We got back yesterday from four days in Malaysia. I had never been to KL before, so was interested in what it was like.
The Petronas towers are huge. Very huge. So huge you can hardly believe it. They are as modern as anything in Singapore, the UK, or the US. The rest of KL is a curious mixture of very modern smart buildings and shopping malls and run down areas.
Present were: Me, HWMBO, our friend BK with whom we’re staying in Singapore, our friend Choo Beng, and his bf Caff.
We took the “luxury bus” from Singapore to KL. It took about 5 hours, including customs and immigration stops in Singapore and Malaysia. Everyone here knows this bus: when you mention it, they say “Oh, the massage chair bus!” The seats have built-in massagers. Not very effective (in my experience) but very comfy nonetheless. There is a video screen at each seat and you get food and a drink.
KL is chaotic. Very busy, lots of running around. The transport system is seriously dysfunctional: there are about 4 or 5 different train lines and they are run by different companies. So you have to get out of one train and walk a distance to get to another one. Very annoying and must be confusing if you don’t have someone who knows their way around with you.
We shopped in several stores and bought shirts; mine were XL but still too small, not because I’ve gained weight on this trip (I think I’ve lost a bit) but because XL in Asia is really L everywhere else.
If was Caff’s birthday so we had dinner at his friend’s restaurant near Time Square shopping centre. Very nice, but somewhat blur (as they say here in Sg) since two friends of Caff’s and Choo Beng’s had had a spat, and one threw the other out of the house. They were both supposed to come to the birthday meal. So there was much to-ing and fro-ing while Caff and Choo Beng went out and called them on their handphones or talked to them outside the restaurant. Lots of fish but enough for me to eat so I wasn’t hungry. A big birthday cake at the end. Happy birthday, Caff!
More later, as I have to go out for my morning constitutional to keep from being totally unfit.