Whirlwind Tour of KL

KL is a lot smaller than I thought. It's easy to get one from one side of town to the other and in less than time than I imagined. The travel book that Yale bought made it seem like taxis were terrible, getting lost was easy, and that the train system was illogically connected. While this may be true to an extent (transferring b/t train lines require a separate ticket), today's whirlwind tour through KL has been fun. We started by heading to the historic district. Not really knowing what I wanted to see, I strolled through the streets, eventually running into Chinatown. I got there just as it was opening up; it was really exciting. Even though I knew everything was a knock-off, I still wanted to pick up a few pairs of Lacoste and Diesel shoes. However, me being the one who prefers authentic, brand-name goods, I held out. Besides, I wasn't about to haul them around the city all day. Yale suggested that we buy a knock-off piece of luggage and drag it around. Nice try. It was funny to haggle with these people, especially since I'm not one to haggle. By the time I walked away from the Lacoste shirts, I was down to 15 Ringgits (about US$4.00).

Having strolled through Chinatown, I then ventured to an indoor mall to cool off. Fortunately the mall had A/C; I think a lot of what was being sold was still illegal b/c the Diesel shoes I was looking at started at 100 Ringgits (US$35). There were a couple of massage places there, but I held off because I think I can get a better deal from another place. I then wandered over to the Central Market, which happens to contain Little India. There were tons of little things to buy there. If I had a condo to decorate, maybe I would have bought some items. Alas, I have no place to call my own, so I decided against any purchases. Just around the corner was the National Mosque, a modern interpretation of Islam. The building was not Moorish in the least bit (like I was hoping). The volunteers tried to teach me about the fundamental beliefs of Islam. They had some interesting ideas such as whoever controls EurAsia (i.e., where all the Muslims live), controls the world. Um… the US doesn't control any of it and it seems to being doing just fine. I left before the religious debate got heated by the Montenegrin and the Islamic lady.

The National Museum was dirt cheap (2 Ringgits) and provided a good background on the country and the various cultures that make us Malaysia. After touring the historic district, it was time to visit the modern part of town where the famous Petronas Twin Towers are. It was exciting to be in this part of town because it was newer, there were lots of tall buildings, and the twin towers are super cool. I would consider them some of the most beautiful skyscrapers in the world. I was happy to find out that tickets for the sky bridge were free (most tall building charge you a hefty fee to go up). Yale and I got there in the nick of time because the thunderstorm rolled in just as we entered the building. I was looking for a good lightning show, but I didn't get to see much since I was indoors. It worked out just fine because at the base of the two tower is a mall with lots of designer names. Maybe one day I will be able to afford shopping there. I stopped by Mikimoto just to see the average price of their goods. I thought it was hilarious when Yale thought one pearl necklace was priced at 230 Ringgits. I laughed b/c he misread the price—it was 8,230 Ringgits!

I was also very excited to see a Banana Republic sign; however, it turns out that BR is "coming soon," so I was not able to go shopping there. I stopped in at Zara's and found some nice shoes and shirts, but I didn't buy any. While at the mall, I came across this funny sign about a "premium" bathroom. You see, most of the bathrooms here are not free. You have to pay a small fee to use them. I don't know why. They literally have somebody sit at the front of the bathroom and collect money. Needless to say, I was curious to see know how a premium bathroom differs from a normal bathroom.

Since my ticket for the sky bridge wasn't till 6:15 pm, I hailed a cab and went home to take a nap. It seems like I've been taking naps every afternoon. I guess that's because most mornings I wake up by 6:00 am. About half my mornings so far have started before 6:00 am… I never get up at that time when I'm home in Provo. Feeling refreshed from my nap, I returned to the Twin Towers to go up to the sky bridge, which was cool. The thunderstorm had passed for the most part, so it cleared up a bit. It wasn't as clear/sunny as I would have hoped, but it was still nice to be up there. I was surprised to see a lot of high rises. Walking around didn't give me the impression that KL had a lot of high rises; I knew it had small clusters, but up on the 41th floor, I could see at least twice as many as I believed there to be.