Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

First impressions of Kuala Lumpur were positive.

I took my time and spent 3 nights to take in Kuala Lumpur. Since it was already dark by the time my bus entered the city, I was blown away by the towering glow of the Petronas Twin Towers (the ones from the movie Entrapment). Once again, I was surprised at how modern this city was and also by the amount of western influence. I also learnt that they drive on the left here.

Within a few days, it was also evident that this was the most diverse city I had ever been to. Chinese, Malay, Indian seem to share this city quite seemlessly and although I heard stories of discrimination, I didn't see any.

Most of the backpackers stay in lively Chinatown, which is where I stayed my first two nights at a new hostel called Bird's Nest. Super friendly owners and I met some cool backpackers. I met this german guy named Dominic with a crazyyyy story: he had just come back from the jungle of Malaysia in the Cameron Highlands. Him and a british guy were too cheap to get a tour guide, instead chosing to go into the jungle on their own. They ended up getting lost for 2 days with no food! They built a raft out of bamboo but because it was built so poorly it could only support the weight of their bags, so they were stuck swimming alongside it and drinking the water from the river to stay hydrated. Finally two days later, a tour happened to be in the area and spotted them. By the time he came out of the water, he had dozens of leeches stuck to his legs and in his shoes! That story blew my mind. I skipped the jungle.

I took it easy while in KL chillin out in the hostel and going to bed reasonably early. This was due to necessary recovery time from the late nights with Doug and also the cost of beer! Malaysia is an Islamic country but rather than outlaw alcohol, instead they chose to make it available but tax it at a crazy high rate. Proportionately to everything else in KL, beer was really expensive ($2 at store/$4 in bar).

Eating in Chinatown and Little India, I learnt that a lot of people dont bother with utensils here and just scoop their food with their hands... even messy rice...I thought that was kind of gross.

My third night I had the luxury of staying at my friend's ridiculously nice apartment. This friend named Jerome I had met while studying in France. He was unfortunately out of town while I was there, but was gracious enough to offer me his room. I met his two roommates, these really cool girls from Iran. I got a crash course in Iran politics and lifestyle... and even the pleasure of tasting some Persian food. Through the girls, I also met a German guy named Johanes with an incredible story. Johanes has been traveling by bicycle for 2 years. He started in Germany near the Swiss border and headed through Eastern Europe, down into Turkey, into India, Nepal, Tibet and now into SE Asia....all by bicycle. To save money, he uses couch surfing or will even pitch a tent like he did in Tibet (and went 3 weeks without a shower). His goal is to go around the world on his bicycle and he has given himself about 5 more years to do so.

Impressive sights of KL:
- KL Tower (5th tallest in the world) had an amazing view of the city and of the twin towers.
-Petronas Twin Towers bridge observatory (free)
- Buta Caves: religious caves 45 minutes outside the city with the tallest statue of some religious symbol in the world

Other impressive KL Stuff:
-Malaysian people are really tourist friendly and helpful.
-Almost everyone speaks a decent amount of english here and eager to speak too...
-Malaysians are obsessed with world records (hence how i knew KL Tower was 5th tallest and statue was 1st)
- Malaysian food is really good. had this fluffy doughy ball with chicken in the middle...mmm

After a good time in Kuala Lumpur having met some really unique and fun people, I jumped on an overnight bus for Kuala Perlis, where I would take a boat out to Pulau Langkawi, a gorgeous island off the North Western coast of Malaysia. oh, and the island is a duty free haven so there is no tax on beer :)

After 2 very big capital cities, I was craving the coast and a small town vibe.

Un gros merci to Jerome for being so kind to offer me his room.

PS> Langkawi is incredible. I'm actually leaving tomorrow for Northern Thailand after 3 amazing days on this island. Stay tuned for details of my Langkawi experience...