Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Selamat Detang

“Journeys are made by the people you travel with.”

~ Malaysia Airlines Slogan

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is nice.  Real nice.  It doesn’t feel like a job, more like a vacation.

Our hotel is in a heavy tourist area.  Tourists are everywhere, and with them, all the “comforts.”

We’re within walking distance of the Petronas Towers, Menara KL, Hard Rock Cafe, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, and two T.G.I. Fridays.

Menara Kuala Lumpur or KL Tower.
Fifth largest building in the world.
View from our home/hotel room.

There’s a row of bars kiddie-corner to our hotel.  They serve many of the European beers that were a delicacy in Zhangpu.

We’ve been warned against these bars, however.  There are a lot of “butterflies” (prostitutes) that will surround unassuming tourists and…proposition them.

Nine giant malls are also within walking distance of our hotel.  Two of the biggest, KLCC and Pavilion, are connected by an air-conditioned sky-walk.  The malls have exactly the same stores as Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg but are twice as crowded as those in the U.S.

The tourist-proof glass is thick, but we’re finding cracks.

When we arrived in KL, a young man helped us get out of the airport and onto a train that took us downtown.  We chatted about soccer (football), work (he lives in KL but works for Shell in Beijing), and his newborn daughter.  His name is Ali.

On our first night, we saw Thor the Dark World.  The movie-going experience can illustrate a lot about a country, even if the movies they play are from Hollywood.

Thor came out a week earlier than in the U.S.  The movie tickets cost 30 Ringgits (RM).  Two regular sodas and a box of caramel popcorn cost RM 10.  The total cost for our movie date in U.S. Dollars?  $13!

The seats were comfy and assigned at the box office.  Once the projector started, however, we knew why the tickets were cheaper.  Instead of trailers, they played about thirty minutes of advertisements.  That's when we learned Malaysia Airlines slogan, which we found appropriate and satisfying.

Just like movie theaters, street food is a great way to access cultural flavor, but it’s difficult to find real street food in our area.  We went to a famous street food district called Jalan Alor, only to find it a tourist trap with overpriced Chinese food.

SB at Jalan Alor

Thankfully, there are real street vendors tucked in an alley near our hotel.

Most of the stalls are a self-serve buffet and contain a mix of Indian, Arabic, and Chinese foods.  The patrons are mostly business people from the nearby towers.

Sitting in that alley, eating lunch, I realized how the touristy parts of every big city in the world feel pretty much the same.  I appreciate the small-town or small-community scene more because they have a stronger cultural identity.

I also realized, eating alone, how much I miss being with a crew. I appreciate having other people to share in the adventure, if only that they encourage going out more and push each other to experience something more unique or strange.

Journeys ARE made by the people you travel with.  (I swear Malaysia Arlines isn't paying me to say that.)

While KL won’t be a personal journey, it’s certainly one where we’ll have a lot to do and see.  KL is big and multicultural, like NYC, Chicago, or LA.

Already, we’ve been to Batu Caves and the Central Markets…but those experiences are meant for another post.

One is a tall, green trickster that looks like a monkey.
The other is a statue of Hanuman.