Kuala lumpur

Trip Start Mar 15, 2008
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Trip End Jul 15, 2009


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Flag of Malaysia  , Wilayah Persekutuan,
Saturday, July 26, 2008

    It's the capital of Malaysia, a rather new city with no history inhabited by about 1.3 million, small by Asian standards.  It is very modern, with decent public transport and solid infrastructure.  It has the second tallest building in the world, but somehow it doesn't seem that tall throughout the city.  KL mostly consists of shopping malls where the locals can escape the sweltering heat and enjoy the modern power of air conditioning.   There are tons of shopping and more shopping sporting all the designer and luxury brands at exorbitant prices.  The local street food is average, better than Indonesia, but that's not a bar to strive for.  Boring city, $10 dollar Coronas at Planet Hollywood, we passed.  These Muslims are so repressed, it's quite sad, they live the most useless lives, though whatever makes you happy, each to his own, different strokes for.., whatever floats your boat, please add your own.

    It's a various diverse city, all of Asia is represented, but mostly consists of Indians, Malay and Chinese 1
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 .  They seem to live in harmony and English seems to be the connecting language, though Malay is most widely spoken.  There are lots of tourists about, not sure why, as there is nothing of real interest in the city.  KL is a transport hub and people are mostly en route to the amazing islands and beaches of Malaysia.

    There is a shocking amount of body odor in the air, not the Eastern European kind, but the ripe native kind.  The heat might be good for the curries, but not for the people.  The stench hits you harder than the air conditioning on the trains and buses.  It passes you and lingers, no follows you on the streets.  I can't make this point strong enough, but lots of people smell in KL.  It is hard to escape the smells or heat, not looking forward to India on many levels.  All uncomfortable situations are now known as preparation for India.  The amount of head scarves and burkas are shocking.  I'm all for cultural relativism, but if you can't feed, clothe, educate, or hospitalize your own people then you lose the right to hide behind religion as a way of life(Thinking of Tibet).  However, it seems Malaysia pulls most of this off, but the burkas are still demeaning on many levels and scream second class citizen in a society.  I'm currently reading a comprehensive history of America's involvement in the Middle East, a loooooooooooong book, it basically starts in 1776 and finishes sometime in the future I guess.  Apparently, their Barbary(paying money to release hostages and cargo) was the main reason that brought our states together to form a union in 1787 so we could form a Navy to subdue them, be careful what you ask for. 

    We did some shopping in KL, got some items that are hard to come by in many areas and are on our way to Malaysia's version of paradise, the Perhentian islands.  They are near the Thai/Malay border; white sands, palm trees, turquoise water, coral gardens, it never gets old. 
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