*I'm currently in Singapore and have been since February. Can't believe it's been so long since my last blog update but here goes. This is dated late January. Will catch up with Malaysia first before describing the dream that is Singapore...!
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur:
Arriving in an airport you've never been to before is always somewhat of a daunting experience, but throw in a huge AirAsia argument, no booked hotel and an array of other random and frustrating things and you'll find yourself pretty stressed out! After a lot of help, patience and a very, very deep breath (thanks Bikram), we made it into Kuala Lumpur.
Cherrelle, Tina and I stayed at the Eclipse Guesthouse for one night before signing up for a whooping 6 week stay at Ribbon Stayzz in the heart of the city. Literally based in the equivalent of Oxford Circus in London, crazy!The air there is thick and smoggy, the roads are all different levels and the sewage vents smell pretty bad. Vagabonds line the streets and the food stalls sell the most amazing Indian, Filipino and Malaysian delights all under £3. The buildings differ between huge, warehouse style, dull squares to grand, complex detailed designs like the Petronas Towers. My biggest battle with this city however was...smoke. Cigarette smoke to be exact. Not only do people smoke as much as they breathe but they are not lucky enough to have the smoking ban which we do in England. Instead you find smoke everywhere, from the local corner shop to the clubs and even in hotel rooms! DISGUSTING and INSANE!
The night scene in KL is quite cool once you remove the potential cancer you could develop. Just like London, you have the swanky uptown clubs around the Twin Towers or the travellers area in Chang Kat Road for the more humble consumers. There are a few balcony garden areas in the clubs on this road which can make the smoke somewhat bearable.
Plenty of places to eat including the standard Western fast food joints. There are local Indian street stalls with the freshest roti while Chinatown offers many different dishes such as Oyster Kale and marinated Chicken. Yum! Little India, near Central Market, is where I found my favourite dish. It is actually an Indonesian dish made up of grilled fish, rice, vegetables, a boiled egg, chilli soup and tofu. All served with sweet soy sauce and a side soup. DELISH!
Random Story:
I joined in with a few traditional dances with a Malaysian group performing on the street celebrating a local festival. We danced on the streets of Central Market which was quite exciting and it was only for a short time but it was refreshing to do something different to Hip-Hop, after almost 11 years in that field. They taught me the steps which were quite basic and repetitive but allowed them to perform with great energy and ease. The costumes were grand and detailed with that touch of glamour essential for any performance.
Fact:
Never, and I mean never, go to the British Embassy in Malaysia for any sort of help or assistance with anything to do with Passports. They are officially useless. Everything now runs from Hong Kong and eventually will only operate out of the UK.
I've experienced everything from a job scam, an illegal offer to work, the worst case of flu EVER, almost losing my voice, gym stints, bed bugs and more! KL has been one huge, drawn out cocktail of smiles and tears. Speaking of which, the amount of CRACKS I have met have been immense. Lovely people but totally random and crazy. Ha! Shout out to Stefan, Timmy, Sofi, Ally, Joy, random Algerian dude who I thought was stalking me, Far East, Sasha, Sara, Stuart, Lamar and more. No less than 7 nationalities shared our dorm and we had special moments.
Annoying Fact:
My body clock whilst in Malaysia was absolutely upside-down. I would wake up at 2pm and go to sleep near 8am the next morning! Messed up! Seriously. I tried everything but sleeping pills. Luckily the transition to Singapore and full time working life sorted that problem out very quickly.
Birthdays:
Cherry's birthday included Tina and I hiding balloons, banners and signs as well as small gifts in the room whilst Stefan distracted her at the mall. It was all worth it in the end. Jam (Cherry's brother) came to stay for 10 days which was fun and we all went out to Chang Kat Road for some good times and funky moves : )
Bboys:
There is a club in town that holds training sessions and competitions weekly for local and international Bboy crews. I watched this for a quite a while. It was very impressive. The only downfall however...the smoke in the club! I could hardly breathe let alone dance, really don't know how they managed it!
Finally...
I seem to have something that attracts men from the Middle East. At least over here. It's almost a guarantee that someone will approach me, which is crazy! I got love for everyone but when it's at the point that they were seriously contemplating selling camels to who they thought was my boyfriend...it was pretty scary! Eeeeeeeek! KL has since come to a close but I remember anticipating the departure in February with hopes of travelling around Malaysia. Life is amazing, the lessons I'm learning everyday. Here is to happiness and health.
"To making it count." Jack Dawson
