Malaysia

Well, on the road again. This time to Malaysia,  Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Working with Orangutans and Pygmy Elephants. Was suppose to go to Rwanda, Madagascar and Mauritius for gorilla trekking and to work with lemurs,  but due to ebola in the Rwanda area earlier this year I had a change of plans. So now going to a different part of the world and working with Orangutans.
Flew through Narita and then to Kuala lumpur in Malaysia. While in the Priority Lounge waiting for my next flight got a message from Robert and Vanelle from Hawaii. They were here too, so met them at their gate to talk for awhile. Always nice to see people I know.
Upon arrival in the early morning at Kuala Lumpur, I took the express rail to the Sentral bus station and then took the train to Ipoh in the afternoon.

All pretty straightforward and easy to do.  Bought train tickets online and my esim from Airalo kicked in and I have money in all the countries denomination already. They didn’t even stamp my passport at the Kuala Lumpur airport. Just screened my passport and the gate opened up.  So easy. Everything was done without any human interaction. Way of the future, I guess.
Ipoh is quite the place. It is very hazy. I was told it is from the burning in Indonesia. Driver told me that it happens ever year in the months of August and Sept. Sure is hot, humid and hazy.

The other night there were thunderstorms with pouring rain. I was eating at the resturant and had to walk carefully back to hotel. I got soaked.

Went to Perak Cave Temple the next morning. It was amazing. I got there before opening and volunteers were cleaning up. I volunteered to help but they gave me tea instead. It was quite impressive.

Can’t believe they made this all inside a cave. I walked up the 450 steps to the top.
Once there though it was so hazy you couldn’t see anything.

Took a Grab to the next temple.   Grab sure is easy and only costs like $3. The next temple was not as impressive but they have a beautiful pool and turtles in the back pond. Two turtles were busy doing the “nasty” while another flipped over on his back. They said he’d perish if he wasn’t unrighted. That tried with sticks to no avail then I remembered my selfie stick. Took it out and the guy was able to turn him over. His partner said we saved a life.  Made me feel real good!

The other temples within walking distance were beautiful. The Taoist temple was closed due the heavy rain last night but the others were open and colors and the visuals were eye-popping. 

Took the grab back to the old town where I am staying. Rested up and at 9 pm walked to the the park for the Malaysia Day celebrations. It was great seeing all ages dance, perform and just have a lot of fun.  Even in the horribly hot, humid weather. No matter what culture dancing and singing is good for the soul.

Left the next morning to catch the train back to Kuala Lumpur, but not after eating some Kaya and toast along with soft boiled egg and white coffee.

Last night I tried the flat noodles like in ramin. It was yummy. So smooth and soft the noodles.

Ipoh is famous for their white coffee roasted with palm oil margarine served with condensed milk. Ypu can get it with low sweet or more sweet. All their food is delicious. Has a Chinese influence as many Chinese migrated here for the tin mining.

After arriving in Kuala Lumpur  I decided to walk around the area. Lots of shopping malls nearby. This area Bukit Bitang is an international district. I did find a Donki store. On my way home a lady came up to me and started following me. I told her to go away but she kept following me to my nearby hotel. I told the security by the door but he did not seem to be too upset by it. I was very upset and asked to speak to the manager. I complained and said I didn’t feel safe. Of course he said this doesn’t happen here and if I changed hotels there would be no refund.  I said I didn’t care about the $ but felt safety was more important. He said for me to rest and promised me it wouldn’t happen again. Don’t know how he can promise that, but spent the night and will see how it goes. I don’t really like the big cities, but I do like to see the sites. I felt safe in Ipoh and am looking forward to Sabah the smaller community areas.
Today went to the Petronas Twin Towers. 88 floors high with a skybridge connecting the 2 towers at the 41st floor. It is quite an amazing feat. The highest twin towers in the world and all occupied by Petronas workers. I never realized Petronas is one of the largest and most successful global energy company in the world.

Hung around Petronas Towers and the shopping center for the day while I waited for my Food Tour. Boy, this place has soo many shopping malls.

Everything from Japanese Shopping Malls to Chinese and in between.

The food tour was fun. There was a couple ftom Florida with us. Wecwete guided by Malik, a local. He took us t o many local Malay places to try the food.

As I finish with Kuala Lumpur I will remember the big city with crowded streets, excessive shopping malls, but I loved the covered and elevated walkways to get between major places, the food and the massive buildings. I think I prefer Ipoh and am anxious to see what awaits in Saba, Borneo.