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Published: December 20th 2016
After a fifteen hour travel day that involved a taxi, two planes, two buses, and a lot of walking I made it to my destination of Kuala Lumpur - the capitol city of Malaysia and my 14th country in the last ten months of travel. My first impressions were of that it was similar to Singapore with a large cultural mix of different ethnicity including Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Also arriving here their were a lot of tourists. I was no longer one of the few white people around and no longer the novelty I was in Indonesia. The city itself would serve as a fun enough place to explore and would be my backdrop for ringing in 2013.
Of course before the big night I had a few days to kill exploring and getting my bearings of the metropolis. I started out where any good tourist should by walking from my accommodation in Chinatown (always seems to be the cheapest option) the 5 kilometers or so through the city to the world famous Petronas Towers. When ever I thought of KL this is the image that would come up in my head, so it was a natural starting point
for me. I wanted to take a tour of the towers and they even let you go up to the 42nd floor observation deck , but on this day and for the next two all tickets for the tour were sold out. Not the end of the world. I've been in plenty of tall buildings in my time. At the botton of the towers their is a massive posh shopping mall. Malays - like the Singaporeans - national pastime is shopping malls and this one had an Apple store. For a Christmas treat to myself I was finally able to replace my stolen iPod for a descent price of $RM849 ($275USD). Only $25USD more than what I would pay in The States. Score.
Nighttime was spent hanging around Chinatown and gorging myself on the cheap eats. Any dish from the hawker stalls costs around $MYR3 which is the equivalent of a buck. Good dishes like fiery laksas and an array of skewered meats and veggies to grub on. Again I was reminded of Singapore, but I have to give the nod to the Maylay's as the food here is seriously spicy which is right up my alley.
Up
early the next day I hopped on the public commuter train bound north for the Batu Caves. The cave complex holds a number of Hindu temples and shrines inside of a massive limestone cavern carved in the mountainside just outside of Kuala Lumpur. It also hosts a pretty impressive Murugan (Hindu deity) at the bottom of the oppressive 300 steps to get to the cave itself. The hike up was brutal in the sweltering heat and with the humidity here I was soaked about ten steps into it. The caves and the temples were nice to look at and it was a good spot to wander around in the afternoon.
As the weekend ended and the 31st drew upon me I had set up a meeting to visit a customer of mine whom I had done business before I left home. Wong was gracious enough to fetch me from my hostal and take me to NCA Laboratories Malaysia where I got to view the equipment I sold him and meet the laboratory staff. A little strange for me to be in a work situation after being away for so long but my host was most hospitable and the transition
for me became seamless.
I would also end up spending New New Year's Eve amongst Wong and his friends and what a great group of people to celebrate with. They were again very gracious and would not allow me to pay for anything. I was however able to steal a bill or two from the servers to pitch in. As 2012 left and 2013 came into existence I was very reminiscent on what has been such an incredible year for me. Being able to live out my dream and travel at freewill not constrained by time or obligations has truly been remarkable and I am very aware of how fortunate I am. KL was a great city and I'll always appreciate the time I spent here and the friends I made.
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