The one day stopover that turned into four

  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Thursday, March 20, 2008

kds playing on the street

So originally I thought, 'what the hell, if I'm flying through Kuala Lumpur I might as well stop and check it out.'  It's not exactly the number one tourist hot spot, but I figured it'd be interesting enough.  

As soon as I got in, I got a wiff of that familar Southeast Asian culture I had grown so accustomed to just six

out at outback

months ago. People shouting at me from up and down the street--"sunglasses, copy bags, money change..!" I remember how annoyed I got with it at the end of that part of the trip and I smiled at how some time away from the bustle can make it seem so refreshing and exciting again.  After being bombarded for a few minutes, I set out to find my hostel and was pleasantly surprised to find it had aircon and an elevator. You never really know what you're getting when you book these things online...

kuala lumpur club strip

and you definitely wonder what the hell they were taking pictures of when they posted them because it's almost NEVER the same place you end up staying it. Anyways, I met the other kids at the hostel and immediately got sucked into the Kuala Lumpur night life.  Where does one go out in Kuala Lumpur, you wonder?  Why, none other than Outback Steakhouse. I've debated whether or not I was

the night market

going to admit this in the blog--that my first experience with Malaysian cuisine was an Australian chicken salad. As it turns out, and I assume it has something to do with the fact that it is predominantly Muslim, Malaysia has an incredibly high liquor tax.

bad attempt at capturing the petronas towers

Apparently, Outback's $5 margaritas were the bargain in town and so it went... just hours after arriving I found myself drinking margaritas with new-found friends.  Despite the obscene liquor tax, I found out that KL has a very happening night life, with some clubs that rival New York City's finest.  

I awoke the next morning and decided that I definitely had to extend my flight out as this town had a lot to offer

massive gold statue in front of the caves

(besides $5 maragaritas).  After a quick visit to the Malaysian Airways ticket office, I spent the rest of the day site-seeing through the nerous bazaars and went to steal a look at the world famous Petronas Towers.  They were as impressive as I'd heard.

batu caves

The next day I went with some kids I met to the Batu Caves-- these massive caves that double as  hindu temple and boast and HUGE (and I mean, really, really HUGE) gold Hindi statue. The caves were impressive, but maybe the coolest part of the whole thing was the number of monkeys that were everywhere.

playing with monkeys

Don't ask why, but I happened to have two bananas in my bag, so I spent the better part of the morning feeding my new friends. Really, I could have stayed there for hours.   

my favorite monkey

 

Some more site-seeing later and then i was off--

making friends

and now I'm here, in an internet cafe on the 10th floor of the shoddiest looking building on the whole block.. in downtown Hong Kong.