Kuala Lumpur

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia just a few days ago. In the city we stayed in the Chinatown area. It was quite striking to see the difference of Malaysia compared to Indonesia. The entire area seems much more diverse, with Chinese shops selling food next to an Indian sari store. They also have most signs translated to English and sometimes even Chinese.

Upon arrival we were famished so we wandered over to the neighboring Little India and found a chapatti house. It was delicious to eat okra and chickpeas with freshly made wheat chapattis, especially with my hand!

The next day we also checked out a well known Dosa restaurant. The reception we got there was not as friendly, but the Dosa which I had never had were quite tasty. Dosas seem to be a pancake made of rice flour within which you can put different sauces and vegetables. I ordered a special one that had ghee spread on the outside which gave it a deliciously crispy butter flavour as well.

There is also a bustling night market area in the Chinatown district, one alley over from our hotel. I've got to use my Chinese a bit to order different dishes and they seem to speak at least 4 languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Bahasa Malaysia, and English. The guy I asked might have even said he spoke Hindi but I didn't test him on it. Vendors setup little stalls selling watches, shoes, fruit, noodle dishes, baked goods, meat etc. There is a noodle vendor literally at our hotel doorstep!


We checked out the Lake Garden area nearby, which has a number of national museums and monuments. It was a very pleasant walk over and there are a number of great examples of Islamic architecture.


We went to the KL Bird Park which is touted as "The world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary." Inside an enormous netted off complex was a rainforest that birds just flew around in, as well as cages displaying some particularly interesting tropical birds. We saw many different species of colorful birds such as hornbills, peacocks, and toucans.

The Incubation Room

Just across the street from the bird park was the Orchid and Hibiscus garden, which was very well kept. There were a number of beatuiful displays of flowers, which I know that my mom and aunt would like. The afternoon rain though had left the entire city very stuffy and humid, and we were soon drenched in sweat. I never thought I would appreciate AC as much as I have in Malaysia.