Arrival in Kuala Lumpur: feeling swanky and unexpected delights.
Night view from the infinity pool on the 8th floor of our building. It is so hard to believe this place is half the cost of a Budget Inn at home. Close up of the iconic Petronas Towers from our bedroom window. Actual size with the construction continuing on the big black building named Merdeka 118 and not open yet for a few more months. The stadium in the foreground is where independence from Britain was announced and celebrated in 1957. Merdeka means independence in Malay.Mosque built as part of the Merdeka complex. The image is iconic around here of the independence announcement. the building is meant to evoke the same image with the spire being the man’s arm. During the day. Overly repetitive, I know, but the building is becoming a friend we see many times per day. And most of the time wherever we are in town we can see where home is.Swing on the roof level of our building.
I am mostly a person who loves to be in nature and seeing the vistas and animals when I travel. But when it is over 90F and humid, and you get to a place where air conditioning is actually cold, it feels so good and allows the nervous system to calm. In most lodgings we’ve had so far, we have been in a budget conscious mode. The key goes in a slot on the wall that turns the power on in the room. Which is a great energy saving measure. And it means you come home hot and sweating profusely and the room is hot for quite a while before it cools down. Our place in Taman Negara, the AC was quite weak and it was pretty warm all the time. Being here is such a relief. Who doesn’t love some luxury? There is still a lot to see and learn here.
Very cool Chinese ancestral hall for the Chan/Tan/Chen/Chin etc clan. It is about 2 blocks from our place. Clans would help you get started working when you immigrated and the hall was an important place in the early 1900’s especially. The detail on all the figurines on the roof are just exquisite. Flaaah Bakery and cafe is about 2.5 blocks from our place. Left to right: Cinnamon latte, Spinach spinach spinach (think giant spanakopita), crookie (chocolate chip hazelnut cookie kept thick and wrapped in croissant dough), and rose latte.The rest of the case… this is an amazing place and the staff are really sweet. Buckwheat crepe (gluten free!) Magic little alleyway just off a side street with dumpsters on it.They are made to look like mahjong tiles. But they move and flutter over your head. The lattice work lets vines grow so it is shaded and cooler than the street. Wall art that incorporates actual objects into the pictureNote the jump rope actually exists, and the basket. We had no idea this was here. We just wandered in on our first morning walk. It really felt like magic!
It was probably ten days later we went to the Chinese History Museum and found out this was the street where very poor indentured workers would come to gamble and smoke opium. They were usually fleeing famine or persecution at home and many lost their lives from the despair of the hard life here. Knowing this makes it all the more magic in its transformation.
We came by a different day in the evening. The lights are such a great addition.
There is so much complex history here. I’m learning, but I started from such low understanding that I am still quite the beginner.
Jessica Wandering 
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