Well, it's October and in Thailand that means no school! And of course, no school means travel! A few weeks ago I saw a deal on flights to Malaysia and knowing that I would only have about a week of travel time before my parents arrived (!!!) I figured going to Malaysia would be perfect! I left last Thursday and was in Malaysia for 6 days. I spent Friday and Saturday morning in Kuala Lumpur (KL), took a bus to Penang Saturday afternoon, Sunday and Monday morning were spent in Penang and then back to KL for a full day Tuesday before leaving for the airport Wednesday morning.
My first day in KL I decided to just wander around. The most famous landmark in KL is the Petronas Towers which are the 5th tallest building in the world and the tallest twin towers in the world at 452 meters (fun facts about the 10 tallest buildings - earlier this year I was in Taipei 101, which is the 2nd tallest building in the world, and two of the top ten are located in Chicago - including the oldest building on the list)! My original plan had been to see the towers the first day but I got a bit mixed up with the time change and my time keeper (my Kindle) and didn't arrive as early as I had hoped. Once I figured this out I decided to skip the towers that day and do them the next morning before heading to Penang.
My next plan of attack was to walk around Little India. Well, apparently I went in the wrong direction from my starting point because I ended up walking around the Central Market and Chinatown before backtracking back to Little India. After walking through Little India I was on the hunt for lunch! It was 2 in the afternoon and I'd been walking around all morning so I was ready for some food! Happily I stumbled upon a covered seating area with lots of street vendors where I had a dish called laksa. For whatever reason, laksa stood out in my mind as a dish someone had told me to try in Malaysia so without knowing what it was or what was in it I ordered a bowl. When it came out my first thought went along the lines of Crap, I am going to hate this. How much do I have to eat to not look rude? It was a bowl full of what looked like re-fried beans (Yuck!) and when I started stirring to see what else was there, there was a nest of big white worms (aka fat white noodles). Fortunately I tried it because it ended up being delicious! I'm still not exactly sure what's in it other than the noodles and definitely some sort of fish taste with cucumbers and onions but then again this might be one of those situations where I'm happier the less I know.
I sat and ate and eventually two women who worked in the area came over to sit by me and for a while I chatted with them while waiting for the afternoon rain to stop. After they went back to work and the rain let up I made my way over to the Islamic Arts Museum. It was a beautiful building and the museum was both interesting and informative. My favorite part was an exhibit about different styles of Islamic architecture, including models of famous mosques from different parts of the world.
After the museum I was tired but since there wasn't really any public transportation outside the door I thought I'd walk until I found some. Somehow I ended up back in Chinatown where I found a place with some dim sum and bubble tea and relaxed for a bit. I then headed back to the area around the guesthouse I was staying at where I found some dinner and headed in to Skype and sleep!
The next morning I was up at 6 so I could get to Petronas Towers and get an early ticket. Going up the towers was cool but at the same time disappointing. Part of it is that the best part of the KL skyline is the towers so of course if you're up in the towers you're missing a big chunk. Also, because the towers block two sides of the view you miss out on half the skyline. Plus, it was expensive (relatively speaking of course - I just did the math and it was about $26) and the price was just kind of in the back of my throat for the whole experience. That all being said, at the back of the towers is this fantastic park where you can get great pictures of the towers themselves. There was also a playground and water area for kids and since I had a bit of time left in my morning I sat and read in the park near the adorable ones for a while.
And after all that I was on my way to the bus station where I hopped a bus to Penang! A story for another day!
My first day in KL I decided to just wander around. The most famous landmark in KL is the Petronas Towers which are the 5th tallest building in the world and the tallest twin towers in the world at 452 meters (fun facts about the 10 tallest buildings - earlier this year I was in Taipei 101, which is the 2nd tallest building in the world, and two of the top ten are located in Chicago - including the oldest building on the list)! My original plan had been to see the towers the first day but I got a bit mixed up with the time change and my time keeper (my Kindle) and didn't arrive as early as I had hoped. Once I figured this out I decided to skip the towers that day and do them the next morning before heading to Penang.
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| Older Mosque |
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| A view of the city |
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| About to see Mamek (?) Square |
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| Mamek Square - too early for people apparently |
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| My free newspaper! |
My next plan of attack was to walk around Little India. Well, apparently I went in the wrong direction from my starting point because I ended up walking around the Central Market and Chinatown before backtracking back to Little India. After walking through Little India I was on the hunt for lunch! It was 2 in the afternoon and I'd been walking around all morning so I was ready for some food! Happily I stumbled upon a covered seating area with lots of street vendors where I had a dish called laksa. For whatever reason, laksa stood out in my mind as a dish someone had told me to try in Malaysia so without knowing what it was or what was in it I ordered a bowl. When it came out my first thought went along the lines of Crap, I am going to hate this. How much do I have to eat to not look rude? It was a bowl full of what looked like re-fried beans (Yuck!) and when I started stirring to see what else was there, there was a nest of big white worms (aka fat white noodles). Fortunately I tried it because it ended up being delicious! I'm still not exactly sure what's in it other than the noodles and definitely some sort of fish taste with cucumbers and onions but then again this might be one of those situations where I'm happier the less I know.
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| Flower seller in Chinatown |
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| Chinatown |
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| I liked the firework pictures on the building :) |
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| Little India Bazar |
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| Little India |
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| Where I had lunch! |
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| Laksa |
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| Yum! |
I sat and ate and eventually two women who worked in the area came over to sit by me and for a while I chatted with them while waiting for the afternoon rain to stop. After they went back to work and the rain let up I made my way over to the Islamic Arts Museum. It was a beautiful building and the museum was both interesting and informative. My favorite part was an exhibit about different styles of Islamic architecture, including models of famous mosques from different parts of the world.
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| Look Ma! No traffic! (also, a pretty building) |
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| The view of the National Mosque from the Islamic Arts Musuem |
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| Inside the musuem |
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| Different architecture explanations |
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| Chinese Mosque |
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| My favorite example of Arabic calligraphy (also coincidentally the type that is used on the Taj Mahal) |
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| Old hand-drawn Quran |
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| The roof of the museum |
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| The elevator which showcases a different type of Arabic calligraphy |
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| Textile exhibit |
After the museum I was tired but since there wasn't really any public transportation outside the door I thought I'd walk until I found some. Somehow I ended up back in Chinatown where I found a place with some dim sum and bubble tea and relaxed for a bit. I then headed back to the area around the guesthouse I was staying at where I found some dinner and headed in to Skype and sleep!
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| Malaysian street graffiti |
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| The old train station |
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| The area I was staying in at night |
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| It's a Borders sign!!! Not that there was a Borders... (I definitely checked) |
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| Musical Stairs! |
The next morning I was up at 6 so I could get to Petronas Towers and get an early ticket. Going up the towers was cool but at the same time disappointing. Part of it is that the best part of the KL skyline is the towers so of course if you're up in the towers you're missing a big chunk. Also, because the towers block two sides of the view you miss out on half the skyline. Plus, it was expensive (relatively speaking of course - I just did the math and it was about $26) and the price was just kind of in the back of my throat for the whole experience. That all being said, at the back of the towers is this fantastic park where you can get great pictures of the towers themselves. There was also a playground and water area for kids and since I had a bit of time left in my morning I sat and read in the park near the adorable ones for a while.
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| Our welcome movie was played on this cool wind screen |
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| Look Ma! It's me! |
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| In case you have trouble reading that... Number of floors: 88, Total built-up area: 395,000 sqm, Date of completion: 1997, Design/Architecture: Cesar Pelli and Associates |
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| This had to be one of the most offensive videos I have ever seen - in this scene we are showing Malaysia's racial diversity with a small child dressed up as a Native American (???), a blind man, and an Indian child in a sari (*shakes head in shame/disbelief*) |
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| Mountains! |
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| That park is pretty far down!!! |
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| View from below |
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| In the park in front of the towers |
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| So many cute children playing in the splash pool! Reminded me of Chicago in the summer! |
And after all that I was on my way to the bus station where I hopped a bus to Penang! A story for another day!
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