First days in Malaysia

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As the plane lands, rains smatter against the window. It's still better than Skåne winter though, it's 25 degrees. Walking through the tunnel joining the airplane with the airport, the wall of humidity encloses me. Somehow it feels reassuring. However, when I leave the building, still wearing my jacket, the full tropical humidity hits me like a wet towel and it feels like all my clothes glue to my body in just a second.

When we landed I could see the palm tree forests like clusters of bubbles beneath, and as I passed them in the taxi on the way to the campus, I realize most of it must be planted considering the neat lines they are growing in. This gave me the impression of being driven through an enormous garden, which size my mind could barely grasp, rather than a jungle.

I'm staying at Puri Pujangga within the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia campus. It looks and feels more like a hotel than student accommodation.

For some reason there are so many cats here! And they are all just prancing about the yards of the university buildings, sleeping in the sun.

Closer to UKM than Kuala Lumpur is a smaller city called Kajang that has been the target for most of the trips so far. Houses are with the exception of the Oriental Crystal hotel not higher than 3-4 story buildings. It's bustling with life at night even though it's quite small and comes off as a quite pleasant place.

There's only been one trip to KL so far, but we're going there again tomorrow to meet up with one of our supervisors for an informal dinner in the evening.

The past days have been spent a lot on getting the orientations of this place and preparing things with the course. Since this is my first visit to Southeast Asia, and also to a country where the majority are muslims, but with so many mixed ethnicities, my senses have been on a constant overload. Life here feels really good.

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Photos

Puri Pujangga
This is the room I'm staying in at Puri Pujangga, UKM Bangi.

Street view from Kajang #1
It's difficult to see in the picture, but along the power lines running down that street every inch was occupied by small birds.

Eating at a food court in Kajang
Late in the evenings, punk kids gather here to hang out. Unfortunately they don't seem to have a clue about the location of the nearest pub or bar and suggested that we buy beer at 7-11.

Riding a Bas Mini from UKM Bangi to Kajang
Cheapest way of transportation and quite unpredictable. No timetables. Cost 70 sen. Sometimes they drive with the door open. Sometimes when the bus is full, people are hanging out the door. Sometimes the buses fall over. Which is why they are no longer allowed to drive within the campus area.

Entrance to Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur
The market was quite crowded because it was a holiday.

Street view from Kuala Lumpur #1
Kuala Lumpur Tower in the background and a Malay couple in the foreground.

Waiting for Bas Mini outside UKM Bangi
It might come. It might not come.

Entrance to the shopping mall in Kajang
The heavy rain prevented people from going anywhere until it seized.