The weekend was spent recovering from the week - enjoying the great hotel in downtown KL, doing some shopping and seeing some of the sights. There are not many sights in the city other than the towers and a few mosques, so shopping was the thing to do. Consumerism is huge in KL, although to be fair, I think that the only reason a mall is on every corner (literally) is the heat. The only way to get exercise in KL without feeling like death is to walk in a mall. It means mall walkers are in their 20s as opposed to 80s.
Some KL coin. Roughly 20 to the Euro.
The beautiful Petwer vase I found. I'm so excited about this - it's already looking great with my Dutch tulips.
New shoes. Funny story about this picture. I honestly thought that more clothes would be in sizes that fit me because in KL, I am average height. I've never felt so reasonably sized in my life - it was an incredible feeling to get in an elevator and look over someone's head that was not a child. It happened everywhere. I could get used to that.
However, what I noticed was that every major brand and Malaysian brands included, still made clothes and shoes for much taller people. For instance, Clarks, whom I adore, but struggle to find in a US size 4 or 5 were the same in KL - smallest on all shoes was a size 6. I found a section of shoes that were for smaller feet, but they were definitely grandma shoes. Where do those women find shoes??? The shoes I did get were Czech, which is funny because when we were in Prague last May, we did a bit of shopping because the exchange rates were good to the Euro and I couldn't find anything smaller than a 7. Clothes were the same - still needed to chop off at least 6 inches on pants. I did notice though that every place had signs for free tailoring, so that must have been the solution. I don't know how they do shoes though - still a mystery.
You will also see that my feet and ankles are completely swollen. I call them my plane feet - happens on all my long haul flights. It could also have been the extreme amount of salt in the food, but I'm going to blame the flights. The food was incredible - it doesn't deserve that abuse.
Another funny story - in the KL airport after we landed, I needed to use the restroom. The first stall I went in was nothing but a hole in the floor, which I was very unclear as to how to use. The second was the same. Thankfully, I realised that the last 2 stalls of most restrooms in the airport were holes, but the rest were western toilets. I realised this after making an attempt at the hole and then deciding that I'd rather not use the restroom for 5 days than do the hole when I need to see a work colleague right afterward. God bless the person who created the western toilet.
The above sign was in the airport restroom (in the western toilet stalls). Why anyone would need the below depticted as unacceptable is beyond me. It means that someone has tried that, right? Good lord.
I did some native shopping as well as regular old fashioned mall shopping. I found some great batiks (via sarongs) that will make a great addition to the travel quilt!
I also walked through Chinatown, which was knock off central. The Dutch have a strict no knock off policy when it comes to bringing stuff back into the NL, so it was a very quick trip through the mayhem. Lots of bargaining going on and I had at least 5 people ask me if I needed DVDs. I didn't stop to ask which movies they were hawking.
KL light rail - speedy, efficient and FULL.
I didn't try it...maybe it goes on the don't knock it until you try it list, but Chicken Porridge? That sounds dreadful.
Overall, I should have written these entries about 3 weeks ago when everything was still fresh in my head. I liked KL, primarily for the food. There was some Indian street food on Friday for lunch that still makes my mouth water. I can taste that fried chicken as I sit in bed typing this. But the heat and the humidity that I'm unaccustomed to now felt worse than anything I've felt in Houston. Maybe I'm just oversensitive to it now, but I was drenched after just a 10 minute walk to work from the hotel. The people were very nice and I fit in perfectly other than the blonde hair. I heard the call to prayer once, but found that the population was very mixed ethnically and religiously. I saw the Malay Lutheran church, which I thought was incredible - small world. Generally, great city for a quick visit. Next time, it will be out to the countryside of Malaysia!
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