Orange Pekoe Guesthouse

The second time we were in Kuala Lumpur, we let our stomachs decide where we would eat sleep. It picked Orange Pekoe Guesthouse because...it's a fruit! Plus—and this is a big plus—it's just a 5–minute walk from the delicious smells of Jalan Alor, the food street.

Orange Pekoe Guesthouse

1-1, Jalan Angsoka, 50200 Kuala Lumpur

+603 2110 2000

info@orangepekoe.com.my

Family room (169 MYR, can accommodate 4 persons) with ensuite toilet and bath

Pantry

We patted our stomachs for a great job of choosing Orange Pekoe Guesthouse:

• I repeat: Jalan Alor, where all the delicious food is, is just a 5–minute walk away.
• Raja Chulan Station is also just a 5–minute walk away.
• From the airport, there are different options to get to the guesthouse:
• Take the Airport Coach/Bus (10 MYR, 1 hour) to KL Sentral Station. From KL Sentral Station, take the monorail to Raja Chulan Station (2.10 MYR, 20 minutes), and then walk about 5 minutes to the guesthouse.
• Take the KLIA Ekspres Train (35 MYR, 30 minutes) to KL Sentral Station. From KL Sentral Station, take the monorail to Raja Chulan Station (2.10 MYR, 20 minutes), and then walk about 5 minutes to the guesthouse.
• Take the Airport Coach/Bus or KLIA Ekspres Tain to KL Sentral Station. From KL Sentral Station, take a taxi (about 15 MYR, 15 minutes) to the guesthouse.
• Take a taxi (105 MYR, 1 hour and 15 minutes) straight to the guesthouse.
• The guesthouse is clean and cozy.
• The staff are friendly and helpful. They can assist in getting a taxi, suggest places to see, and restaurants to try.
• There's complimentary breakfast of cereals, bread and butter or jam, coffee, and tea.
• There's WiFi.
• They allowed us to leave our bags at the reception area when we had to checkout at noon but didn't have to go to the airport until late night.
• There are restaurants, bars, and convenience stores nearby.
• There is a GoKL bus stop 300 meters (5 minutes by foot) from Orange Pekoe Guesthouse. GoKL is a free bus service to the central business district of Kuala Lumpur. Some lines pass by tourist spots like Dataran Merdeka or Merdeka Square, Petronas Twin Towers, and KL Tower.

Wisdom from the Road #34

On Gut Feel

Trust it.

We arrived in Beijing Capital International Airport tired, sleepy, and four hours late. It was at least two hours until the first bus out to downtown. We just wanted to get to the hostel and sleep.

I followed my friend out of the airport to the taxi stand. The first cab guy showed us a card listing down the rates: 450 to 580 RMB for our destination. We said no. (We had already been informed by the hostel personnel that it would only cost around 130 RMB by meter.) As I was telling my friend that we should go back inside the airport and ask around, another guy approached us saying that his is a metered taxi. He put our bags into the trunk and we got in. Once in, I checked if there was a meter, but there was none. He was busy getting something on his left side, then turned to the right and connected that something to some wires. After some seconds of tinkering, he showed us his "meter." I had a bad feeling about it and wanted to get out of the taxi and get our bags from the trunk, but was stupidly too tired to persuade my friend. True enough, it was a scam. His "meter" ran up to more than 300 (and on the way, when we passed a toll booth, he said that toll is 80 RMB).

He did take us to our destination but stopped a few meters away from our hostel. It was a little after 4AM and the street was deserted. There was nothing else we could do, but pay up.

Lessons learn: Trust your gut feel. Walk away when you can. If you have failed to do so (like we had), learn from it, but don't let it ruin the rest of your day (and the rest of your vacation).

For more lessons from the road, please visit Go Learn.

What's in a (Business) Name? Cuarenta y seis

Where caddies dined before the Cadillac took over

Spotted in Mabolo, Cebu City by Brennan of Baktin Corporation. Thank you!

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.