vagablonding

I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Thursday, March 11th, till Sunday, March 14th. Below are some of my favorite pictures from my 4 days there. You can also check out my posts on the Islamic Art Museum and my visit to the Petronas Twin Towers Skybridge.

I flew with Air Asia from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was treated to a lovely sunset in the air:

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia and is home to almost 2 million people. Unlike Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital which has a higher population and only 1 significantly tall building, Kuala Lumpur is full of skyscrapers. It also has multiple rapid train systems which keep the various areas of the city well connected.

While wandering around near Pasar Seni (Central Market) I saw some Graffiti I really liked:

If you’re a shopper you should check out Petaling Street (Jalan Petaling) in Chinatown. There’s plenty to buy during the day, and a whooole lot more at night when the street gets so packed with stalls and shoppers it takes you 5 minutes to walk 50 feet. It was so dense I couldn’t even get a picture! I personally liked the markets in Phnom Penh better because I found clothes that were more my style there, but there is something for everyone on Petaling Street, and the prices are great! Bargain hard, though. The prices will start out incredibly inflated and you can usually end up paying 1/4th or less of the first price a seller gives you. The walk-away tactic works exceptionally well here.

Another interesting place to check out is Little India. There’s plenty of great food to try, and there’s decent shopping too, especially during the weekly night market on Saturdays.

In Little India I bought myself a Punjabi Suit (beautifully decorated colorful long tunic + pants + scarf). I had been wanting one for a while, and after trying a bunch of shops I found one that I knew was made for me as soon as I saw it. I got the price down from 280rm to 120rm, including adjustments done in shop to make it fit me exactly. I love it so much I want to go to India just so I can wear it all the time 🙂

So there’s this fruit called Durian that smells incredibly terrible. Like gagging when you smell it terrible. Apparently it tastes fantastic though; the saying is “tastes like heaven, smells like hell”. Anyway, durian is banned from most hotels and hostels because of the smell, so you see signs like this up all over:

When it came time for me to leave Kuala Lumpur to go home I went to Kuala Lumpur International Airport and found out that my flight was delayed 6 hours due to snow in Beijing. Lame. I passed the time by walking around and taking pictures.

I ended up missing my 2nd flight and getting stuck in China for 24 hours. Post about that next time on vagablonding dot com!

I got in to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the night of Thursday, March 11th, and checked into the Monkee Inn, a hostel in Chinatown run by Americans. For 30rm (rm = Malaysian Ringgit, 1rm = $0.30) I had a very small single fan room with a really comfy bed, free wifi and breakfast, and a shared bath. Just fine for the price.

On Friday, March 12th, after a welcome breakfast of pb&j, coffee, and Sting for background music, I took a taxi to the Islamic Arts Museum for 10rm (overpaid!). I paid the 6rm student price to get into the the museum, so that makes up for the ripoff taxi.

The museum’s current feature exhibit was Steve McCurry’s photography and it was AMAZING! Here are some of the many pictures that were there:

There was a big group of university-aged Muslim women there, and some wanted to take pictures with me. I’ll miss people asking to take pictures with me when I get home, haha.

The permanent collection of the museum includes many manuscripts, metal work, ceramics, jewelry, weapons, textiles and more. Below are some of my favorite items from the collection.

Enameled Porcelain Bowl and Cover, China, 1772 CE:

Hukkah Base, India, 19th century CE:

Fly Whisk, Horsehair with Silver Mounted Horn Handle, India, 19th century CE:

Kitab Tuhfat Al-Husain Madaih A’Immah, Iran, 1859 CE:

Tashrih Al-Badan (Anatomy of the Body), Iran, 17th century CE:

Al Qur’an, Ottoman Turkey, 1852 CE:

Detail of above:

Bridal Crown, Uzbekistan, 18th century CE:

The museum itself is pretty neat also. Every room has an intricate domed ceiling.

I wanted to go to their apparently amazing Lebanese restaurant, but they were only doing a buffet of non-vegetarian food so that was a no-go. I bought 2 postcards for 2rm each, and took another 10rm taxi back. Tomorrow I’m visiting the Petronas Twin Towers!