Malaysia

KL MALAYSIA

DAY ONE

I arrived in Malaysia on Sunday afternoon. I felt quite jet-lagged and icky from being on a plane for so long therefore it felt nice to actually breathe fresh air as I made my first steps outside in Malaysia. It was hot! I knew it would be, but I didn’t quite remember what humidity felt like until that moment. I felt relaxed by the heat, but also tired from the weight of the air. Perhaps it was my jet-lag but the air-con felt particularly special when it turned on in the car (I definitely take it for granted at home). 

Driving to my family friend’s house I was shocked at the tropical, lush, and green nature of the landscape. It really is a rain forest! KL is a beautiful city but I was much too tired and needing to shower to explore today. I felt a little off but I assumed it was just the jet-lag so it was a lazy day resting around their house in Petaling Jaya (just outside KL).

 Here is a map of Malaysia (Singapore is the little island at the bottom)

DAY 2

After a restless night of feeling sick and not tired, I was eager to explore the city. My mother’s friend took me out and about downtown KL with her driver. It was beautiful to see the variety of houses and architecture. I was shocked by the sheer number of stores and people. Looking back on my understanding of Asia before departure I did not really understand the heat, the smells and the way of life that I was embarking into.

Our first real destination after some errands was to some funky little stores for clothes. Clothes are CHEAP here. I love it!!! I bought a dress, shorts, and a jumper for 55 RM this day which is divided by 3.09 for Canadian equivalence. I was restraining myself knowing not to spend all my nickels in one place but I couldn’t help but be excited.

We then went to an Indian restaurant for lunch. I was feeling fine and hungry. I ate some curry on a banana leaf feeling quite shocked and in awe that just a day or two prior I was binging on chocolate (...that I thought wouldn’t exist in Asia...but it does) before I left in the snowy city of Toronto.

 LUNCH! 

After this late lunch we were getting tired so we finished with getting some groceries. I saw an ugly fruit, that is like a jack fruit (similar to durian) and smelt it. I started feeling quite sick as a few minutes passed and believe it or not I was sick in the store. None of the fruit for me in the future thank you... the thing is it didn't even smell that bad..

 Who knew this would make me sick without even eating it?

This is when I realized I was getting sick. That evening I felt not amazing and lounged around. All night I was up not sleeping and vomiting. I had the flu :( I was sadly up all night getting sick as well. Not so nice.

DAY 3

I took this day-off mostly to rest. I felt rather sick and yucky so that was really unfortuanate. I spent a lot of time reading travel books outside (in the shade) because it was so hot and I felt so crumby. By dinner I was able to hold down some food so that made me feel better. I started to get ready for school as it is why I am in Asia (**actually that is a lie- I came to travel)!  I was rather down today because now the jet lag was going away and I was quite sad I didn't feel better.

A papaya tree in their families' backyard!

DAY 4

Feeling much better I was up at 8 to explore the city! I went downtown with my mom's friend and the whole drive downtown (15 minutes maybe) she explained everything I pointed to out the window. For those who don't know I was shocked to learn that people drive on the left-hand side of the road. This is because Malaysia was a colony of England. I think it made me feel a little car sick as I had not fully recovered from the flu. The sight of the Patronas towers however drastically altered my mood.

It was rather exciting. The bottom is a mall.So i got to window shop and see the building from all angles. It was built by an Argentinian architect to express the cultural heritage of the country by using shapes and characteristics of Muslim architecture. Patronas is a main oil company in Malaysia and the country itself is quite oil rich of a fine grade of oil which they export out.

After seeing the towers we shopped for school stuff such as a pillow and kettle. I felt like a freshman again. I was moving into res in a day and I was very excited.

I started feeling a bit ill again and after eating some delicious Japanese bread I got sick driving around downtown like a 6-year-old again in the car. It was quite disgusting. So we went to a pharmacy to get some motion sickness drugs...believe it or not after that it was the end of me being sick.

A park (the Hornbill (the national bird) and butterfly parks are here too -i will have to go back!)

The National Mosque

Really beautiful buildings

So in the afternoon I felt ready to shop again, knowing that shopping always makes me feel better anyways. I got some linen pants, cargos, a tank top and a t-shirt for very cheap. I love shopping in Asia but I realised I have to pace myself. I do have a lot more time here so i limited myself to only those clothes and some more items for school.

An old English polo club

 The window architecture coverings were designed so woman could look out without being seen

For dinner, I had incredibly fresh japense sushi. The sashimi (fresh sliced raw fish) was so fresh and delicious I couldn't believe it. I  was also very happy I was keeping food down. Later that evening I just got ready for school the next day!



DAY 5

Driving to Singapore. We left at about 9 am and had a nice drive down the beautiful green country of Malaysia. You can see the mountains as you drive and in the trees if you look closely you can sometimes see monkeys. A lot of plantations were along this drive. Palm oil is a big export of Malaysia. There were also a lot of fruit farms. It was sooo green I took a picture but it DOES NOT capture the beauty.

For lunch we stopped in a small town called Tangkak (nearish to Malacca). It was very cute and clean. My mom's friend and her friend (who came along to drive me to Singapore) took me out for beef noodles. Delicious! They are homemade rice noodles too!!!

I crossed the border not long after...and now my next update will be about SINGAPORE my new home for the next four months as I live in res at NTU.