Layover in Kuala Lumpur

So much is happening! But I have such little time to write everything down.

Sunday night I got on a flight and took a red eye to SE Asia. My intention was to sleep on the plane the entire time; my neighbors, however, drank enough alcohol to supply a college dorm floor and were not eager to permit my rest. By the time the flight ended I was deliriously tired.

On Monday I had a 15-hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, so of course I left the airport to explore the city, despite my depleted energy.

My flight landed at 4:30am, so it was dark out and nothing was open for a few hours while I confusedly tried to get my bearings in the big city. Needless to say, the first few hours were quiet and not terribly eventful while I nervously waited for the sun to show itself and give me an idea of where on earth my exhausted body was.

When the sun lifted, it was beautiful. But, with the sun came an oppressive heat that was further weighted with humidity. I have to admit that I will remember Kuala Lumpur by its immense heat. Malaysian Denise mentioned how intense it can be there, but for some silly reason I didn't understand her fully, until now. I am a fool.

When the sun came up and the city began to wake up, I started to hunt for food joints. By the Petronas Towers, I found an outdoor Indian-influenced restaurant called Pelita. After hungrily wandering the restaurant with a pathetic face, the servers compassionately sat me down and brought me a masala dosa that was fantastic.

I walked around KLCC for a little bit in the heat and admired the Petronas Towers, which really are impressive in person.

I also took the train to Pasar Seni - the Chinatown area of the city that hosts a popular Central Market. It was still very early, but I managed to explore the area's temples and appreciate the early morning smells of the market. I went to an old Hindu temple and quietly breathed for a few minutes in the open space. I then shuttled over to the nearby Sze Ya Temple, and grounded myself a little bit in its earthy building smelling of gentle incense. One of my favorite parts of travel is going to temples and relishing the spiritual areas - thin places - of the region.

I also looked at the architecture of the buildings in the area. There's clearly a Moorish influence on some of the designs, with minarets and intricate wall designs.

Later in the day, I went back to the center of town. Under the Petronas Towers in KLCC is a massive multi-storied mall called Suria KLCC that hosts fancy shops and a large food court full of local food. The mall is overwhelming, especially for me since I don't shop much and get over-stimulated easily. I understand why they have such large malls, though - the debilitating heat gave me a lot of motivation to stay indoors in the air conditioned shops for the day.

Denise's boyfriend, Taya, met me in the towers for lunch. Having a nice conversation with Taya over delicious nasi lemak fueled me for the rest of my trip to Thailand later on. He walked me around the mall and outside park and educated me on some cultural nuances in Malaysia. I shared my appreciation by buying him a cookie.

In a country that is predominantly Muslim (61.3%), I was surprised to see Christmas vibrantly displayed in the malls. Taya explained to me that it was Malaysia's way of recognizing and appreciating its diversity in the country. A bit more than 9% of the population is Christian, after all.

The overall feeling I got of KL was a big, bustling city where you can hide in cooler areas while the weather slays ignorant tourists. But I may have felt something a bit strict about the city. I am not entirely sure what I mean, but I felt something there I'd like to understand more.

Now I'm in Thailand! More on that later.

A Sydney Affair

Dad came and visited me last week for a (very) short stay. It was great to see him, as I've been missing family for a little bit, and we got to catch up over a few days.

We met up at the airport in Sydney after his long flight, and my hour-long jump, and made our way to the harbor.

We got to explore Sydney for a day or two together. I will say, despite seeing a limited portion of the city and not having a lot of time to explore, I really liked Sydney. It was vibrant and pretty, though it was a brief love affair. I felt like there were some hidden gems on the waterfront that I will hopefully get to see more on another visit.

I decided that Melbourne is a bit like the downtown of Manhattan (maybe a bit of Brooklyn too) in the sense that it is a lot of culture and food. Sydney, on the other hand, is more like uptown Manhattan - from 14th street up; it was crisp yet romantic.

My friend Esther and her partner met up with us as well and they ushered us around the city. It was so nice to have some people who actually know the city guide us along for a day. Also, they are both fantastic people, so their company with us was perfect for our daylong adventure.

We ate some fish & chips on the harbor and started our tour of the area on a cruise for a few hours. We took in the harbor area and admired the cliffs near Manly, as well as the expensive houses in nearby suburbs on the coast. The harbor really is lovely - I think it's great that Sydney is on the water, and the Sydney Opera House is as impressive in person as it seemed to me in pictures. It also helped that we had a beautiful day with barely a cloud in the sky. We didn't stop at the beaches because I wanted Dad to be able to relish the beaches in Queensland, and we barely had time to sit down and breathe while we ran around the city.

We wandered slowly through The Rocks, which was an adorable old area, despite having a pretty soiled history. We grabbed some drinks and ambled around a little while before stopping in for dinner at The Argyle, a fun outdoor bar area tucked away from the main streets.

One again in Australia, I was charmed by a harbor city.

We also got dressed up for a play at the Opera House. It was funny for me to realize how some of my impatience comes from being my dad's daughter - he was anxious that we weren't at the theater 45 minutes in advance! I have let my impatience melt away somewhat here, as I learned that it was a futile exercise in a country where everything is remarkably laid back.

We saw "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf, and I liked it a lot! Poor jet-lagged Dad passed out during the play, but I was captivated by a curious plot of someone who survived hundreds of years and changed sexes in the middle somewhere.  In some ways, it was the perfect play for me to see, as it was about learning how to understand and accept oneself while the world around them shifts and evolves.

The next day we went on one of those silly double-decker buses that tour cities for tourists with little time to explore - my idea! Our ride along the main drag of Sydney was interesting and I thought Hyde Park was great! I just wish I had had more time to get off of the bus and go a little deeper in some of the cuter areas, like Kings Cross.

Dad was anxious to get to the airport early for our flights to Brisbane, so our adventure of Sydney was cut short, and I ended up intimately acquainting myself with the insides of the domestic terminal for a few hours while I waited to fly back to Queensland. Now that I've got a taste for Sydney, though, I hope to go back and learn more about it in the future.

But, for now, there are other, further, more exotic adventures to be had. Starting tomorrow night!