A New Adventure

In Kuala Lumpur Right Now

Could'ne help posting this, but at this very moment I am writing from a shady internet cafe in the china town area of Kuala Lumpur and every hour spent here has been an enriching experience. The sweet experiences I am having here is making my one day stay really memorable. The people here are too helpful. They go out of their way to help you out. Most of them can speak broken english so communicating is not a problem.

Anyhow, stating chronologically, the first mild shock I got was to see everything non vegetarian in all the joints in the food court. I asked a couple of them if they had 'anythig' without meat, but they were negative, finally I got this lady to get me fried rice with vegetable, but I could sense some pieces of meat (a couple) while I was eating it. No, complains. Next instead of taking the express rail from airport to city center, I took the bus. Although it took more time (but was cheaper), I wanted to see the view along the roads, and it is really a green place - tropical rain forests you see!

I was not knowing where to go next, someone suggested me to look for cheap accomodation in China Town, while I was on my way looking the map, out pops a guy asking if I need help. He then walked with me to a couple of hostels, but before that I walked with him to the postoffice as he has some work there, and then to his house, where he has to drop some things, although later I thought 'something' was fishy about him ;) but he did help me to find a place to stay, although not in china town, but another happening place here called, Bukit Bingtan.

I am walking on Jalan Bukit Bingtang, I see a man, I see a crowd around, I got my small little space and started to see what everyone else was. It turns out that today is some festival here, and artists from different country perform various street tricks at different places around the city. This guy swallowed a 4 feet long baloon down his throat and didnt even burp.

Next I am on my way to central market, this is the place where local handicraft items are sold. On the way had a delecious Daab pani. The guy there probably in his fifities, was a nice chatty fellow. Taking about the rich and the poor indians to the girls of india being very nice, he asked me why was I travelling alone ;). I promised him to come after some years (read that two, I slipped and it just came out of my mouth) to have his daab paani. I tried to give him some tip but he refused. I was indeed surprised.

Finally I reach, central market. A nice enclosure of local stuff. Malaysia basically has three different kinds of people - Malay, Chineese, and Indians. There were different corridors there for the three sytle of handicraft. I found a lady from pakistan selling things from india, pakistan and iran. Again a nice talkative lady who tells me tricks to bargain there, and herself gave me 50% discount. She was the first person I was able to talk to in Hindi and she was from peshawar and understood urdu.

Next I enter an indian shop - not the indian you are thinking of, this was an american-indian items shop. The guy there says that he feels I am from chile - from all the palce he could think of - chile. I wonder if people there do look like me. Btw sometime later I was buying dried figs from a small girls and she hesitatingly asks me where I was from. My true answer also surprised her, she was small and shy and blurted out she thought I was from 'Australia', duh! probably she got a bit nervous when I asked her about her guess.

Anyways, some more lillte things here that has shaped this journey so far. Still some more hours to go tonight, and some more tomorrow. Plan to do tomorrow the real touristic way - will try for Petronas towers and Batu caves. Lets see. :)

(sorry for the errors if any, I did not even have time to read it myself, the cafe tme is ending. its RM$4 == Rs52 per hour:)

posted by Nikhil @ 5:44 AM