I was invited by my friend ,who is working in Kuala Lumpur, for a quick visit. I love Asia ( or Europe ) for the fact that you could hop on a plane ( or train, as in Europe) and in a matter of a short movie’s time, you are in a totally different cultures with delicious cuisines, interesting sights and occasionally smell. I booked this trip prior to my arrival to Vietnam on a cheap, no-frill airline Air Asia that is based out of Malaysia. For 126 USD round trip fare, I got to sit on a plane but that was it, everything else had to be bought ( air is still free). After a brief 1 hour and 45 minute flight, I arrived at the Kuala Lumpur airport which was a good 30 minute car-ride from downtown KL. The airport itself was not impressive but the scenery, roads, and KL were. Malaysia in general is very green with many tropical rainforests as it sits closer to the equator than Vietnam, with a population of about 22 million inhabitants of Malays, Chinese and Indians. It is very advance in term of developments when compared to Vietnam with many highways, skyscrapers one of which made famous in a movie is the Petronas towers ( Petronas is an oil and gas company), public parks and shopping malls. For a relatively small country, it surprisingly has 3 lines of automobile that are actually not bad looking, unlike the Yugo or Traban. It is a sad reminder to me that in a matter of 20 years many Asian countries, benefitting from peace and open economic policies, have surpassed Vietnam in leaps and bounce. I am sure Vietnam will make it there some days but the question is when.
I spent my only full day in KL going to a national rain forest park there with incredible view of the downtown KL when we got to the top ( the canopy). The trek up there was not too bad but required a good pair of shoes. Along the way I discovered many lost soles ( not souls) as shoes simply died from the many slippery steps. We passed by many small water falls and streams, large tropical trees and a few colorful bugs. Thankfully, the leeches were on vacation that day as I had been warned to look out for these blood-suckers. Once we reached the canopy, there was a line of people waiting to get on the suspension bridges made up of wooden planks and ropes. As terrified as I am of height, I summoned my courage and took small steps gingerly across while praying that these wooden planks would not decide to retire early that day. From the top, the trees and the rainforest ground were a few hundred feet below but enough to make me hold on tightly to the rope railings. We made our way back down to the base, made more treacherous by the falling rain with the slippery ground but we managed to keep our bottoms dry. We had some interesting Malaysian snacks and coffee at the restaurant there while being entertained by nature with the soothing sound of millions of rain drops falling on the forest around us. Simply relaxing!
My friend and I then did a quick tour of Chinatown, hitting the local landmarks including some old Buddhist and Hindu temples, the open market and the central market with some good bargains before sitting down for some more Malaysian coffee and tea. Shopping there, surprisingly for me as I am not a shop-o-phile ( my made-up word), was quite enjoyable with many interesting art pieces, home decorations, fabrics for sale relatively cheaply, provided that you haggle the price. One of my many goals on this trip was to look for bargain pieces for our next fund-raiser and I may have found a place to return for more.
For dinner, I was treated to a Thai-Malaysian restaurant that nestled in a rainforest setting completed with a man-made waterfall. This place is 1 of 5 restaurants there, including Italian and Indochine cuisines, inside a large complex on a hillside that was just spectacular in terms of designs and ambience. We dined in large hut, next to that waterfall, overlooking the dark forest. The menu was extensive but we opted for mostly seafoods including river lobsters ( never knew such a creature existed!) and one of my favorite desserts, sweet rice with coconut milk and mango. The dishes were delicious and not expensive as dinner for 4 including wine, appetizers, entrees and desserts came to be about 156 USD total. Certainly more pricey compared to street foods but the atmosphere itself was worth every penny.
The next morning, my last day in KL, we took a stroll around the Petronas towers, taking in sights and sounds of the beautiful grounds, public parks and swimming pool. We visited a shopping mall which to me was the same as any in the US and had a quick dim sum before going to the airport. I was back on the plane to Vietnam and before long I was riding on the back of the motorbike crisscrossing the bustling streets of Saigon.
I have to put down Malaysia as the next destination for visit and to shop, along with Singapore as well as Bangkok. This time, I will bring my wife ( a certified shop-o-phile) and a large shopping bag. There are many more rain forests to explore and I heard there are some beautiful beaches to see, I just have to find the time !

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