Malaysia!

Hello everyone! 

This post comes fresh off of 5 days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! I was VERY surprised with Kuala Lumpur and I enjoyed it a lot! 

I found KL to be extremely diverse, clean, orderly, and very modern. Also, everyone speaks English! Most signs are in English; I saw very few signs that were in both English and Malay.

I talked with many Indians, some people from Bangladesh and Pakistan, and many Middle Eastern people. I saw more foreigners than local Malays! The food was also very reflective of the diversity. Many many different options. As soon as I arrived I went out and got a shawarma (a Middle Eastern meat and vegetable style sandwich). There was a street nicknamed ‘Arab street’ just because of all the Middle Eastern food options. That day I met 3 other guys who are my age from Yemen!! I thought that was really really interesting because I have never met anyone from Yemen, and it is an eventful time for their country. We talked about Middle Eastern politics and they had many questions about the USA. They are living and studying in Malaysia, and I ended up meeting up with them again on my final night there. They were very very friendly! (And thanks to the current US president, they can’t come to the USA! Crazy!)

Kuala Lumpur is a very clean and orderly city. People actually follow traffic laws and there are more cars than motorbikes- significantly less pollution compared to Hanoi! I’ve been living in Hanoi for 3+ months now, so I found the lack of chaos and cleanliness in KL to be very relieving. The city is also very lit up with many shiny shopping malls. I was very impressed with their development and how modern it is. The city also has a very convenient subway system, and there is also an elevated train. Pretty easy to get around!

When in KL, you must get a photo at the Petronas Towers, which were once the world’s tallest buildings. If you don’t get a picture there, have you actually been to Kuala Lumpur? So of course I went there, and at the base of the towers is a huge shopping center called KLCC, and a very nice park outside of that called KLCC park. 

Petronas Towers

Besides the Petronas Towers, I also explored other parts of the city. KL is home to a large park that includes a butterfly park and an exotic bird park. Hence the Indian influence, KL also has several Hindu temples. I visited Sri Mahamariamman Temple and the Batu Caves. Sri Mahamariamman Temple had a very unique design on the outside of the building and Batu Caves are giant colorful stairs that lead into a cave with a temple at the top! And the best part is there were monkeys!! 

Batu Caves

I also visited the National Mosque of Malaysia. Malaysia is predominantly Muslim (61.3%). The Mosque was open to tourists, but I just had to put on a robe to go in. It was my first time in a mosque, and it was a really good experience!

Sri Mahamariamman Temple

I had a great time and would love to go back to Malaysia. There is so much more to see (Borneo, Penang, Langkawi...) so hopefully I will make it back soon!

Zach