Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Part 2

Day 2 in Kuala Lumpur, I got up, had a breakfast of noodles, dim sum, sushi and fruit. Strange but all part of the breakfast buffet.

After breakfast I walked to the Petronas Twin Towers and had a look around. I had intended to go to the skyway (the bridge that connects the towers) but the tickets were all gone for the day, so I just walked around inside instead. Attached to the towers is the Suria Mall. I am not a mall person by any means but somehow I was intrigued by this super mall and went to check it out. (James - you're loving me now!) I walked by Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Ferragamo, Armani, Jimmy Choo (who by the by is Malaysian) and kept walking.

I found a little museum on the third floor with Malaysian artifacts - old pictures, antique jewelry, swords and statues. Its very interesting to see the mixtures of different cultures in Malaysia. The museum was filled with Chinese, Malay, Indian and Islamic artifacts. Much like all the stores and people. There were women with their heads covered with scarves, the scarves are actually held in place with beautiful pins. You see all types of people, Indian Sikhs with their turbans, Chinese teenagers, Malay school kids. The only thing that scared me were the ladies in their abayas and veils, this is the Muslim style of dress where all you can see is the eyes of a woman. (Correct me if I am wrong anyone). So I saw two ladies in this style of dress accompanied by their men and the women's eyes looked so terrorized it freaked me out. Maybe they are ok with their custom and I respect that but somehow it just scared the crap out of me.

Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. After the museum I went to the Gallerie Petronas next door where they were exhibiting Malaysian women artists. A great show with some really lovely pieces.

I kept walking through the mall, found a foot reflexology place , a bookstore and a cafe where I spent the rest of my afternoon. I don't know if it was the rain outside, my lingering cold, or the intense humidity later but I was pretty spent. I made a night of it with room service and the Discovery Channel. (James - now you REALLY love me.)

On Friday morning I got up, packed, had breakfast and went to the Petronas Twin Towers again. Once again, I missed the tickets for the skybridge, so I opted to get on the subway and take a trip around town on public transport. I took the subway to the central station where I walked to the monorail station. I took the monorail through the Golden Triangle area - once I got on the monorail Kuala Lumpur looked like a lot of other big cities, maybe not as bad as some in certain parts of Africa or South America but it definitely had its "economically depressed" looking areas. Maybe it was just the architecture.

I turned around and went back towards KLCC, got out at Jalan Bukit and walked to Jalan Ampang, past the rubber museum, past the Pakistani Embassy and eventually made it back to my hotel where I collected my bags, got in a taxi and headed to the airport for my flight to Bangkok.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Part 1

This is the Bali beach where we surfed, not Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur was an interesting experience. I left Bali on Wednesday afternoon, after another early morning surf. Despite the big knock on the head the day before, it was good to get in the water the next morning. Anyway, the quickest way to get over any fears is to just jump right in again.

I flew to Malaysia on Air Asia and caught a taxi to KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) where my hotel was. For a good portion of the way we passed a vast expanse of palm groves, with the songs Rhinestone Cowboy by Glenn Campbell and Love Is Strange by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers playing on the radio - I KID YOU NOT. (By the way I looked up the details for these songs on google - just in case anyone is wondering.) Anyway, the palms are used for cooking oil and now are also being used in bio fuel technology.

So we made it into downtown Kuala Lumpur and the traffic came to an absolute standstill, much to the aggravation of my insane speed racer taxi driver. We drove past the Petronas Twin Towers, which are the second highest buildings in the world. They are really very beautiful, they sparkle like diamonds when the sun hits them or when they are lit up at night. It was really weird to be in a big city again and I was somewhat strangely energized by it. I checked into my hotel, dropped my bags in my room and went to find a place for dinner.

I found a great restaurant called Top Hat. It is in an old colonial house that has been converted to a restaurant. The decor is colonial, the floors terrazzo, and the music? Well the music was Cuban! Candela by the Buena Vista Social Club - if it were not for the Malay, Chinese and Indian staff, I would have thought I was somewhere else in the world.

I had a starter of "top hats", a phyllo like dough shaped into little top hats and filled with a spring roll like filling. The top hats were delicate and delicious. I then had a smoked salmon tartare salad. Salmon with mango, creme fraiche and lemongrass sauce. My inner foodie did rejoice. Besides the food at the Surf Goddess Retreat and the banana pancakes, I was not that taken with Indonesian food which was surprising because I eat almost anything.

Anyway, I made sure to leave room for dessert as I spotted panna cotta on the menu and could not resist. The first time I recall having panna cotta was in Switzerland. My aunt who everyone loved so much, had passed away. After her funeral we had a big luncheon commemorating her and panna cotta was served for dessert. Somehow I just associate it to family now. Anyway, so panna cotta is like a vanilla flavored pudding with a jello like consistency, this one was served with starfruit and watermelon. Fantastic.

Being that I had been up since 4:45am, I was pretty exhausted and I walked back to my hotel, had a bath and called it a night with the down comforter.