Tag: Malaysia
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KL, Phuket, and Chiang Mai
Here’s a quick update because it’s been two weeks since I’ve written anything and it could be a while before I have time to write anything more. Kuala Lumpur I flew from Langkawi back to KL for a few days to take care of some errands, the most important of which was getting a 60-day tourist visa for Thailand. I slightly fouled up the application process my first time at the Thai embassy – I didn’t have a photocopy of my passport – and the embassy was closed the following day because of a national holiday, so I stayed in…
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Langkawi
On a hot and bright Monday morning in Penang, I caught the 8:30 Langkawi “fast ferry”, a simpler alternative to flying or taking the bus. As I learned that morning, the term “fast ferry” is a euphemism for “massive speedboat”. A bit before 9:00, about a hundred travelers boarded the boat and as we left the dock, everyone was in high spirits, looking out the windows, pointing, laughing, smiling, and taking lots of photos. However, the overall mood of the boat’s occupants was about to change very quickly. As we left Penang and accelerated to full speed, the bluish skies…
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Penang
For some inexplicable reason, it took me a little while before I got into the swing of things in George Town. I’d say it took me a solid 48 hours before I was starting to feel the city. I don’t have a good reason for this other than maybe the weather was getting to me; if it wasn’t hot and humid, it was raining. But I’ll give credit where credit is due: in the evenings in between torrential downpours, it’s very pleasant here. If it’s not too muggy. The art walk is what turned it around for me. In the…
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Middle of Malaysia
Taman Negara The minibus ride along the winding highway from KL to Jerantut was pretty uneventful, though I did have an unexpected moment of nostalgia along the way. At one point, I looked up from my book (On The Road, funny enough) to admire the countryside and was greeted by an expanse of rolling hills and valleys covered in dark green trees. A rest stop with a McDonald’s whizzed by, as did a massive billboard for paintball. Involuntarily, I was transported twelve years back in time, sitting on a Greyhound bus making its way along the winding highways in Pennsylvania…
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Kay Ell
Before getting into my thoughts on Kuala Lumpur and what I’ve been up to for the last week, I’d like to share the view I currently have from my table at Skybar: Yup, that’s happening. The Petronas Towers are the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. They’ve got a futuristic look but they still have the classiness of sparkling diamonds. I’m so enraptured by these buildings that they alone could almost convince me to work for Petronas, if only it wasn’t an oil and gas company. Here are some much better photos taken with my camera and tripod: A quite…
