Maylaysia, Day 1

Sunday, December 21, 2014

I'd planned to sleep in but the damn cough kept waking me up.  I finally got up at 8:00 a.m., after about five hours of fitful sleep.  The bathroom of my room is tiny.  It would fit comfortably in the walk in closet of my FL house, with room to spare.  And it has the most awesome shower ever.  Good water pressure, hot water and the steam helped my chest.

My goal was to head to Low Yat (which I keep calling Low Fat) Plaza.  It is a multi-story mall of nerds.  You want anything tech related?  They have it.

I took the free bus from in front of the hotel.  A nice lady on the bus told me when to get off.  Another nice lady tried to help me get from the bus stop to Low Yat Plaza and asked several other people, none of whom knew where it was.

I had a map and struck out, having no idea if I was heading in the right direction.  I asked people along the way and everyone was consistently friendly and helpful.  I'm proud that I have a Masters Degree but feel even prouder when I venture to a new country, not knowing the language and am able to get where I want to go. It makes me feel brave and independent to venture out alone and find my destination  Ok,  I'm no Sir Edmund Hillary, but still.

I took the scenic tour but after about 30 minutes of walking, found the IT plaza,  I expected something like the big IT mall in Bangkok.  No, better!  Floor after floor of geeks selling every electronic toy you could imagine, including amazing home theatre systems.

I talked to a lot of guys and finally found the computer I wanted.  I'd considered a convertible or touchscreen but they were more expensive and heavier.  I settled for the little beauty I'm typing now, which is very porrtable and has all the features I need.

After the walking, exploring and shopping, I was hungry.  There are a lot of options, so I just followed an Asian family through a doorway, down an escalator.  We ended up in a fabulous food court.  I'd eaten American Subway on my first night in Malaysia.  My next meal, at the food court, was Korean.  And while I enjoyed it, a 3 generation family of Chinese women stopped to ask me what I was eating and where I got it.  Traveling alone does not mean being alone.

I took a short cut back to the free bus and sat next to a local woman.  We started chatting (her English was fluent) and she was very curious about why I was alone in KL for Christmas.  She was excited to discover that I'm a Christian.  After a 30 minute bus ride, she hopped off with me at my stop.  She is 60, the youngest of 10, a KL native and offered to show me around.  We exchanged contact info and I hope our schedules will connect.

After resting for a couple of hours and working on my new computer, I set out again to explore the area around my hotel.

I'm incredibly close to both the Central Market and Petaling Street.  I'd hoped to find a new purse and discovered the only problem is deciding which one to buy.  I then started contemplating what to have for dinner.  So much fried chicken.  Or dried/fried meat burgers?  I ended up at another local food court.  I opted for Indian food.  Tandoori chicken and garlic naan.  $3.

I've walked more today than I have in a month.  I've met lovely people who seem genuinely friendly and helpful.  I'm comfy in my $35 a night hotel room.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow's explorations