July 26, 2012

• Kuala Lumpur- A second vacation??

  With things finally calming down a bit around here, I figured it was time for me to post about the second trip of the year. On my return from India, I worked for about a month, then said eff this place and set out again for parts unknown with the gf. Due to funds and timing, we needed somewhere we could accomplish a lot in a short time for cheap…hence, MALAYSIA! Now as this is my first international trip without my usual companions, and my first international trip with a gf, not to mention the abbreviated time period, the style of travelogue and wacky photos may be a bit different than you are accustomed to. But lets welcome back Michelle, my gf, who has not been seen in a xanga travel post since June 2003, when we first went to Japan as friends. Yep, this xanga has been going for almost a decade! But on to the post

  

  The lovely michelle, thinking about who knows what on the train into the city

  

  Our hotel room at the sheraton kuala lumpur. (fun fact: Malaysia has 9 sultans among its 13 territories, with each of them taking turns ruling the country every so many years. Fun fact #2: the day before we left malaysia, one of the sultans was staying in our hotel! how is that for high class?)

  

  Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country, but just because you follow Allah doesnt mean you cant have STYLE

  

  Central Market, a 1920′s art decon indoor mall that has mostly handicrafts that can be found cheaper elsewhere throughout the city. That said, we spend a lot of time just wandering

  

  I <3 my mini tripod

  

  Malaysia central market at night

  

  Jalan Petaling street in chinatown, kuala lumpur. Time to get my street food on!

  

  Koon Kee wantan mee is chinese/malaysian? for greasy pork on oily noodles for dirt cheap and it is ungodly delicious. This was consistently rated as the number one place for char siew wantan mee by not only anthony bourdain but every old man we stopped on the street to ask for the best street food. Its in a little food court in petaling jaya

  

  Under the baobab tree

  

  And up to the top of petronas towers, the tallest building in the world until dubai built their sailboat hotel building thing. Be warned, they allow limited people up to the top per day, so you need to get there early to secure a ticket for an amazing view of the city

  

  Next stop was the aquarium, where I did one of the more terrifying things of my life-cage diving with sharks. Now, yes we were in an aquarium and I was in no real danger, but I have a pretty substantian hydrophobia due to numerous attacks on my person by sea creatures as a child. So for me, the very first time to go scuba diving, this was as controlled an environment as I could get-i was 2 feet from the surface, surrounded by steel bars, and when i was not busy having panic attacks, could enjoy the sensation of seeing sea life in an almost natural habitat without what i can only assume are their usual murderous rages.

   

  Or you could be like Michelle, and pay an extra fee to be on the same side of the cage as all the deadly sea life and swim around with it. Yes, the wo of us were on opposite sides of the cage in the same tank and both had an excellent time. Michelle was so busy following the shark that she was nearly scared out of her wits when she turned around to find this friendly fellow attempting to eat her hair.

  

  Pirahanas. Yeah, you want adventure and excitement, head to malaysia.

  

  Gateway to the Petronas Towers

  

  After terrifying me to within an inch of my life, off we went to the history museum where we learned about all sorts of stuff, like how much I love trains!

  

  Then it was back to central market for a fish massage, where tiny little pirhana (okay goldfish) nibble all the dead skin off your feet with their toothless gums, like a quick footed army of dentureless old people. People pay big bucks to go to these fish spas all around malaysia, but in cheap central market its only $7 for 10 minutes, which you will last approximately 30 seconds before breaking down into unctrollable laughter

  

  We ended our night watching a martial arts demonstration where, yes, 6 and seven year old children were jumping through a ring of fire for our amusement.

  Not bad for the first couple of days, right?

   

  • 12:59 pm
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