After almost 2 weeks of silent meditation, hitting the city streets of Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur (KL), was a bit jarring. Now, I'm already not a city person, much preferring the beach vibe, but I was especially thrown out of my element after such a calm meditation experience.
My Canadian travel partner from the Cameron Highlands and Pangkor decided to join me for the meditation retreat, so we continued our travels together to KL. After a long 2 hours of traveling in circles looking for the backpacker area for a guesthouse, we finally gave up and asked a taxi for a ride. Apparently, we were so close the taxi driver refused to drive us and pointed us 'just' in that direction. Now, if you have ever tried to navigate in a foreign country, you know that 'just' does not exist. The taxi driver's directions included a right, left, right, which inevitably turned out to be a right, straight, left, but nonetheless we finally found our destination. Exhausted from the long bus ride and city heat, we retreated to our room for some much needed rest.
We had a few days to explore the city before my friend headed off to India, and I moved on to meet Mallary and our Aussie travel friend Alicia. So, what to do in the big city? Of course, we had to visit the Petronas Twin Towers, equally famous for their debut in the movie Entrapment (with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones) and their former status as the world's tallest building. I have to say, the building is truly a marval with it's impresive steel structure and miles of glass windows. We were one of the lucky 1,000 people to receive the coveted tickets that day to view the city from the tower's 41st floor skybridge.
One of the best parts of KL is spent wandering the streets, admiring the contrast between the building ruins of the past and shiny modern architecture. We spoiled ourselves with Subway, Papa Johns, and a midnight 3D viewing of Transformers. I swear, we could have mistaken KL for The Big Apple. But, does NY have a theme park in their mall??? I think not!
There were some lazy times lounging by the lake, wandering the very expensive mall (KL's got bling!), and watching a mini Bellagio water show. By the way, if you ever need to disguise beer while walking the streets, try a Starbucks coffee cup. It looks just like a latte!
Pretty soon, it was time to say goodbye to my travel partner. That is one of the bitter sweet experiences of traveling. People come into your life, and if your lucky friendships develop that continue across borders. But, as the saying goes, there are friends for a reason, friends for a season, and ultimately we all have to continue down our own paths. At least I have a place to stay in Canada now! That is one of the other perks of meeting people all over the world...free places to stay!
Gratefully, I had a couple days to myself before meeting up with the girls. I'm a people person, but sometimes it is exhausting being with people 24/7. I had the perfect couple of days wandering the streets alone. I am notoriously bad at navigating maps, but with nowhere to go in particular, it was impossible to get lost! Highlights include reading by a peaceful lake just outside the city center, taking in local culture at the National Art Museum, strolling through Chinatown and Little India, and savouring a variety of international cuisine at cheap street stalls.
After about a month traveling through Malaysia, it is time for me to say my final goodbye to this magnificent country! What an adventure visiting the stunning beaches, majestic highlands, and grand city. Thailand, here I come once again!
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