Hello Kuala Lumpur!

You are so hot! I haven't been in such humid weather in Asia since Taiwan almost five years ago.

Anyhow I couldn't have been more happy to announce that I've arrived safe and sound in the capital of  Malaysia. It's been quite a gong show navigating to my hostel as initially I had planned to taxi from where the airport shuttle bus dropped me off at KL Sentral, a station that connects to the monorail (about an hour away from the airport depending on traffic), However, the taxi driver quoted me a price that was way too high so I stood my ground and decided to navigate the train with my luggage myself (this is when I became really thankful for my lighter packing and wished it was even lighter). I honestly had no clue where I was heading at one point, but thanks to a nice Malay lady (whom I asked on the street and she just happened to be heading towards the same direction) who helped me to get to the direction I needed to be in, I was able to be on the right track while engaging in conversation.

Malaysia is a really interesting "Asian" country. It seems to be a mix mash of  Indians, Chinese, and 'Malaysians' whom are a descent of the two former ethnicities. It's an eye opener to see such diversity on the street and the sound of English, Indian, Mandarin, Malay, and even Cantonese on the streets.  I find myself enjoying people watching a lot. It's just so bizarre and cool at the same time. It also never occurred to me that Malays were mix races either and I'm already able to distinguish the distinctive traits of the makeup of this country. It's not a surprise that people identify me under the 'Chinese' group, but when I reply in English to their Mandarin inquiries they are surprised and don't know what else to say (and neither do I).
After settling in, I was recommended to find grub at a hawker food stall street known as Jalan Alor just a five minute walk from where I'm staying. I think my equivalent of cherry blossoms in Seoul would be lanterns strung over the streets here (they're so pretty). Line ups of food carts, stalls, and people trying to reel you into their business are abundant on both sides. Also, durian smells to be a popular fruit here, even before I stepped foot onto the main food street, it took over my senses (I didn't mind it, but not a big fan either). From fresh made juice, grilled meat to noodle dishes made to order, the options were endless and overwhelming. I settled on satay skewers and I was shocked that I was getting TEN skewers (chicken/lamb/beef) for only $3 ish CAD. I knew I didn't and couldn't finish them as I wanted to try other food and also because I had seen a homeless man outside of my hostel that I had made a mental note of.


Afterwards I headed to Lot 10 mall which is across the street from where I'm staying. There is a food court in the basement that was recommended to me to be even more indecisive about. Though I actually felt it was a more approachable place to choose and eat from as I was able  to walk around and take a close look at menus before deciding on 'yee meen' cooked and served in an individualized clay pot.

After a satisfied dinner, I decided to roam around and see if any shopping could've been done and ended up wandering around Sungei Wang Mall to get to Times Square, which is adjacent to one another, but there are only certain floors and respectively bridges that can take you from one to the other. Like the hawker streets, store workers are also standing towards the front of the store to try to sell you stuff if you go near- so if you're not interested, don't look!

All in all it's been a great start and I can't wait to eat my way through Malay and see more of this manifold of a country!


P.S. Photos will be posted later as I'm not able to do so on my mini ipad.