Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Kuala Lumpur Streets

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I really enjoyed my trip to Malaysia and have a bunch of random pictures to upload so here is the first set.

In general, I found Malaysians to be friendly and opinionated, the food flavorful and the overall atmosphere warm and welcoming.  Both KL and Penang were overrun with tourists (like me!), but only Penang forcefully presented its character and gave a strong impression of self.  KL felt like any major metropolis, albeit one built up in the middle of the jungle and filled with Malay, Chinese and Indian people.  However, I don't think this is necessarily bad.  There is a reason why KL is such a popular vacation destination.  Did you know that KL was the world's 4th most visited city in 2009?  I think part of the reason is that, for many tourists, a favorable exchange rate makes it a nice place to shop.  Additionally, many KL residents speak English so Western/Australian tourists don't find it terribly intimidating.  It is both different and similar at the same time.  Anyhow, don't go to KL expecting to find a totally exotic experience but do expect to see a ton of hotels.