Day 01: Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2019)

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Saturday, 19th January 2019

My Jetstar flight journey to Kuala Lumpur (KL) did not start as well as I hoped as it was delayed for a good 40 minutes this morning.

I was on my way to visit R at his hometown for the weekend. R had recently relocated back to KL for good and we had been talking about this trip for a while now. It was good that we finally managed to put the trip together.

My first visit to the city was some 21 years ago back in November 1998. We stayed over for a week at some friend's house in Petaling Jaya and it was during the trip that I took my maiden flight overseas.

Arrival at the KLIA 2 terminal today was a breeze. There were no hiccups at the customs and the wifi worked fine for me to be able to link up with R at the pick-up point. Very soon, we were on our way to his apartment at Selayang, a leafy suburb at the northern end of Kuala Lumpur.

We had lunch at a local eating place closed to his house. "No tourist places for me," was my only request for him prior to the trip. "No Bukit Bintang, KLCC or Petaling Street as well!"

The plan worked out well as R brought me to places where only the locals would know. My first delicious meal of the day were pork noodles and chee cheong fun before arriving at his home.

His three-bedder apartment was spacious and comfortable which commanded a nice view of the forest and the roundabout. We proceeded with a comfortable swim at the pool before heading to the Mid Valley Mall for dinner.

The highlight of the evening was the late supper at a local mamak stall before turning in for the evening. Visiting a mamak stall is a must-do activity whenever we are in Malaysia for the atmospheric dining experience that no other places would be able to replicate.

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