**NOTE: Our renters are moving out at the end of August. If you are or know anyone that may be interested in renting our home, please let me know and I’ll send you the information. Also, we’ve compiled our first inventory list of stuff we’ve picked up! If you want a list of what we’ve got, let us know! Thank you!**
The flight from Jakarta was excellent. If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods, I highly recommend them. The staff is friendly, the plane was spacious, we got free COOKED food (fantastic chicken curry), free drink (not just soda, but wine and stuff too!) and a smooth flight.
Once we landed, everything was new again. Although it was only a two hour flight, it felt like another world. Yes, it’s still Southeast Asia, but Malaysia is a lot smaller than Indonesia. There is also a bit more wealth here, and so far it’s felt a lot more like NZ than Indo. The airport is an hour outside of town and we had a nice ride in with a personal shuttle. The driver spoke decent English and talked all about the country on the way in. There were many empty housing editions along the zillion-lane highway due to the recession. Once KL showed up on the horizon, I was amazed yet again. It’s a beautiful city jeweled by the Patronus Towers, two spires that were once the tallest buildings in the world. We checked into our little hotel and went for a walk.
The first thing I noticed walking around downtown was that I felt much safer here. Not to knock Indonesia, because I loved it, but KL (at least this section) is a lot more organized than the majority of Surabaya or Jakarta was. Especially Jakarta. There is a mall nearby where we beelined to (Harry Potter tickets!) and indulged in some American eats. Western culture has penetrated Kuala Lumpur to a greater degree than the entire Indonesian nation, it seems. And just about everyone speaks English. Great for a lazy language learner (LLL) like me.
The next few days we wander around here, then we have to figure out where we’re headed next. Our Malaysia visa is 90 days (free!) so we have plenty of time to decide.
Rhys' Pieces 