Hello from Malaysia! PART 1

After a delayed 10 days or so I have finally gained access to the internet without having to pay or worry about being kicked off by other interested users. This first entry may be short, and I don't have the ability to upload photos or videos, but it will have to do for now.

The journey from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur went well, Amy made it through all the security thermal scans with a slight fever, Asiana Airlines was one of the best I have ever experienced and we met up with Eric easily in Hanoi, Vietnam for our overnight layover. After spending the night in Hanoi at a quiet hostel, we left early the next morning in route to our first long term destination: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is a very diverse city, hot and humid, very westernized and development taking place everywhere. The city limits are a patchwork of apartment and cookie-cutter home neighborhoods being constructed amidst jungle, while the downtown area is a busy Metropolis. The city seems to be a melting pot for all of Asia, there are so many different types of people here, along with the very modern buildings and transportation facilities it makes you think you are on some sort of intergalactic spaceport. Eric and I were just waiting to walk into a bar and see the Mos Eisley alien band playing. We stayed at a nice, clean and modern looking hostel called Back Home. While the city looks impressive, that was really all I took from our experience there, some interesting temples and gardens, but not all the much to see. The Petronas Towers, built by the Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas were at one time the tallest buildings in the world, today they are now only the tallest twin-towers in the world and 4th tallest overall I believe. We waited about 2 hours for a free trip to the skybridge connecting them, about 40 stories up and as far as tourists can go. Neat, but luckily it was FREE. At the base sits a mall filled with all the world's top designers and retail stores, no big whoop, essentially Bellevue Square. Kuala Lumpur would fit right in back in the US, everyone seems to speak english, all signs and advertisements are in english, US stores and companies are everywhere. You want an Auntie Anne's pretzel, you can get one, get some shades at an Oakley store, sure, then go to KFC or Pizza hut, go right ahead.

We did manage to find some neat parts of the city, namely the Chinatown district and the heavily Indian concentrated part of town "the Brickyards". Food has not been that exciting so far, with many of the eateries being from the US, and the rest a mix of mediocre Chinese and Indian restaurants. We did however find one curry house where I enjoyed some of the best Indian I have ever had.

It rains hard here, the lightening storms are intense and I got sick with Amy's cold not long after arriving. Next we were off to Malaysia's largest and most coveted national park, Taman Negara. Hope to get some pictures and videos up soon...