Kuala Lumpur

July 27, 28

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The days fly by. We are close to the Petronas Towers, KLCC park and the 2 acres of play structures within. Nate could not wait. We were some of the few in the park, or maybe the unwise in the heat.

After a bit of play we made our way back to the apartment where the infinity pool waited. I was sick thinking someone would go over the edge.

Our evening plan was to take a walking tour of the neighborhood next to us - Kampong Bharu to learn more about the Malay culture. This Malay neighborhood is an interesting mix of new and traditional. Hundred year old homes exist in tranquil gardens with skyscrapers looming.

I did not realize such quiet could exist in this busy city. It seemed like a small-town yard. A few generations ago each Malay was given a parcel of land (approx. half an acre). Today, it has been passed down and some have chosen to maintain the original, where others use their plot to commercial purposes.

Traditional Malay houses, as many SE houses, are elevated to allow for floods and air flow.

Traditionally, when a Muslim woman gave birth, a member from the community would take care of her for 44 days. Feed her, massage her, bath her, clean her house. Those days are over. It has been replaced with this gift set. Hilarious.

Many herbalist stores exist in this community as it is cheaper than western medicine and some consider it safer. The perfect man? Worth a try.

Durian, the king of fruit. Based on smell I am sure. Wan, our guide, warned us to start with durian blended with something, then try it straight up. We tried durian chocolate and no one was willing to go any farther.

We tried putu bamboo, dessert of rice flour cooked in bamboo with cane sugar and coated with coconut. A mild dessert.

Got some fresh mangoes and bananas.

A Malaysian car wash.

Friday we thought we would ride the train to the Bantu Caves. The train ride was good, but we did not go up to the temple or the caves. The monkeys are relentless and the pigeons overwhelming. We have become shy of these aggressive monkeys so we got the next train back to the city.

Tomorrow, the 7 hour flight to Tokyo. Need to get the packs organized tonight; redistribute some weight between them and discard the unnecessary. We did a big purge in Bangkok; should not be too much to get rid of.