First Impressions

Some titles of Malaysian romance novels in a book store... they appear to be a lot more risque than U.S. titles!

A cool government building that we drove by in Kuala Lumpur. Our taxi driver told us that it was made by Russians. Interesting. 

This is definitely only the beginning of the odd food parade. Trust me. Pastries stuffed with sardines only begins to encapsulate the strange foods. 

I'm not sure if you can read this, but this is a sign painted on the side of the jail. It basically says that the mandatory sentence for possession of any illicit drugs is death. That is why Malaysia's drug usage rate is so low. They take it pretty serious here. 

The Petronas Twin Towers, one of Malaysia's biggest attractions. It is the tallest twin towers in the world, and they were the tallest towers in the world period until 2004, when Taiwan built a larger building. Surprisingly, this building only has 88 floors (the Twin Towers in NYC had something like 115). It's still pretty neat to check out when you are standing under them. Talk about feeling like an ant. 

Our view from our room at night. We're 20 stories up. I like this picture because you can see me in it too!

I’m doing my best to remedy this picture situation, because I am starting to get a bunch of pictures that I think are worthy of sharing with the internet as a whole.

Today we went out on the town and hit up the Central Market, got some fabulous ice cream and FRESH SQUEEZED APPLE JUICE (very important because it was amazing), went to an aquarium where I touched a very large snake that really wanted to escape, and saw Chinatown. Our taxi driver is pretty rad. He comes from Bombay (which I suppose is now Mumbai), and although we don’t communicate well, he is a hoot. Also, very nice, because he totally stopped our car in the middle of traffic, whipped out an umbrella because it was raining, and took me in the middle of the road so I could get some pictures. And because of that, I will forgive him for his crazy driving (although everyone here does it).

Everyone knows that I have the bladder the size of an English pea, right? Well, today, after we had been gone about two hours, I had to “go”. So after many hand gestures and gesticulating, I found my way to the bathroom. First of all, you had to pay to get in. Not a big surprise, because in a lot of larger foreign cities (and even in the U.S.) this is common. So I pay my dues, which was RM.50, which is about $0.14. No big, I will pay $0.14 because my bladder is going to explode if I don’t go. So I walk into the bathroom, and there are these little room type things. Going off of my bathroom schema, I realize these are the stalls. I also notice on the wall that for the six stalls in this room, there is one lone toilet paper holder on the wall. A warning flag pops up in my mind, and I go to grab some TP but low and behold, it was empty. And when I get in my peeing room, there was none either. I know I can deal with this, mostly because I have no choice. But the toilet itself – OMG! It was not a toilet at all but a glorified hole in the ground! Just equate a men’s urinal to this thing, because there was definitely no sitting on it. I did some maneuvering and finally made it out of the bathroom, but from now on I am SO carrying TP with me when I’m out and about. I am such a wuss, I know, where is my sense of adventure? But I just really like indoor plumbing and TP. Is that too much to ask? Apparently in Malaysia, it is.

Anyways, later we went to this HUGE mall that is connected to our hotel. Let me tell you, this is the biggest mall I’ve ever been in. It could eat like twenty Opry Mills, no joke. Also, there are no anchor stores, it’s all little shops. On the ground floor (there are five floors total) there is an ice skating rink. Also, there is a grocery store and an amazing pastry shop and THREE Starbucks! Just a shout out to my work homies who are probably too busy, ya know, working to read this, but I have seen a three-story Starbucks in downtown Kuala Lumpur. It was pretty epic. Also, they have waaaaay different pastries than we do. Just FYI. I have not actually bought anything, because I am too busy trying local fare, but I have walked past several and checked out what they have.

Another thing: they pretty much worship McDonald’s around here. I totally don’t get it, probably because I am an ignorant American. But around here, it is a big deal to be able to go to McD’s. Also, their McD’s are HUGE (as in I saw a four-story one) and always packed. AND they deliver. And I’m pretty sure they have different menu items, but once again, I have not actually gone inside one.

Last night we ate at a for real Chinese restaurant. As in, we had to point to what we wanted and gesture. Also, we were the only non-asian people in the joint. It was delicious, too. Except dessert, because I got a dumpling thing that was made out of bean curd and stuffed with red beans and bananas. It wasn’t as gross as it sounds, but it wasn’t delicious either.

I keep thinking of everyone while I’m here! For instance, all I could think about in the Central Market was Megan and how if she were here, she would totally buy all of this stuff (it is totally cheap) and decorate her house with it. And also wear a lot of it. I also keep thinking of Cody, because all the women here are beautiful and he would totally get a kick out of it. They really are. I’ve seen like…two unattractive women out of the 3459743704 people I’ve seen. And of course I think about Mom and Zack all the time, because they would get a kick out of some of the things we’ve done and seen. Everyone needs to take a trip to Malaysia with me, haha!

The food here has been out of this world. If I lived here, I would definitely be able to accomplish being a vegetarian. They have so many fresh fruits and vegetables, and there is so much variety that it is mind-boggling. I could eat myself sick on some of the random fruits they have. It is absolutely nothing like in the states.

Another thing I totally dig: everyone here is super-friendly. Imagine your grandmother, the way Starbucks employees are supposed to be perky, and Southern hospitality all mashed into one and you will get this level of friendliness. It’s really difficult to be unpleasant or in a bad mood when everyone else around you is so warm.

EDIT:

I just tried Wendy's here. Definitely not as good as home. #1 - the ketchup is gross. It is too sweet and has an odd tang to it. #2 - my fries were good (although they'd be better with REAL ketchup) but my burger was also odd. I'm pretty sure this is because Wendy's in Malaysia is Halal, which means it is OK for Muslims to eat there. This means that the meat has to be slaughtered a certain way, only certain spices and additives can be used, etc. Another thing - Coke is different here too! AND THERE IS NO DR. PEPPER, WHICH BREAKS MY HEART! Hannah Jones, if you are reading this, our conversation inspired me to go get greasy food. Too bad it was not Waffle House (which is what I really wanted)!