Malaysia Part 1

I had been pretty comfy renting a room in Perth for 2 months, so flying into Kuala Lumpur Malaysia was both refreshing and terrifying. As soon as I stepped off the plane, the equatorial heat slapped me in the face and my clothes instantly took on that dampness that didn't go away until I got back on the plane to leave. For me, Malaysia was all about the couchsurfing. Right around the time of my arrival, I had decided I'd be heading home in 3 weeks, so it was time to fully experience couchsurfing for the rest of the trip. Best decision I've ever made.

It didn't take long to realize Malaysia is a very culturally rich place. The East India Trading Company brought many workers to Malaysia, and they never left. So you find a mix of the native Malay people, who speak Malay and are Muslim in majority, then the Chinese, who speak Mandarin and are primarily Buddhist, and the Indians, who speak Tamil and are mostly Hindu. Most people speak English as well, which makes it a pretty easy place for westerners to navigate. The social and political situation there is very stratified and extremely interesting...one could do a thesis on this I'd imagine. The best part of all this: the food! I can't say enough about it. Three amazing cuisines converging into a land of fusion restaurants, all with so many delicious options. I'm a fan of dips with bread, and there's no shortage of that. I was there during fresh fruit season as well...some of these fruits look like medieval battle axes...some of them smell like garbage in the sun.

Kuala Lumpur
My first host was Agnes. I stayed with her in Kuala Lumpur for 4 or 5 days that were filled with amazing restaurants and spectacular sights. It was definitely action packed, never a moment to rest, which was exactly what I needed. Through her, I met most of the avid KL couchsurfers, mostly in one shot at a picnic in the park behind the Twin Towers, and some at random dinners throughout my stay. I went to visit a hindu temple in a giant cave up a thousand steps in the side of a mountain, with mango eating monkeys all around me trying to pick my pockets. Agnes also brought me to Melaka, the cultural center of Malaysia, to her friends traditional chinese wedding, and I got to participate in all the activities. One of these activities basically involved keeping the groom locked outside until he and his posse coughed up enough money that we'd agree to let them in to see the bride (this is age old tradition apparently...and they made me keep the money too). A six course chinese dinner followed, in a huge hall, no other foreigners to be found. Melaka is so beautiful, especially at night because it has a small village feel, with no structures more than two stories high, places of worship of 4 or 5 types all within a few blocks of each other, and everything lit up. We had a midnight dinner at a world famous hot pot restaurant.

Back in KL, I managed to score the last ticket to go up the Petronas Towers and walk the 'Skybridge' in between (they only give out a limited # each day). Agnes was really good at keeping me in the dark on the plans, so I'd never know what was coming next, even sometimes minutes before. I'd just go to bed when I was told, get up when I was told, and know that I'd be seeing really cool things that day. Pretty exciting. Side note, I was invited to volunteer with another CSer at a soccer game, and had to decline, but later found out the game was the national team versus the visiting Manchester United, and I would have been a bodyguard for a Manchester player. The wedding was cooler though.

If ever your couchsurfing in Malaysia, ask me about the host who runs an elephant sanctuary where you can volunteer to work with the animals. He also trains people in jungle survival, which you can tag alone for as well. It's definitely on my list for the next time.

I stayed for a few nights with Zul, a really interesting guy who lives at the other end of the city. There was an amazing view of the Towers from his balcony. He's the one who took a lot of the guitar playing photos I have on my facebook music page. We had a good chat until the wee hours of the morning. While waiting for him outside his apartment, I also met a cool Tamil guy who became my impromptu guide for the night and took me to his uncles restaurant where we ate and drank and chatted.

To be continued...