Greeting hivers. I have not posted here in ASEAN community for ages as I have been active over at the sportstalk community. But as this post has nothing about sport I think here is a great place to post in. Im currently traveling between Phuket and Jakarta and took a little break along the way. Im in KL. I like it here. I really do. To be honest I think the main reason I'm enjoying my weekend here is because I'm not in Thailand. I love S.E. Asia and always get a kick out of being anywhere in this part of the world. Downtown Tokyo, rural Philippines, Thai mountains, Indo beaches or in this case - the hustle and bustle of Malaysia's hip capital Kuala Lumpur - affectionately known as KL by locals and regular visitors alike.
It's been years since I was here. The city has matured and it feels more and more like Singapore these days. Wide treelined streets, restored colonial neighbourhoods with way-too-cool cafes, clean and well-ordered infrastructure, mega shopping malls and gleaming public transport. I remember when I was a backpacker here in the early 90s, there was some kind of governmental campaign underway about the "2020 vision", meaning they would be officially a developed country by then. 2020 seemed so far away to me at that time, mind bending that I still live in Asia and 2020 has been and gone.
I'm mostly here to visit my beautiful girl that is working on a 2 year contract in KL. She is from Bangkok and her life here in KL is a definite improvement (her words). Salary is higher, lifestyle is better and of course she gets to enjoy that smug thrill of living and working overseas. Something most people don't get to experience but once tasted is hard to kick.
I loved the neighbourhood of Bukit Bintang and in particular this very cool Peruvian restaurant called Piscos. They served authentic Ceviche - I'm qualified to call it authentic as I spent a lot of time in Peru gorging myself on Ceviche. This is the best Ceviche I have tasted outside of Peru. They also served that awesome cocktail made with egg whites - The Pisco Sour. And many others in different flavours - we got pretty trashed and the bill was terrifying! But for those visiting or living in KL that are looking for something cool and different I cant recommend Piscos enough. Check it out on Google but bring money!
Another great thing about KL is that as a foreign visitor communication is very easy. Seems everyone speaks English and well. This is not the case in Thailand where I live - and although I speak quite good Thai now, it's still a frustration that educated people in Thailand often (not always) have very limited English skills. Here in KL the restaurant staff and the taxi driver and the security guard all speak very good English. This makes life easy - you can ask directions, get the low down on the best food on the menu etc etc.
Anyway today is my last day and this evening I am sleeping in the capsule hotel at KLIA2 - the Air Asia International airport. My surfboards are safely stored there and as my flights leaves at 8am it seems clever to sleep right near the gate. My trip to KL was super but of course the highlight was time with my gal - and Chili Crabs on the street with a cold Tiger Beer...haha
I'm Jobiker and I don't care what my old pal Fantana says - KL is pretty OK! Peace.