Summer Adventures: Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur was our first stop on the journey. We would only be there for a day, but we had ambitious plans. Since we had taken the red eye from Tokyo, we found ourselves walking through immigration before the sun came up. The plan was to head over to the Petronus Towers to score some free tickets before 8:30. After, we would drop our packs at the hotel and use the rest of the day to explore the Golden Triangle. Get in early for our flight to Surat Thani, Thailand the next day. 

NOPE. What happened instead: Frappucinos at 6am paired with groggy research in our guide book to figure out how to get to the city center of Kuala Lumpur. $3 and an uncomfortable bus ride later (we sat next to one of the stewardesses from our flight. Should tell you how well Air Asia pays), we arrived at the city center. We unsuccessfully tried to get into a cab (a very official looking man screamed “helloooo” to us. I murmured back “hi” while trying to wedge open a locked taxi door. Evidently “hellooo” really meant “You need to buy a voucher from the taxi stand inside the station before getting into a cab. Please and thank you… and also your hair looks very nice”). 

We decided to take our packs to the hotel (seemed like the logical thing to do instead of hauling all our stuff up the Petronus towers)… and then it spiraled from there. They allowed us to do an early check-in (after waiting at an impeccably clean swimming pool). The call of a soft, horizontal bed was too much. Combine that with the fact that the Olympics were on IN ENGLISH and we were useless. Cue: epic nap.

Six hours later, it was time to buck up and explore. I put on my  I’m-on-vacation highlighter pink shorts and headed out. Some facts…

•  Malaysia= Muslim country. Bright pink shorts? NOT MY BEST IDEA 
• Malaysia is divided into three separate cultures: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. We were clearly in the Indian section 
• Mosquitos will eat you aliveeeee 
• PINK SHORTS WERE A BAD IDEA!!!!! (cannot be said enough)

After being in Japan for four months, I grew used to gathering some lingering looks and awkward glances. But man, Malaysians know how to STARE and GLARE and in general make you feel really really awkward. I looked around frantically for other tourists. It felt like we were the only foreigners around, and the locals certainly treated us like we were the only foreigners around. 

The aforementioned "Golden Triangle"

 I pictured the Golden Circle to be a tourist spot (since, well, that’s what all the websites and travel books claimed). Instead, we ran into school children, taxi drivers, businessmen, street vendors, city locals… but no tourists. The city was dirty, unkempt, full of people who shamelessly stared us down and yelled things at us (some in English, some not). We walked around, trying to be optimistic and getting a cultural feel for the place. We sweated and walked and sweated and walked. 

Showing my shoulders and knees in 95 degree weather?!? ATROCIOUS.

 Finally, we found… air conditioning. [I know I should feel embarrassed about this next part, but I’m not. I was tired, hungry, sick of being stared at like the world’s first creature from Neptune, and I was a whole lot of culture shocked] We found a mall. A glorious, pristine, clean, air-conditioned mall with minimal amounts of staring. We might have seen a movie. Maybe it was Batman. Before you judge me completely, let me say that the movies there costs less than $3 USD. Large popcorn and drink? $1.50. Japan’s going rate for a movie? Around $23 USD. 

And THAT was our first day of the trip. More comfy bed, more Olympics, and less KL. For now.

I may or may not have packed things in Ziploc bags... Monica Bing style