Travel Entries~Kuala Lumpur~

Kuala Lumpur was heavily influenced by its past as a colony of the British empire. It is also officially a Muslim country, although the culture is diverse--home to Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians (hindu, taoism, and others are also practiced). Indians, Chinese, and Malaysian natives call Malaysia home, and although the official language spoken is Malay, English and Chinese are also easily used for communication.

Oh! Heres a Fun-Fact: Did you know that everywhere (Northern Peninsula AND Borneo-

Malaysia) keeps the same time, although they straddle a timezone? I did not know this. Well I found it out on my LAST day in KL, when I was one hour late for breakfast with a friend from another guesthouse. I arrived promptly at 11am. (10am Thailand time). So you can be five seconds south of the Thai Border, but when you pass over it, DON'T FORGET TO TURN BACK YOUR CLOCKS!

Traveling to Malaysia was a chance to visit a very diverse, working country; try the rich new foods that come when cultures are blended--oh wow, I never ate so many wonderful foods in my life. It seemed I couldn't order anything and hate it--unless of course it was smothered in Peanuts,Keceng, but that never seemed to be much of a problem since they all spoke fairly good English

I got see how a designated "Muslim State" can work; experience a place and people I'd never encountered before: How can I explain the Malaysian culture in KL? It just worked. it was a little touristy, as any city is--but the people were so relaxed and friendly. no one cared to push you to spend or go or do things--as is in Thailand everywhere anytime all-the-time--but if you needed and asked, you could usually find it.

This is an entry I wrote when I woke up my first day in the swelteringly tropical jungle city of Kuala Lumpur:

My hair is doing this crazy flippy-up thing. I look like an punk poser or something/ So Far, I've seen my guest house. I <3>

Golly, I hope I meet some people here.

Be Brave, Sus. Step out, be friendly/ Ask questions, make statements, not assumptions.

....and then I met Sam, Sarah, and Jeremy. We went for Roti & curry for breakfast, and then just kept on walking. We saw some of the sights of the city, right down to the Petronas towers at the end of the night! We walked and walked so much that My poor winter feet got some very painful blisters from my summer sandals. ow. from that day, I had to wear my tennis shoes until Langkawi flip-flop time. And, okay, I know it's a little silly, but I also was excited to visit KL because ofthe massive Petronas Towers. Heres why it's silly--and massively dorky: Smallville. I wonder who has noticed that the Petronas towers looks an awful lot like like the towers Emperor Zod is trying to build in Metropolis in order to regain his powers, destroy Clark Kent, and rule Earth?

....because I certainly did. I am tickled :)

Entry:

We walked to the petronas towers to see them at night. Pretty. like glass in the sky. Apparently they were used in the movie, Entrapment. Drunk British guy named Charlie from Yorkshire bartered a pair of knock-off sunglasses for both me and Sam

.

After Sarah and Jeremy said goodbye and left for Malaysian Borneo. ( I am so Jealous Kota Kinabalu, I will hike you someday!!!!!), Sam and I decided tomorrow to hitch a bus out to the Batu Caves in Selangor Province...

Day one: Backpack weighs in under 8 kilos

2010 Travel Entries~Airplane~

Hello Everyone! It's been a whirlwind of a two weeks, yet it feels like a lifetime has gone by in a blazing flash of time. I'm going to recount to you some of the highlights of my trip~possibly some of the entries from my travel journal to boot!

I started packing a moderately-sized pack, and stressing out over how many shirts and pants to bring (let me tell you I needed just the one long-sleeved shirt. I brought three, but we'll get to that when we get to Thailand) I ended up with three long-sleeved, two tshirts, 3 tanktops, a skirt, a pair of shorts, and some stretchy pants. And I used ALL of it; minue the long-sleeves!

I stayed up so late, then decided I MUST do my dishes before I leave the country, which is what I did. before I knew it, my entire house was spic & span, and it was 3...nearly4am! Oh well, take a shower, watch Gray's Anatomy, and it's time to get out and catch the bus. So that's what I did!

It was 430am when I trudged out in the least amount of clothes I could muster myself into--it had snowed and was still snowing overnight--and found myself waiting on an early morning mainstreet Guri for the 1st airport bus to pop on by. The street was silent, plenty of taxis driving by, all stopping me and offering a ride; it was that special time of day, when the people on the street were early morning work-goers/exercisers mixed with those who have been out all night partying and are lazily making their way home on foot. One of the latter saw me standing in the middle of the street. He walk by with a curious look on his face, me standing there, looking up into the snowy-black sky, singing any song I could think of that had the impression of snow in it (Personally, I prefer Baby It's Cold outside; even though it's a duet). He drifted out of view behind a pickup truck, but reappeared a few minutes later, hot coffee in hand, and offered it to me. I said thank you and took it. He walked off, and I continued singing gleefully: I was going on vacation!

How cool, to be in snow in the morning, and swelteringly hot that evening? Which is exactly--mind you, what I got. The only uncool thing about it was that I had a full set of winter clothes bulking up my backpack in the most tropical places I've ever been to for my entire trip.

I took a 5 and a half hour flight to Bangkok, and then a 2 hour flight to KL. It was nearly 11pm Malaysian time when my airport bus pulled up to the Travellers Palm Lodge. I was greeted at the front gate by 'Shark' who gave me a tour of the house and showed me where I'd sleep. It had been over 48 hours since I'd had a full night's sleep. I was BEAT! So I went to sleep almost immediately. Adventures to ensue the following day and four more.... To Be continued (to ~Kuala Lumpur~)