Formula 1 in Kuala Lumpur

 

Less than a week after returning to Jakarta I was off again!

As a man with no responsibilities, I made the financially ridiculous decision to go to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for the weekend.

The objectives of this weekend were:

1.        Meet up with my mate Ade from Bangkok

2.        Attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix

3.        Meet up with my mate Robert from Cyprus

4.        Eat laksa

5.        Meet up with my sister-in-law’s brother, Craig

6.        Win a game of pool against Mark Webber

Well, I achieved 5 out of 6, but this was only because I didn’t play pool against Mark Webber. Given his form this season I’m pretty certain I would have kicked his arse if I had played him. I probably could have raced him around the F1 track as well!

My flight into KL on the Friday night was a bit late, but Ade had arrived a bit earlier and had a bottle of wine ready for the taxi-ride to the hotel. Although some might frown at drinking red wine from cardboard KFC cups, we found it to be a delightful way to pass the time while our illiterate, innumerate taxi driver got completely lost for an hour or so. Without the red wine, and without the knowledge the taxi-fare was fixed, we might not have been so relaxed! Unfortunately this idiot (trying to be nice) wasted so much of our time that by the time we checked into our hotel it was about 1am and we gave up on going out. Good for the physical health but not so good for the mental health. The bonus of arriving late was that the hotel had given away 1 of our rooms so they had to upgrade me to a special suite, though it was only for 1 night.

On Saturday morning we woke up sober, had some breakfast and wandered the streets on our way to the train/bus station. We took the bus out to the track and settled in on the grassy hill that comprised the “cheap seats”. We managed to track down Robert pretty quickly, and had a good old afternoon of chatting while the F1 engines screamed around us.

It was a good day out but I would have to say that the “Sepang International Circuit” could do a bit better at catering, even for us lower-class citizens in the cheap seats. The food options were:

1.  Option A - Cold hamburger and chips in a plastic container

2.  Option B - Cold hotdog (????) and chips in a plastic container

3.  Option C - Cold fried chicken and chips in a plastic container (this was my personal favourite)

4.  Option D - Cold fish and chips in a plastic container

Not exactly what you see on Master-Chef. It was hardly surprising on the Sunday when they were trying to sell all of this rubbish off at half-price because nobody could bring themselves to eat it. It was interesting to note that the food options in the more expensive seats were considerably more appealing, with the prices being about the same.

Anyway, the cars were fun and so was the company. When we left the track we hitch-hiked to the bus depot with a couple of locals. Very nice of them to pick up a few foreigners, and it was good for Ade to face his fear of strangers!!!! We survived and saved quite a bit of time waiting for the bus. All good.

That night the 3 of us headed out for some dinner and drinks. I was disappointed when I couldn’t get myself a laksa at dinner, but I did manage to eat a stingray, quarter of a duck and a bit of pork to compensate for it! It was difficult to find a decent bar that wasn’t obviously a prostitute collection point, but we found enough alcohol to keep us going. Robert headed home pretty early while Ade and I moved on to a different area which was much nicer. Although the evening never really hit top gear, we did have plenty of fun (unsuccessfully) hitting on Iranians. After hardly meeting an Iranian in my life I had met several in only a week or two – spooky.

Sunday morning I got up to meet Craig for breakfast. It was great to see such a cheery, familiar face after many years and it was a bit of a bummer we didn’t have more time to catch-up.  Next time. Ade had a good sleep in and then we met up for lunch where I finally got my laksa! Laksa is not as popular in Indonesia as I would like so it is rare to have the opportunity to consume one. Although this wasn’t the best I’ve had, it ticked a box that needed to be ticked. After that we thought we better get to the track to see a F1 race. We found Robert at the track and settled in for the afternoon. The crowd was great and it was another wonderful day. Although the rain threatened it never eventuated.

The disappointments of the day were:

1.        The beer running out

2.        The food being the same crap as Saturday

3.        The video screen breaking down temporarily

I think that this is all part of the marketing ploy of the Sepang International Circuit folk. I’m pretty sure they know we will have a good time in the cheap seats, but that we will feel it necessary to upgrade to the expensive ones the next year. Clever? We will see if I decide to return next year.

So, Robert took off soon after the race while Ade and I went to investigate the pit straight to see how the other half lived. They lived very well. We even caught a glimpse of Sebastian Vettel celebrating with his team. Even though I can’t stand the smug little s**t, seeing a driver almost made up for the beer running out. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stick around for the concert afterwards as I had to leg-it to the airport in time to eat a laksa before my flight. That was the end of a wonderful little weekend! Now I just need to work out if I blow some more cash on the same thing next year!