monsoon tears

Today it's Halloween in the States, but the most festive place Monika and I came across was a children's store in the KLCC mega mall. It's just not a Halloween type place here in Malaysia probably much to the chagrin of Martha Stewart who lives for the holiday. I did browse a Martha Stewart Living yesterday and as usual the issue was filled with carved pumpkin masterpieces and various spooky treats. Apart from that Monika and I have been running errands which involved Christmas shopping (packages by sea take 2 months to arrive in the US), scouring the city for the best noodles, and hunting down anti-malarial Lariam tablets for me.

noodles in Chinatown

Amide all these errands the sky began to take on a dark pallor and early on in the afternoon. A gentle trickle came from the sky while Monika and I ducked into a store to see if they carried Lariam, which of course like all the other pharmacies they didn't. Once we emerged great sheets of torrential rain had burst forth from the pregnant clouds. Pedestrians ducked under covered walkways in order to wait out storm. As the streets flooded the sewer grates greedily gulped down the rivers that formed. A few brave stragglers made their way through the streets navigating the covered sidewalks and flooding streets. As the skies released their burden great whip like cracks of thunder could be heard echoing throughout the alleys and winding streets. Eventually the rumbling anger of the storm subsided and the driving rain began to dissipated. Only a gentle spitting remained and life resumed as usual in the city. The streets filled up with traffic and the sidewalks again filled with the bustle of a teeming metropolis. As soon as the rain ended the city revved up again and we were quickly swept back into the fold of a monsoonal Asian capital.

Petronas towers on a clear day

Oh and did find that Lariam at a lovely medical clinic that would put western ones to shame. It had beautiful dark wood paneling, giant pristinely clean windows overlooking the modern silhouette city, and a courteous staff that could only be found in SE Asia.

Tomorrow we leave for Chennai, India and part ways with SE Asia a place I can't seem to tire of.