Malaysia 2012

July 28th

 We left Yogyakarta at 9am. The flight was scary as all hell. I don't know which was more portentous; the sound of the aircraft or the turbulence; either way I was very uneasy. Polly was immaculately phlegmatic during all this. As bumpy and crazy as the take-off was the landing in Kuala Lumpur was perfectly smooth. The view of the Malay peninsula was beautiful. We could see tons of rain forest and green rivers below us. It looked so lush. We landed in Kuala Lumpur airport at noon. The airport was very nice. We found a taxi to take us into the city which was quite far but the taxi was fair priced. We stayed at a luxury resort in the heart of the city called "Traders." Our view from our hotel room overlooked the world famous and former world's tallest Patronas Towers. The view was priceless. We decided to spend the day walking around the city. We searched around a market area and I bought a pair of board shorts for dirt cheap. We also found a really good Chinese tea shop. The tea was very tasty but unlike anything I've ever had before. We found a really cool mall area and then a small area full of Arab restaurants. For lunch we ate at a Malaysian restaurant recommended to us by the hotel staff as being a delicious and authentically Malay. It was delicious. Polly had an amazing fish wrapped in pungent leaves and spices. I had some curried chicken which was very good. We then spent the night trying to find a dance club. We couldn't find anything but I stopped by a middle eastern restaurant for a Shawarma sandwich. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawarma
The Shawarma was delicious. The waiter was very friendly and maybe a bit surprised to see non-Arabs in the restaurant. We went back to the hotel and checked out the club on the rooftop of our hotel. Polly had read that it was one of the coolest clubs in Kuala Lumpur. It was for sure. There was a huge pool in the middle with a DJ near the bar. Everyone was dressed up nicely but there wasn't any room to dance. The view was amazing! We spent about an hour there and called it a night. Kuala Lumpur was a lot like Singapore but it seemed smaller in population. The streets are very clean and it's people seemed fairly wealthy. The next day we were planning to see more of the city.

July 29th

Today after breakfast, a Chinese restaurant in China town, we went to the Kuala Lumpur Avery which is located in the city park botanical gardens. We wanted to walk from Chinatown but it was too far. We hailed a taxi. He was a very quite natured man with a peculiar quirk. He hated the smell of Polly's bugspray. He said he was allergic to perfumes. We were a little bit perplexed as to why he put on a gas mask while driving. haha I was waiting for the poisonous gas to fill the car but of course that never happened. He was very nice and he talked a ton! He dropped us off at the Avery. We didn't have any change so he said don't worry about it. He smiled and wished us a happy and safe trip. He was the kindest and most honest taxi driver I have ever heard of.
At the Avery we saw many cool exotic birds which were just flying everywhere. The only caged birds were the most endangered and or aggressive. We walked quite a distance. In the forest we saw tons of monkeys and some came pretty close to us. The weather was beautiful but it was hot. The equatorial sun is brutal. I am lucky I have blond hair in this case because it reflects the sunlight. Black hair gets much hotter. We walked around the botanical gardens and ate tons of fruit. It was a beautiful place for relaxing.  Afterwords we got another kind and talkative taxi driver to take us to Kuala Lumpur Tower. It was a great vantage point overlooking the city. We took lots of panoramic pictures and videos there. There was a really sweet old Thai lady... actually there was a group of them. Polly struck up a conversation in Thai and they talked to us for a while. They were lovely, and they said I was handsome :)

After our adventure in the park we headed back to the hotel. Other than fruit and a small breakfast we were trying to honor the Ramadan holiday by fasting. haha It was a poor attempt but we tried. We decided to break our fast at the same Shuwarma restaurant we had eaten at the night before. We went inside and found a table. The same guy recognized us. We were the only non-Arabs in there again and the place was packed with people breaking their Ramadan fasts. We offered our open seat to a gentleman waiting. He looked about 45. It turns out he was only 37. He was the restaurant's accountant. He was from Iran and he loved traveling and his' religion. We talked to him for about three hours.... or four. I have never eaten that much in my life. The food was great. He told us about his travels. He wants to visit the USA someday but because he's Iranian he can't. I told him all the places in Iran I want to go to but I can't. We acknowledged the fact that our governments were keeping us, the people, from becoming friends. Later the young host came and sat with us. The restaurant was closing and he had ended his' shift. He was a 24 year old Syrian who wanted to study English. We talked for a while about the war in his country. He said he had come to Malaysia to find work and avoid the army. You could tell he was still very young and naive about the world but he had a very honest and kind personality. He asked me to teach him English and he offered to pay me. I said no. I told him we can exchange e-mail and skype addresses and he could ask me any questions for free. He was excited and told me he could teach me Arabic. I've always wanted to learn so we shook hands and agreed. We had a lot of fun breaking our "fast" with the people at this restaurant. Everybody was extremely kind and the food was incredible. That was our last night in Kuala Lumpur but we had a full day ahead the next day. 

July 30th


We got up early and checked out of our lovely hotel. We left our bags with them in the lobby so we we could roam around the city. We had a train to catch to Thailand around 8pm. Our plan was to go to the famous Batu Caves before our train. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves. There is a frequent train going from the main metro station to the caves. The caves are home to an old Hindu temple. Visitors must climb some 272 steps up to the cave entrance. It is magnificent inside with tons of statues and stalagmites.  We spent a good portion of the day here. We returned by train the the heart of the city. We got our bags and headed for the Patronas Towers. We took a bunch of pics and went inside the inner mall area. It was fun. We left and walked to an Indian/ Malaysian place for dinner. It was almost time to break Ramadan fasting and the lines of people started to come and wait. We got a seat before the people started hoarding in. You can always tell the quality of a restaurant by the amount of people in the place and the simplicity of the menu. This place was probably a close tie with our last meal in Indonesia as the best meal of the trip. I ate a Tandoori cheese naan plate with a Durian shake. Polly had something more veggie based I think. Anyways it was really tasty and filling. Again we were the only westerners... another good sign. We walked to the subway and made our way to the train station. I was so full I could hardly walk. We boarded our train and found our beds. It was nice and cozy with clean bathrooms and European tourists surrounding us. They were all headed for the Thai full moon party. We weren't. We were headed toward one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I don't care too much for beaches, its just a transit point between land and my beloved ocean, but I was in for a treat. We both fell asleep shortly after the train started moving its way into the Malaysian night. Northward bound for Southern Thailand.