Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur was a few days ago but I remembered today that I wanted to talk about its City Center. I am a big fan. We spent two days walking around it and I was impressed. Specifically there are two items that I was impressed by; its transit and its layout.

First of all you can walk around the city center in the daytime and not realize that you are in a major international city. There are so few people around and hardly any cars. The actual city center is a large park with beautiful landscaping, fountains, a gigantic playground and water-park. There is also a 1.3 kilometer walkway surrounding it that has a built-in track for jogging. The track isn't just flat but goes up and down some mild hills and there is a lot to see while jogging making it an interesting place to jog.

Surrounding the park are the Petronas towers (which are stunning both in the day and night), the convention center (which houses the aquarium) the central shopping center (which is connected to the convention center by an underground walkway), the national Mosque and a number of interesting and beautifully designed buildings. From there the rest of Kuala Lumpur spreads out. I do mean it when I say spreads out because the city goes on for a long ways but I also mean that it is spread out in that the skyscrapers are not clumped all in one section of the city but several and there are patches of green that are just undeveloped; not landscaped or turned into parks, just wild growth. There are also other large parks placed sporadically throughout the city with bird and butterfly sanctuaries to go to. It is delightful to see.

KL's transit system is also awe inspiring. There is a monorail and buses covering a vast expanse of destinations. There is also a free bus system for the city center which was very handy for us. My most favorite part though is that in the city center connecting the major destinations is an above ground, air conditioned, security patrolled, walkway. It made everything more convenient on our trips into town. We did not have to worry about crossing the street, extreme heat, heavy rains, or getting lost. What a great idea.

Though it doesn't feel crowded during the day, at night the city starts bustling. People and vehicles come out in multitudes, the city is lit up, the restaurants are packed full. It has been like that in many SEA countries; during the day it is too hot to go out but at night the cities come alive.

The grand scheme

It has been an exciting week. We gained two new nephews only a few days apart. The nephews are closer to each other than we are to them though so photos have had to suffice. Still very exciting,

We have only one week left after today and we are planning on revisiting Koh Tao. I could say that we are going back because we know it and love it, and because we know how to easily get to there and then to Bangkok from there, and because it will be a good place to end our travels but the truth is that we are going back because it has the best chicken sandwiches that we have ever had. Seriously imagine two full breaded chicken breasts with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and onion on a delicious baguette with mayo and mustard (mustard being in short supply in Southeast Asia). All this for $2, how could we pass that up?

Our time in Tanah Rata has been pleasant. I get to wear my jeans and sweatshirt most mornings and evenings which makes things extra exciting. I haven't worn my jeans since Scotland and for some reason they came out of their stuff sack smelling like nachos. I don't know if that is good or bad but it made us both crave mexican food. In the afternoons we have spent most of our time reading or walking. We have gone on a couple of short hikes/walks; one through the town garden park which was very nice and one to some water falls that weren't very impressive.

We are moving on tomorrow to Butterworth (yes that is a real city) and from there we intend to take the train into Thailand and then a night train to Chumphon where we will eventually cross over to Koh Tao. It will be more than 24 hours of travelling by the end but it will be the last big stretch before our flights out. Here's hoping for straight paths.

"No problem, except you stupid."

If you ask someone who knows me you will find out that I have a high tolerance for people. Poor behavior, especially directed at me, usually makes me curious rather than angry. This is okay when I am alone but sometimes I wonder what my role is when I am with my family. If someone where to act poorly towards my wife or child what is an appropriate response especially in regard to physical action.

I know people who would never take physical action toward anyone at any time. I also know people who are ready at any moment to take action for any challenge to their or their families honor. The spectrum is broad.

I have spent a good chunk of my life in the wrestling room. This has taught me my way around a body and some neat tricks too. It has also taught me that there is always someone stronger, faster, quicker and that sometimes it comes from unexpected places. I am confident in my abilities but aware of the dangers of physical interaction. 

There are other factors involved with physical action other than my experience in martial arts, especially when children are involved. There are questions to consider: Does this deserve a physical response and if so to what degree? Am I putting myself or my family at further risk? What are the physical and legal consequences of this action?  Is this the role model I want to be? What if I fail?

The question is continually posed: "If someone had a gun to your spouse's head and you had a gun in your hand would you shoot?"

It blew my mind when someone posed the question "what if you missed?" to me. It further blew my mind when I shot a handgun for the first time and seemed entirely unable to hit anything that I was aiming at. Another question posed to me was "would your spouse want you to pull the trigger?"

Ask questions later right? Wrong? I have read a few stories in the last year that involve young inebriates killing another person by a punch to the head because the other person was trying to calm them or something. There are stories of people defending themselves or their family and going to prison because their defence became offence and they ended up maiming someone. Even one of my high school friends was killed by a bullet to the back from a shop keeper whose store he was attempting to rob. He died in a field after crawling some distance.

That is why the man at the mall who continued running into me after I apologized for cutting him off was not harmed even after he repeatedly called me stupid while going up the elevator. I merely looked at him and gave my conflict face (usually a perfect blend of confusion, empathy, and passiveness expressed in a smirk). I suppose if the only issue is that I am stupid then I can live with that.

I have been thinking a lot about this in the past few days due to this situation. It made me think of the "heroes" I always see from Hollywood who risk everything to save themselves or their families or who throw punches to defend honor. The movie Taken comes to mind (Liam Neeson blows up half of Paris and kills foreign diplomats and VIPS and comes out in the end with no legal or political backlash). Even though there is an alarming degree of impossibility, impracticality, and downright terrible choices, I still identify with Liam and cheer for him as he gets out of the hospital (the day after he is shot, stabbed, and beaten). I suppose a movie about a person having something terrible happen and then waiting to hear from the police regarding the incident is more of a drama than a thriller but seriously what should I do when a group of Albanian's abduct my daughter in Paris? Someone's got to know.

This post was supposed to be solely a critique of the movie Taken but it got a little bit out of hand. I apologize.

Tanah Rata

Today we took a bus journey to a town called Tanah Rata. It was a four hour ride two of which were navigating unfriendly mountain roads. It was well paved but narrow with many twists and turns. Vomit bags were provided by the company and utilized by the patrons; I will say no more.

The cameron highlands is famed in Malaysia for its tea production. Other attractions are its strawberry and honey farms as well as its beauty and proximity to Taman Negara national park. Many Malays come this way as an escape from the lowland heat. It is temperate here, though still warm, and at night  it can even get chilly. Maybe I'll have an excuse to wear my sweatshirt that hasn't seen action since Scotland.

We are excited to have a few relaxed days here. There are pros and cons about our hostel. It is inexpensive and has a book exchange with books I actually want to read but the rooms are quite bare and the city parks garbage trucks in a lot close by. The hostel owners told me that there is no garbage smell at the hostel so I suppose that I am conditioned to smell garbage when I see garbage trucks. Oh Pavlov, if it weren't for you it wouldn't smell bad around here. 

Another con is that, within an hour of our arrival, we have been mumbled at by an inebriate who stopped at our table and then became instantly confused at why he had stopped. "I'm just trying to figure out which one..." he said as he stumbled away. It isn't actually an issue except that it is the third awkward event in three days for me and I'm hoping it stops there.

Tomorrow we will explore the town and surrounding areas. Maybe we will even have some tea and strawberries with honey!

Kuala Lumpur

Another day of travel yesterday and another day recuperating. Well deserved I should say as we did not arrive at our hostel until around 3am. Being in limbo has become second nature to us in both the smaller and larger pictures. Recovering from a long stretch is a little more challenging though as staying in hostels limits ones freedom to complete tasks. Nap times can be hard to come by due to noise from others, heat, restlessness, etc.

Once we are rested we hope to explore Kuala Lumpur. This city is massive with many attractions. Botanical gardens with butterfly, orchid, and bird sanctuaries, History and Islamic art museums, and markets are all on the radar for visiting and within walking distance of our hostel. The Petronas towers are the second largest buildings in the world and supposed to be an impressive sight; you might say that I expect to Petronas. This will make for a few days of wandering and figuring how this city works.

We also hope to see more of peninsular Malaysia. The oldest jungle in the world is in Malaysia and can be accessed via Taman Negara national park. There are also the Cameron Highlands which hold tea plantations and spectacular scenery. We will see where we end up. Our plans now have to be mindful of time which is a factor we haven't had to deal with much in the past six months. Our grand finale.

Typical

Want to know a secret about budget travel? Here it is; nothing goes as planned.

Observe:

After a day of lounging poolside at our hotel we decided to explore Penang. We woke up ready to start our day at 7:30am. We left the hotel at a quarter to eleven. Our plan was to take a taxi to the Penang National Park and from there hike an hour and a half to monkey beach where we would spend the afternoon.

We found a taxi by the mall who said he could take us to the national park. We found it to be a reasonable price so we hopped in. Thirty minutes later we arrived at a park. It was a pleasant looking place with a botanical garden and an extremely steep hill with a paved walking/biking path. We asked the driver which way monkey beach was and he pointed up the hill. It was at this point through a series of loud bursts we discovered that the other building on the premises was a rifle range. We went to a booth by the hill where a park ranger informed us that Penang national park was very far away but we could walk up the hill for 3 hours to get a nice view of the city. We decided to amble around the park enjoying the sounds of nature and rifles. We did find monkeys and fed them until one charged the girls fangs exposed.

We found another taxi drive to take us to real national park. It was only an hour further. When we arrived it was roughly 1:30. I found some sort of soup with fish heads in it for a quick lunch (it was only $0.33 and we started our 1.5 hour hike. We were told that the park closes at 6pm and that we should started walking back at 5:30. We were also told there were boats there that could take us back to the entrance for $25. We hoped to not have to take the boat.

The hike was lovely. It only took us an hour and it ranged from concrete boardwalks to sandy beaches to jungle paths. The beach was nice too and it was entertaining to see groups of monkeys going through the garbage, drinking from pop cans, and stealing from tourists as they helplessly stood by. I came prepared with sticks because we had heard tales of practically whole tourists being stolen by monkeys.

One pleasant surprise was that a boat taxi came to ask if we wanted a ride back and told us he would only charge $5. We took him up on the offer and earlier than we thought too because within 45 minutes of being there it threatened rain and within an hour the threat turned into a promise. We were back at the entrance by 4:30.

Our return journey consisted of a 2 hour public bus ride a search for a taxi and a half hour taxi ride. In the end we spent 4 hours in transportation and 2 hours outside. Not quite what we expected the day would look like.

In the end it did not work out how we expected or would have wanted but from this side of the day it was wholly enjoyable. Nothing goes as planned!

Penang

George Town is a sea port on the island of Penang. We are staying in a hotel close to the airport which is about thirty minutes from George Town, from the beaches, and from anything remotely touristy. Nearby there is a mall which is 6 stories of insanity. When I say insanity think no layout, no rhyme or reason for anything, duplicate stores like crazy, and half of them are closed at any give point in the day. We have eaten 90 percent of our meals in the mall food-court because there are no restaurants close by. As terrible as it sounds the food-court is just mom and pop restaurants inside accompanied by KFC and McDonalds.

Our time here has mostly been spent in the hotel which sounds terrible like the aforementioned food court but it has also been nice. There is AC inside which has been a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. Tomorrow we are moving on from here to Kuala Lumpur and from Kuala Lumpur to Bali. There we shall surf, hike, snorkel, eat, and sleep. Life is hard these days.

On Sunday there is a general election in Malaysia. The big one. There are many campaign posters around advertising for the two major parties. What is most impressive are the flags. There are hundreds of thousands of flags flying each with the insignia of the different parties on each. There are flags hanging from apartment buildings, lining the streets, flying from restaurants, in yards, etc. It is not so much one flag flying in these places; there are flags and flags and flags all tied together sometimes hundreds at a time. It is kind of incredible to see. Today I saw a sign with one of the candidates faces on it and the words "Too Lazzzzzy" written underneath. I'm happy that the smear campaigns are so sophisticated.

Langkawi, Malaysia

After almost two entire days of travel we reached Malaysia safely. I am actually very proud of our little group for how well we travelled. We made wise decisions, made sure we were not rushed into anything we did not want to do (a common tactic with the tourism industry workers in Thailand), and stayed well fed and happy along the way. In the end it took probably three hours more than if we had made hurried decisions and we arrived safe and happy. Good for us.

Langkawi is an island in the Northwest of Malaysia. We crossed the border on the mainland in Thailand and entered Malaysia through the border on the island which means we spent a good hour and a half in no-man's-land. The island is actually a cluster of 99 islands with Langkawi being the largest and most developed. It is also the most touristy but there is good news; it is almost completely void of tourists! There are half empty resorts, beach chalets, hotels, motels, and guest houses everywhere. Unfortunately none of these places is willing to give a discount for what appears to be the offseason.

Yesterday we shared a beach that stretched 2km or more with maybe 30 people. We sat under rented umbrellas, the girls enjoying the heat while the boys longed for some sort of ball or activity to keep busy. While the sun was going down we went for dinner and ate huge rice, veggie, and chicken dishes for under $2. While we were eating we saw a place serving shaved ice which sounded like a wonderful idea. One of our friends stepped up and ordered what was on the picture. As it turned out it was not shaved ice but ice cubes in a bowl with sugar water, fruit salad, peanuts, tapioca balls, chia seeds, lychees, jello (maybe?), and other ingredients that were completely unknown to us. It made a thick fruit soup with sugar water broth. I fulfilled my role as garbage disposal unit and found that it was quite good, the peanuts were the strangest part for me.

Malaysia is one of the most stable economies in Southeast Asia. It has huge import and export capabilities and many companies have factories here that create products and distribute them all over SEA. Its tourism industry is also quite large attracting visitors from India, Australia, Japan, and China. Malaysia's "Ringitt" trades at 3.3333R to $1. It is a switch from Thailands 27 Baht to $1 or Laos 7,700Kip to $1.

Malaysia is predominantly Muslim having been highly influenced in the past by muslim traders and settlers coming from India. There is also Buddhism and Hinduism mixed in from Chinese immigrants. This mix is also makes for a unique experience to us as the locals dress reflects muslim beliefs and we are not quite sure how to be culturally appropriate to that yet, especially on the beach. Yesterday we rented chairs and an umbrella from a local woman and at the end of the day she and four of her women friends (or family) went for a swim in the ocean, in full dress! There they were splashing and laughing with long pants, sleeves, and headdresses.

Our next step here will be to rent scooters and explore the island. There is a cable car that spans the mountain range in the north that we have been told not to miss at sunset. There are also a number of black sand beaches that are begging us to pay attention to them. This morning it is raining which could mean anything from a morning shower to a steady drizzle all day to a build up and downpour to a full on lighting and thunder extravaganza. The rain is welcome though as we are all nursing sunburns.

Next steps will be travelling to another Malaysian island called Penang which is supposed to be beautiful, after that Kuala Lumpur and a hopefully cheap flight to Indonesia.