Malaysia: all you (should) do is eat

If you're like Ry and me, and you love food...Malaysia is the place to go! We saw the major tourist attraction in Kuala Lumpur: the Petronas twin towers...but other than that, your options in KL are to shop and eat. As we previous alluded to, the beautiful Kuala Lumpur shopping centers don't exactly match our budget. However, the shopping centers are a tourist attraction in itself and they house great food adventures. Our hotel is beautiful and a real bargain too. It's also just a hop on the monorail to the bustling shopping and eating district of the city. There you will find even more extravagant hotels, tons of high-end shopping, and lots and lots of food. For about 10 ringit (or $3USD) you can great a huge portion of a delicious Malay specialty. This place is not for those worried about their waistlines, but it's still quite a bit healthier than typical American fare.

Onward to Malaysia

We didn't realize that the day we needed to leave Singapore was also a public holiday-- Good Friday. That's what we get for losing track of what day of the week it is. Our hostel manager called about six different bus companies before he found one with just two seats left leaving for Melaka, Malaysia. We grabbed the last two seats and headed for Melaka, a cultural and historically rich town in Malaysia. Getting across to Malaysia from Singapore is no quick trip...you need to go disembark the bus to get through Singapore customs, get back on the bus, and disembark the bus 10 minutes later to get through Malaysian customs (the line took about 1.5 hours). It was worth it though because Melaka was a charming place to visit. Our homestay was very modest, but it was much more genuine compared to the luxury hotels that line the main roads. We only got to see Melaka at night since that's when we arrived and left the next day, but we had delicous food and saw the notable mark the Portugese and Dutch colonists left on Malaysia throughout the small city. After one night in Malaka we headed for the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur-- known for the Petronas Trade Twin Towers (once the tallest buildings in the world) and its urban setting full of shopping, great eats, and affordable lodging. We're staying in our first real hotel on this trip!! So far Kuala has been pretty cool, but we haven't seen a lot. The Malay food is ridiculously good, and I'm determined to learn how to cook it back home. Today we went to one of the many multilevel malls nearby via the Monorail and got the most recent Harry Potter on dvd to watch back in the room (it cost the equivilent of $2). We're going to see the Petronas towers tomorrow!