It seemed like a crazy thing to even consider this distance in our trip. Here we were, my wife Mai and myself, straight from the middle east (UAE, Jordan, Egypt) and were getting on a plane to head as far south east in Asia as we could get.  As we left our hotel in Egypt, at 6pm on Tuesday, I wondered how we got into a crazy trip a quarter of the way around the world.

This required a taxi from Cairo to the airport, from the airport and then plane to Abu Dhabi in UAE, and from UAE airport take a taxi going home for a quick shower and then grab some new clothes, after an hour that same day speed off from abu dhabi airport (again!), and then take a jumbo jet destined to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Only this time, though, I had to fly to KL ahead of Mai.  We didn’t go to Malaysia together or on the same date bcos she has work that day, flying to some other foreign country,

so I had to fly ahead of her.  Anyways, all’s good.

DAY 1

Kuala Lumpur, or simply KL, is the capital of Malaysia. Literally meaning “muddy estuary” in Malay, KL has grown from a small sleepy village to a bustling metropolis in just 150 years. With lots of interesting sights, great shopping and even better food, increasing number of travelers are discovering this gem of a city.

So here I was at KLIA - which I would most likely agree is one of the greenest and nicest airports I know of,

       Behind this wall of glass is a piece of rainforest.

in par with Dubai, Bangkok, and HK airports .  Landing on time at 11:00 am.  My bags came quickly. 

       HA HA HA! I know, I know… I forgot to bring enough clothes.

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My first observation about Kuala Lumpur was ‘Boy Its Hot’ or words to that effect… the humidity hits you straight away and I felt really overdressed in t-shirt and shorts!!  Immigration proved straight forward, friendly and efficient.  

As did the transfer to KL Sentral Station via KLIA Xpress, 28 minutes by rail!

The fun started when grabbing the taxi from KL Sentral to the hostel as the driver’s English was as good as my Malaysian…pretty much non- existent, so by using a combination of pointy finger at the map and very bad local dialect/ pronunciation, we managed to figure out between us where I needed to be, and asked to be taken where all the dodgy hotels were situated.  There was a sign in the taxi that read “If you don’t smoke, I won’t fart.”

We were struck by the quiet of the streets with no endless horns honking and the driver actually apologized for the price of the ride.  Welcome to Malaysia!
The Malaysians have even been friendly and extremely accomodating when I’ve revealed myself to be a tourist.  Though i’m surprised at how much they smoke.  They smoke when they cook, they smoke when they’re cutting some chickens’ heads, they smoke when they drive  — i think i even saw a baby take a nursing break on the airport this morning so he could draw a lungful.  I can’t be sure though — it was kinda smoky. 

I arrived at the hotel that Lonely Planet suggested near Jalan Petaling a.k.a. Chinatown, but it was closed as it was falling down since my lonely planet book was actually 6 yrs old, so I just went

to this hotel next door. Now this hotel was bad, even the cockroaches were evacuating this one, but I stayed as it was cleaner without them.

And so, on my first day, I stayed at this cheap backpacker’s place inside Chinatown/ Jalan Petaling. 

Well, I learned that you get what you pay for.  My 8×8 room with paper thin walls was a “wear shoes at all times” kind of place.  Actually, it turned out to be in an ideal location for me, cos i’m right in the middle of bustling Chinatown, and I imagined taking Mai there the next day after I meet her for all the shopping bargains, and it was just right near the transit stops.   

Besides, the room with no windows kinda grew on me….but perhaps I just lowered my standards! But get this - My hostel – actually has air conditioning and shower.

And so, I have arrived here in Kuala Lumpur, and I don’t really know where to begin in recounting my vibrant and exciting experiences. I suppose the city itself is a good start…

I made my way to the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in the India section of the city, opposite Chinatown.  The temple was just blended into the street block of stores. 

The Sri Mahamariamman Temple is the oldest and richest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur. 

KL is a bustling metropolitan city and provides an interesting - and sometimes surreal - mix of a fully developed state (I had my Starbucks next door, a metro line around the corner).

 Putra LRT driverless railway station with train arriving (left) and people boarding (right)

This afternoon, I hopped on the LRT train to KLCC (which cost me about just a few ringgits to travel 4 stops to view the Petronas Twin Towers…

First observation: Ok, Where Are They???  The Station exit was directly below them so of course stepping outside onto the street…the first thing I did was go for a wander looking for them (hehehe silly me), it wasn’t until I looked directly upwards (cricking my neck in doing so) that I realized where they were…

obviously someone had moved them huh!!! I spent the best part of an hour standing by the fountains just staring in awe at them,

bewildered at just how stupidly high they were before my train of thought was distracted by a Chinese guy wanting me to photograph him with his family in front of these monsters…which I was happy to oblige, with him returning the favour!!

I Went to bed as I had to meet Mai early the next day…

To be continued!