On Kuala Lumpur

Another big city, Kuala Lumpur. What’s the point any more. We landed with few expectations after our grand tour of southern Vietnam. Jill booked a hotel room for six days online from Saigon. When we arrived at our little Chinatown address we discovered a tiny room with no windows. After haggling and giving up on a better room we settled into our short term home. Petaling Street is ground zero for Chinatown, KL and we were in the middle of it. In the street’s market that grows larger throughout the day one can hardly navigate at dusk. Escaping the claustrophobic superheated space became an enjoyable struggle. Even the sales pitches directed at us in the heat were half hearted. Sweat dribbles and clothes are clingy. We’ve acclimated to this weather though and its power over me is diminished. Through the heat we found a vibrant multicultural neighborhood with more cuisines than can be believed. The first day we had breakfast at the hotel next door and it was delicious. They had a buffet of eggs, fruit, cereal, waffles, and chicken sausages (skip the chicken sausages). Fast forward two days and we discovered Malaysian pancake-taco-pastries. Its a pancake topped with butter, sugar, and crushed peanuts. Then it is folded in half and you eat with your hands. You’ll need to wash your hands afterwards and will wish you had washed before picking it up too. I never want to eat anything else. Fast forward another day and we discovered Chinese steamed buns. Mildly sweet Crustless bread surrounding sweet or savory fillings. We always got the sweet stuff like yam, red bean, and coconut. I never want to eat anything else. Our lunches and suppers were a mix. We jumped from Chinese, to Indian, to Malaysian, to Syrian. I even found a smoothie from Australia somewhere. Each meal was the best yet but they kept getting better somehow. They were mind-bogglingly cheap. We also found strangely unique things to do. We walked or were chased by mosquitos through the rainforest in the middle of town. We went to see the Petronas Towers at night and stumbled on a fountain light show at the foot of them. We went to a 108 year old mosque on its birthday and had cake. We found monkeys amidst a Hindu shrine in a cave. I hung out with a group of performers playing with various juggling devices in a park. We will return to KL in a couple days and I have a feeling that it might get even better.