Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

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If you were to cruise through the streets of Kuala Lumpur on a slow conveyor belt there would be plenty to look at to keep you entertained. The city is lit like a christmas time train set in a store window, full of color and a combination of fountains, hanging colored lights, store front signs and advertisements. Many streets are filled with cars stuck in traffic watching the people walk by on the sidewalk, but others are filled with vendor tents selling local fruit and local dishes to the crowd on plastic tables and chairs crowding the street. It’s an unofficial block party. KL is a young city. It was founded 154 years ago by a Chinese miner who found tin in the river. There are many British influences from the days of occupation including the government (Malaysia does have a prime minister) and driving on the left. I've also heard from locals that things are changing because of the influence of the muslim political party. It’s an interesting mix of traditional Islamic culture and modern shopping malls and skyscrapers. Most of the 1.6 million Malaysians in KL are Malay but there is also a huge population of Chinese and Indian which is reflected in the culture and food. We happened to be in KL during Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims. Imagine a massive traffic jam of Southern California proportions except everyone is hungry and irritable. Burkas and mosques are a familiar sight but so are tourists. You can easily see a fully covered muslim women next to a tourist in a mini skirt and nobody bats an eye. Sometimes the muslim influence caught me by surprise like in the hostel where there was a sign that said ‘no alcohol and no pork.‘ I learned about Halal prepared meat which is blessed and slaughter by draining all the blood. Interestingly enough there is also Halal vegetarian meat. In addition to Muslims there is also a large Hindu population. We visited a famous Hindu temple called the Batu caves. A gi-normous gold statue of the god the temple was made to honor welcomes you in front of the cave, along with a 273 stair climb and a band of local monkeys. The temple itself is set inside the cave walls amongst huge stalactites and stalagmites.

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