Malaysia is such a vibrant, colorful, tasty, friendly, and fun place; how did we not have it on our original itinerary?! After Shaina and I had gotten our fill of wats and ancient history in Cambodia, we decided to take a three day detour into the über high-tech, ultra-developed, and crazy expensive world of Kuala Lumpur or "KL". KL is so developed that it gives cities like New York, Shanghai, and London a good run for their money. One look at the impressive KL Tower, the shimmering Petronas Towers, the efficient metro system, or the glitzy malls and one realizes they have entered a first rate city.
Petronas Towers: The amazing twin skyscrapers of KL
Me at the base of KL Tower
Serendipity is one of the most fun aspects of traveling, and on this stretch of our trip we had one of our most fun and serendipitous moments. I normally try not to post things on Facebook that I am going to be blogging about before the blog is published, but the first thing I did upon arriving in KL was to post a picture of me in front of KL Tower. Within a few short hours a buddy from my days in Chengdu, China contacted me saying that he lived in KL and that we should grab dinner and a drink. I thought, "Well how about that! Sounds like a blast!". We picked a time to reconnoiter and in the meantime Shaina and I went to a movie. When we got out of the movie I checked Facebook and another one of my Chengdu mates, Emily, just so happened to be on a 10 day holiday in Malaysia before moving to China to teach English! We all met up and had beef noodle bowls and then proceeded to drink, laugh, and catch up on all that had happened in the five years since Chengdu.
A night out on the town with Billy and Emily, with whom I studied in China!
We next jumped two hours south of KL for the UNESCO world heritage town of Melaka, and this cool little town was such a blast. With its tiny streets, meandering river, and seaside vibe we felt right at home during our three days spent here. We went golfing (albeit very badly), went on a river cruise, explored the old town, did a little archery, and rode around in a trishaw all bedecked in flowers, Barbie dolls, LEDs, neon lights, and a banging stereo system!
The beautiful Tiara Melaka golf resort
Shaina on her über fabulous trishaw
When we weren't exploring, we were eating and eating well. Malaysian food is the product of Chinese, Indian, and Malay cuisine all infused one with the other, and the results are truly mouthwatering. One very tasty example of this is satay. This is a dining experience, not just a meal. Here one choose from a plethora of skewered meats, veggies, seafoods, mushrooms, and eggs, and then dip these items in to a pot of boiling spicy deliciousness. The results may not look like the prettiest meal in the world, but it is certainly one of the better meals we have had on this trip; and that is saying a lot!
Satay sticks all lined up and ready for cooking
A whirl wind glimpse of our Malaysian trip
And that pretty much sums up our time in Malaysia. I'm sorry that we didn't have time to visit some more areas, but I guess we have to save something for next time! See ya again soon right after Singapore!
Cheers!
Maxell
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Location:Kuala Lumpur & Melaka, Malaysia
2 comments:
Max!
Awesome posts. This is my first time, with time to look at it and your whole trip makes my eyes wide. Wonderful.
Thanks Justin for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. Would you be the same Justin with whome I studied in China in 2007? :)
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