Writer's note: I highly suggest reading this while listening to Experience by Ludovico Einaudi & Afterlight by Eternal Eclipse
Hello everyone! It's really been quite some time. This blog's latest post was 21 June 2021. Since then, a lot of things have happened in my life. Some are good, exciting, dreamy. Some are bad, saddening, and burdening. But this time, I'm going to write a really exciting one! I have been gone for a while, and it was a gone, gone! I was out of the country for 14 days alone for the first time in my life. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I was over the moon when I did it.
The solo travel happened back in August 2022. It was really a sudden and reckless decision I made some time in July while I'm half-naked in my gym changing room. I remember thinking I was so burnt out with college and my business, and the traffic in my city was a daily reminder of how bad I wanted to get out of here and just land my feet on something fresh, exciting, and new. Thus, I browsed some cheap Asian countries that I can afford to visit (My broke ass could never afford trips like to Europe or something). After some time, I decided that I want to explore Malaysia, mainly Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
For quite some time, I thought those two destinations were enough. And then something came up, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are just basically a place of tall depressing concretes and hot-ass weather. So I decided to find some place in Malaysia that's well-hidden and something that sounds like a breath of fresh air. That is when I landed my eyes on Langkawi. I read blog posts about it, decided to view so many videos of it and after an hour, I decided I want to go there for the greens and beaches.
Fast forward to my arrival in Malaysia, everything went well. I stressed out a lot about the immigration process, I remember I have kept in mind of so many questions that I thought I would be asked. But it turned out to be just some basic questions like "How long do you plan to stay?" and "Where do you stay?" those kind of questions. So I got out of the airport, took a taxi via a taxi-wailing app and made friend with the driver (It was the first dumb mistake I did, which was literally 5 minutes after i got out of the airport, you'll know why).
I checked in to my hotel, the receptionist asked for my passport to verify the documents, I bet she saw how tired my eyes looked in my passport photo, too. The check-in process was also quick. I stayed in a hotel that looked more like an apartment. It has one main bed room, one small bed room (which is still bigger than my kosan btw), a big living room with the comfiest sofa i've ever sat my ass on in my life, a bathroom, and even a kitchen and a washing machine! I stayed there for 2 nights. I really went out a lot in Kuala Lumpur at night time. Because when the sun's out, it's SUPER HOT there and most of the food stall are closed during day time.
I bought and ate so many new foods like shawarma, nasi kandar, nasi lemak and some kind of Malaysian muffins I guess, and bought a coffee with V's (A BTS member) printed on it! Like where in Indonesia could you experience something like that? I also went to the KL Tower which was a little bit underwhelming, the queue was crazy and i was showered in sweat. I visited Bukit Bintang, the place was burning with lights, it was itsy bitsy dizzy and reeks of alcohol. The next morning I visited the Central Market where I bought cheap souvenirs that ended up on top of my computer CPU right now. And for the next couple days I moved to another hotel and just walked around the city, talked to local people, and just trying to feel the solo, foreign, and new experience.
After four days, my time to Langkawi has arrived. Since I became "friends" with the online taxi driver I mentioned earlier, I called him to take me to the airport. And it was the dumbest mistake ever because I booked him directly via Whatsapp and not from the app so he can charge me how much he wants. He ended up charging me 100 RM, and it was after a bargain, too. I was so dumbfounded, I know I'm an obvious dumb person but how could I be that dumb? Anyways, got to do airport safely and took my flight to Langkawi.
Upon arrival, I knew i just set my eyes on paradise. After getting out of the airport, the sights were astonishing. It blew my mind. The air was clear, fresh, and the humidity was just perfect. Everything was perfect, to the very last bits. Took an online taxi with my upgraded IQ this time, and checked in to the hotel. I immediately went to the swimming pool and enjoyed the sunset. The next morning, I went to the Eagle Statue in Kuah, it was an endless sight of graceful sea besides it. I remember how easy, how light my mind was, it was something that I really needed for a long time. I didn't think about anything and just enjoyed every breat of the Jewel of Kedah.
The next day I went to the Langkawi Sky Bridge, which is 700m above sea level. Although I was trembling a lot because of the heights, I managed to set my eyes on a beautiful sight that's on pair with my lats muscle in terms of beauty. It was a sight I wouldn't even trade with anything, ever. And for the next couple days, I just walked around the island and just vibes with the surrounding.
When I arrived in Singapore, I remember I was kinda tired from all the walking and traveling. I immediately got on the MRT and walked to my hotel, checked in, and took some fat nap. I really didn't go out a lot in Singapore, because it was just basically a city of skycrapper with temperatures that felt like 2x more than Jakarta. I managed to visit the Merlion statue, went to public museums, even went to an anime game center somehow lmao. I stayed in Singapore for 3 days. After that, I went to the airpot and waited a whole 12 hours there to wait for my flight back home in Jakarta.
So yeah, that was it. It was a really unique and once in a lifetime experience. I made some dumb mistakes, but even the mistakes were something I ended up enjoying! Although, if I were to turn back time to solo travel again, or if I somehow get the chance to travel alone again, here are some points I'd do differently.
I think It'd be best if you don't extensively browse and reveal the place that you want to go
Be more mindful if you decide to make friends abroad, especially when traveling around
I'd bring way less clothing
It's just unnecessary, that's it. I brought so many outfits with me thinking I'd wear them all and look good. But first, I didn't realize how ugly I was so fancy and stylish outfits wouldn't fix shit. Second, you'd end up not thinking about how you look anyway when traveling. Third, it'll probably cost you extra for an additional baggage that you'd need to purchase for the flight which is obviously a stupid move even for someone stupid.
Luxury hotels ain't it
