Guess what? We’re in Malaysia! After 27 hours we finally have a room booked in the “Little India” district of Kuala Lumpur. Everything went pretty smooth, with the hardest part being the grind at LAX and getting on our initial flight. The Hong Kong airport is a marvel, it’s by far the most modern airport either of us have ever seen. Sadly we couldn’t see across the bay to downtown very well, but what we could make out was quite impressive.
Landing in Kuala Lumpur International is an interesting experience. Usually you are herded straight into customs before you can even catch your breath but KUL is different. There is a long string of shops and shopkeepers delight in the ambiguity of the immigration signs, eventually we found our way with our wallets fully intact. We hopped on the KL Ekpress (kind of the like the BART in SF) and were in the city about 20 minutes later.
This city is vibrant and diverse. A quick cross of the street is like stepping onto a new continent with sights, sounds, and smells of its own. In just a few minutes walking we passed bazaars, sushi restaurants, Chinese wonders of all varieties, and even African somosa shops. High rise buildings tower over adjacent Buddhist temples built in the 1800’s. This juxtaposition is Kuala Lumpur. Our tired bones can’t help but be invigorated by its jovial energy.
Tomorrow we go to the Indonesian Embassy to get our visas to got to Banda Aceh, then on to Pulau Weh for the first diving of our trip. We’ll probably check out some temples and the beautiful park district as well. Who knows what else we will do, we’ll just have to see which way the wind pushes our sails.
-Scotty
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