Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Welcome to Malaysia December 29, 2011

I start the day (and nearly end it) with an 11 hour plane ride from Christchurch, New Zealand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .  It's a long plane ride to say the least and KL is 5 hours ahead of New Zealand time.  I start to get some hours back that I lost flying to New Zealand which is nice.  There's not a whole lot of noteworthy things which happen on the flight:

My computer runs out of batteries with 5 hours left.  Time slows to a crawl. There's literally nothing to do or watch.  I try to sleep but can't.  I start to think that the airlines need to find a way to allow people to sleep on the damn plane.  Build some small compartments to lay down in...something.  It's like drinking a cup of coffee just before you go to sleep.  You're really tired but it's impossible to sleep.  I digress.

It's my first AirAsia experience which comes with some surprises.  They don't give you anything (drinks, peanuts, water, nothing) for free.  Also, your carry-on bag cannot be more than 7 kgs which means I have to pay to check my bag.  I don't really like the idea of handing all of my worldly possessions (while on travel anyway) to someone else, but I have no choice.  There's no movies, no games, no screens of any sort on the plane.  

I fly over Australia which looks like a vast desert.  I have unfinished business with Australia.

The sunset is nice from 20,000ft or whatever the plane altitude is.


I finally get into the KL airport and BAM! Asia comes flying into my eyeballs.  I immediately realize that I’ve never been to a place like this before.  There's a mix of Indians, Asians, and every variation in-between walking through the terminal.  All of the women wear headdresses (I later realize that Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country).  Everything looks a little run down, like maybe it was built in the 1970's.  I go into one of the stores to grab a drink and don't recognize any of the stuff on the shelves with the exception of water and coke.  I grab a chrysanthemum tea and switch my focus to getting my bag and getting a bus to my hostel which is over an hour away. The tea is pretty good.

Arriving to strange places at night is always a little uncomfortable.  In this particular place, I have to ride a bus about an hour into the city center, then catch the metro to a stop near the hostel, then walk to the hostel.  Catching the bus downtown goes fine, however I roll into the metro station to find that it is closed.  At least I think it's closed.  There are a couple shops open, but there's not really anyone there aside from some people sleeping on the ground.  I decide to flag down a taxi to get to the hostel.  25 Ringet the guy tells me, I do the math in my head and it comes to about 8 USD.   Not bad, so I take it.  I later learn that this price is ridiculously high.  I've made a 5 dollar mistake.

I get to the Reggae Mansion (the hostel) about midnight and a security guard who looks like one I saw in the airport leads me to my room.  I find this is strange but I'm too tired to think about it.

Finally sleep.

Sunset over Australia from plane

Hostel

 The Twin Towers December 30, 2011
 
I get up and wander down for the free breakfast.  I meet 2 guys from England and another from Sweden, we eat, and decide to walk through Little India.  The city is noisy, dirty, hot, fast, and oddly unfamiliar.  Motorbikes weave around cars, and everybody is honking their horns.  It's not the same variety of honking that occurs in the US though.  It's more of a 'I'm here, watch out for me' honk and less of a 'Get outta my way <insert expletive>!!!' honk.  I begin to wonder why all the people on motorbikes are wearing their jackets backwards.

We find a place to eat and I'm immediately glad I'm not exploring this city by myself.  Imagine walking past a bunch of dingy restaurants full of people that don't look like you, do not speak your language, and stare a little longer than necessary.  How do you order? Is there a menu? How much does everything cost?  etc.  After about 3 days, it becomes easy but that first time is a little intimidating.  Everyone I'm with has been to KL before so I follow their lead.  The food is very good.  

We walk to the Petronas Towers and wander around the area for awhile.  These towers used to be the tallest in the world sometime in the 1990's.  They are impressive.

At night we go out to a place in the city called the Golden Triangle.  It's basically an outdoor market and food court.  It loud, bright, and has a exciting feel to it.  I decide that I really like this style of eating.  You are not closed off in a booth in the quiet corner of a restaurant, instead you become part of the city.  You add a small piece to the movement, chatter, and color of the place.  You hear the conversations of the people next to you, you see what everyone is eating and drinking, and it's more of a community feel.  The kitchens are right on the street too, not tucked away in the back of a restaurant.  Smoke billows into the street and you see the chefs busily tossing ingredients around.  Different smells cross you nose frequently.

Not everyone gets their food at the same time.  Whenever one is done, the waiter brings it out.  There are no heat lamps to keep everything warm, so you get your food right out of the oven (or Wok, or pan, whatever).  It's all fresh.  In this particular place we pay for beers separate from the food.  We pay for everything when it arrives at the table.  The exchange happens immediately.  The food is delicious.

After dinner we go back to the Petronas Towers.  They are lit up quite impressively at night.  We decide to go up to a 'skybar' on the 33 floor of a nearby hotel to get a better look at the towers.  We hang out here for a large portion of the night.  The drinks are expensive but it's a great spot to hang out.  There's a swimming pool in the bar, it's dimly lit, and the people (read: girls) are dressed up nicely.
 

Petronas Towers

Outdoor Market

Skybar

Towers at night

Happy New Years December 31, 2011

The celebration for us begins and ends in the Reggae Mansion hostel.  They have a rooftop bar with good views of the Petronas Towers.  This is where the fireworks will be shot off at midnight.  Before the festivities start we go down to Chinatown for dinner.  I have noodles and then grab a bag of dragon-fruit to eat on the walk home.  We rest for awhile and then head up to the bar for the party.

We meet a couple girls from Iceland.  This is a new country.  I comment that I haven't met anyone from Iceland yet and one of them tells me that Iceland has a population of roughly 300,000 people....in the entire country.  It's no wonder I haven't met anyone from Iceland.     

As the night goes on and at some point I hear the DJ announce a 'Fear Factor Malaysia' as a big plastic box of worms is brought out to the party.  This is about the time when I pseudo-regret staying at the Reggae Mansion for New Years Eve.  Sure I have a good time with everyone there, but I think I would have been much better off going out to the festival in town with the other Malays.  I didn't come here to drink expensive beer and be cheaply entertained.  I felt like such a tourist.  

I let the feeling pass and simply enjoy the rest of the evening.  They have a contest to see who can eat the most spoonfuls of worms and who can dig the most dollar bills off the bottom of the box.  I'm not sure who finally won but it was entertaining.   

The clock strikes midnight and the fireworks start popping.  Happy New Year!!!!!!