakfast and made our way to the Thai Embassy. I read you should get there about 8.30am to get in the queue but we set off about 8.10am to get there extra early.

Just as we turned the corner and I could see the embassy, I realised there was no queue outside, which was odd. As we got nearer I saw a sign outside the gate and practically ran up to it. Unfortunately there was a holiday on the Thursday and Friday, both days that I would’ve needed for my passport. Turns out the holiday was Eid, one of the biggest holidays of the year and we didn’t even realise! I was so angry with myself that I hadn’t checked when the public holidays were!

So we went back home and moped around, feeling sorry for myself about wasting so much money on this trip. But even though I couldn’t get my visa, I realised we still got to spend a good few days in Malaysia! We spent the rest of that day lounging around, grabbed a McDonald’s and lounged around some more. We ended up going to the pool, although the one in our hotel was being refurbished so we were escorted to the pool next door. I wouldn’t suggest going though; it wasn’t very nice at all!

In the evening we got a Grab taxi to Chinatown and wandered around a little bit. We got a nice cheap meal- some chicken noodles and fried rice. We also looked in the markets. Skye bought some sliders and a wallet. We didn’t really like how pushy the people who owned the markets were though. We were getting nagged left, right and centre.

The next day we got up and went straight to the Petronas towers after breakfast. They are the tallest twin towers in the world and they are blimin’ massive! I think they were shut though, possibly because of the holiday.

They’re right next to the huge shopping mall, the KLCC, so we went in there to find the aquarium. Both our tickets were 130 ringgit = about 1070 baht/£25. It was a really nice aquarium with lots on offer; we especially liked the Station Aquarius section at the end. It showed us how they breed their jellyfish and seahorses. The only problem with when we went was how busy everywhere was. It was hard to move around and enjoy the exhibits but any other day it would’ve been perfect. Then we fancied a sandwich so found a place called London Sandwiches, we think. It was a lovely little place and the staff was great. He helped us get Wi-Fi so we could order a Grab taxi.

So we quickly ordered one and ran outside, realising our huge mistake. The KLCC is huge and we had no idea where the taxi was meeting us. There was traffic everywhere and more cars than I’d ever seen! We couldn’t message him either because we had no Wi-Fi so unfortunately we couldn’t find one. So we went back inside to try to find more Wi-Fi. We used the free one outside Versace and tried to book another taxi. We managed it and ran back outside again to wait but still he didn’t turn up. So back inside we went to try again. This time we had to wait for them to drop someone else off first which took about 20 minutes. We stayed inside just in case he messaged us but when we knew he wasn’t too far away we waited outside for him. The traffic was awful and it took him so long to get to us but I was so happy when he finally picked us up! It took us over an hour and a half to finally get in a taxi. I would also suggest getting a Grab taxi wherever you are; they’re a lot cheaper than just grabbing any taxi.

Then we chilled in the room and ordered another one of those pizzas to our hotel. I had pasta instead this time though. Then we just watched TV until bed.

The next day we had breakfast and then packed up all our stuff and checked out of the hotel by 12. We got a Grab straight to the airport and checked in and went straight to our gate. KL airport is huge! But just remember before you go to security to get some drinks and food because after security and near your gate there’s not much to buy. We were 3 hours early so we preoccupied ourselves playing card games and relaxing before getting on the plane.

As I landed into Bangkok my passport was stamped with another 30 days in Thailand, so it’s not as good as the 60 day visa I was planning to get but it’s the best I could do!

Moral of the story: when planning a visa trip anywhere, always check public holidays! Regardless though we did have a lovely little holiday in Kuala Lumpur, where we could relax for a few days before coming back to our new adventures in Bangkok. Since being back in Bangkok we’ve managed to explore a little but I’ve had a cold so we haven’t been out as much as I’d have liked! But we have found a new apartment to live in. I can’t wait to show you all!

I hope you liked hearing about our little trip to Kuala Lumpur. We had a lovely time even though it didn’t all go as planned but that’s just life. I’ve learnt to roll with it! I also vlogged so it will be up soon!

Stay Happy!

Sarah