Kuala Lumpur was a strange and unfamiliar land, where Christmas trees are perpetually surruonded by camera-wielding tourists, and where huge malls dot the landscape. Not to worry, I came prepared!
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My sense of direction is absolutely appalling, so the tourists' map (which I photographed from the airplane magazine) came in handy when I got lost in the maze of malls. If my camera battery had died at the time, I would've been in a sticky sticky situation.
Taxi drivers, on the other hand, know their way around better. We hired one of the to drive us to The Curve, Malaysia's "first lifestyle pedestrianised shopping mall"
Model: Sze En
It's not often that I'm impressed by a shopping place, but the designers did a fantastic job with The Curve's exterior. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about some parts of the interior. I would've spent more time taking photos of the place, but Dad and Sze En were always eager to be on the move...
One thing that DID manage to stop Dad was the sight of NanXiang Steamed Bun Restaurant! I do recommend their tea, but only if you're not short on cash. Most Chinese restaurants in Malaysia only serve a "standard" type of Chinese tea; I haven't been able to find different brews anywhere else (possibly because I haven't actively searched for any, heh heh). Oh, and they have the quaintest china, too.
Cute!
These little buggers cost us a bomb
For grub of lower price but not necessary lower quality, Cousin Jenny took us to Taman Megah, an oversized open-air food court.
Many many many stalls
My beloved claypot rice; Something which is non-existent in Perth
You should know what this is ^_^
Scale: The mug on the left is about 15cm high
I'm normally not fussed about food (you might think I'm lying, since most of the photos above are of edibles, but it's true) but a strange thing happened that evening. As I walked around, deciding what I'd have for dinner, I couldn't help grinning when I saw some of the stuff. Pohpiahs, claypots, kueh chaps, etc. etc. etc.... I didn't miss them over the past 3 years because I never thought about them, but seeing them in front of me again was quite an experience!
Oh yeah, this entry is entitled Faces and Places, so I should show some faces, eh?
Cousin Jenny. She's married, guys... tough luck!
Slurp
(Naruto and his ramen are from chapter 181 of Masashi Kishimoto's manga)
Yes, I'm a mean mean brother who aims to shoot the most horrible photos possible of his beloved younger (but taller) sibling. To be fair, here's a stupid photo of myself.
Reeeee-tard!
This face of mine was snapped by Voon in Times Square, when I met up with the BB guys (and girl).
Representatives of 1st KL, 3rd KL, 10th KL, and 1st Kuching
L-R: Caleb, Debbie, Sam, Kenny, Sze Howe
The 5 of us were the ones who stayed the longest, actually. There was a much bigger group at the start, including many whom I've never met before. ^^;;
The story's like this: I first met Debbie, a budding young artist, through a chance encounter in deviantART. After learning that we were both members of the Boys' Brigade, we got to know each other more by insulting each other at every given chance commenting on each others' art. After that, I was discovered by Kenny Voon, who knew both Debbie and some UndergroundSquare members (partly because he shares the same name as one of the UGS founders, hehe). Small world, huh? Finally, I met everyone else through the BB Malaysia forum, and also become Sai Hong's correspondent for his International Relations award.
So, I thought I might as well meet up with them in their hometown! (No, I am not aware of any dangers about meeting up with people you met online) We had dinner and chatted at some Egyptian-themed eatery, then chatted some more at Starbucks (their coffee is overrated, actually). What else...? We also did a badge trade, hee!
Spot the odd badge out, among the bottom 2 rows
Captain Grove quite liked my new 'Arts, Crafts and Hobbies' badge when I showed it to him. ^_^ A certain 10th KL sergeant now possesses my old Australian 'Skills' badge. These types of souvenirs are the best, I reckon.
Alas, given my short stay in KL I wasn't able to see everyone that I wanted to... Mian my fellow cross-dresser from Penang, who cancelled her debating competition in KL; Annabelle from my counterpart class in St Mary's, who was far far away in Sunway; and Sam the rhizobium who was also somewhat far away (and had a very squeezed shopping schedule to top things off).
No matter, I managed to catch up with the Kuchingites at a later stage. More details in the next entry which will be published over the next few weeks or so!
A paint-less, door-less, seatbelt-less (actually, make it seat-less... period) 4WD on the road to recovery
The new era of anti-smoking campaigns -- Smokers get called nasty names (looks that way, no?)
