Highlights:
crystal-blue sky, Petronas Towers, KL Tower
fish head curry, grilled prawns, guava juice
Wow, so much to report on the first day!
I had a wonderful German couple sit next to me from Frankfurt to Singapore. They have been to Singapore 15 times, and love SE Asia. They were very disappointed when they asked me if I was Singaporean, and I told them I'm not. I was later asked by my Malaysian cab driver if I was Thai, going to show that even Asians can't tell us apart.
I got to the sparkly clean Kuala Lumpur International Airport and was anxious to meet up with Tiffer, Charissa and Bob. They were to have arrived 30 minutes earlier from Denpasar, Bali, but I didn't see them at baggage claim, nor in the immigration line (there weren't that many white folks in line, so I figured it would be easy to find them). I got my Malaysian Ringitts out of the ATM, changed, and still didn't see them, so I took a cab to head to our hostel in the Golden Triangle district (where alot of the sights and hotels are). When I got to the hostel, they weren't there yet. It turns out that they landed in the LCC (Low-Cost Carrier airport) so we weren't even at the same terminal! I jumped in the shower after my 26 hours of traveling, and while there, the friendly hotel guy had come to tell me that "the kids have arrived!"
After getting in, we headed out to explore the city. We first walked to the newest shopping mall to their impressive food court (I know, I wouldn't have chosen that, but Hazdy, our hostel concierge, recommended it). Hazdy was RIGHT ON! Amazing foods from all over the world, and the place was PACKED.
Public transit is pretty extensive here, but the various lines don't transfer to one another very easily. We headed up toward the KL Tower, the 4th tallest radio tower in the world, and went up to the observation deck to see a 365 degree view of the hazy city. Kuala Lumpur is a modern city -- not quite as stacked-on-top-of-one-another as NYC or Tokyo, but lots of impressive, gleaming skyscrapers mixed in with homes. After some nice pics, we took the monorail over to Chinatown, walked up Petaling Street where all the street vendors sell knockoffs from all over the world. Louis Vuitton boy shorts, Versace jeans, Puma sneakers, Hello Kitty dolls, millions of cell phone trinkets, baskets, metal pipes, they have it all! We then saw some key sights such as the old city mosque, where we were hoping to see the huge Friday night prayer from the outside (we're not allowed in, understandably). However, we just saw people laying on the marble floor lounging around. Hmmm, perhaps call to prayer is later in the evening? We then went to the colonial area where we saw impressive court houses, museums and the old country club, birthplace of the Hash House Harriers (int'l running and drinking club).
Hot and exhausted, we headed back toward the hostel via the train and monorail and decided to sit/lay and figure out where to have dinner. Luckily, our hostel is right around the corner from Jalang Alor, one of the biggest open-air restaurant district (rather, street hawker stalls) in the city. There, we had fish head curry, sweet and sour pork, and grilled garlic prawns. OH MY GOD it was the best food ever! The highglight of the evening was when Tiffer and I decided to try durian, the king of fruits. For those of you who don't know, it's a highly coveted fruit by SE Asians, but most foreigners think it smells like rotting meat. The outside is all spiny and looks like a puffed up blowfish, and inside are pods of avocado-like flesh with big seeds in the middle. Tiffer and I tried one pod each, and it wasn't too bad. But we couldn't eat it all, so I offered the rest to a family sitting next to us. They were asking me, "how much, how much" and I assured them that it was a gift. They were SO EXCITED (durian is pretty expensive) and started speaking to us in French. I guessed that they are Cambodian of Laotian -- partly because of the French, but also because their facial features reminded me of the ancient statues from the Temples of Angkor! I had to think for a long time, but managed to conjure up a phrase from my high school French class and asked them where they are from... and they are indeed from Cambodia! I told them that I'm a Japanese who lives in the U.S. and they complimented me on my French. Mme. Sharer would be proud! First time my French came in handy.
We then headed home and took showers before turning in for the night at 11:30pm. No jet lag so far... I guess it helps that I was walking around in the blazing sun all day. Tiffer, Charissa and Bob are waiting around to use the computer, so I'll check in again tomorrow!
