First Impressions of Kuala Lumpur

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

NP: Alphaville - Big in Japan

Mood: Conflicted

Sweated in the bustle of Masjid Jamek today. Experienced the crowds of Chinatown on Petaling Street. Visited the Petronas Towers. Enjoyed the ease of transport via LRT. Ate two USA gorengs and a strange piece of street food (dough, corn and something a little sweet) bought off a man that looked very Indian. Accidentally ate tofu (bean curd) yesterday.

This is not Thailand. The first thing that separates the two countries is something we noticed immediately upon arrival: People here don't smile as much and are not as eager to help or serve. To the Thai this seems to come naturally. Of course there are exceptions, but Malaysia has definitely inherited a somewhat Finnish style of customer service - though luckily not to the same extent as Finland.

To those in need of a reminder in good Finnish customer service, I suggest visiting Särkisalmi and its only bar. Try ordering a drink right after some locals and pay attention to the bartender's expressions. Who am I kidding? You don't need to pay attention - you'll notice that sour scowl for certain! I think of the place fondly. I'm sure Artsi does as well.

A second thing we noticed was that the shape of people here is not as thin as it is in Thailand. There are curves and bellies abound, though not as much as in the West. Still, easier for two beer-bellied outlanders to blend in. They haven't even called me "big boss" here, as they did in Thailand. Here I'm simply "boss".

The reason for these shapes is at least partially explained by the bakeries we see around often. They are very popular and sell a variety of sweet pastries. Yum. But they are sorely lacking in the salty pastries department.

Unfortunately I've been feeling a little under the weather for the past two days, so excursions have been limited to light duty. Chinatown was a little overbearing with its aggressive merchants and repetitive stalls in the heat. I didn't feel like dealing with any aggressive marketing, so I immediately moved on once a merchant started to stuff his or her merchandise down my throat. Until that happened, I might peer at the wares.

This tactic worked well. Apart from food, I bought nothing from Chinatown. Didn't much see anything either...

Just before daylight faded we managed to get to the Petronas Twin Towers. They were enormous. What else is there to say about them? Suria Shopping Center at the foot of the towers is filled with classy stores mostly out of our daily budget range, but it had a Kinokuniya book store on the fourth floor which had a selection of my favourite manga... that I chose not to buy anyway. It had reached the 24th book already. Wow.

Ah well. This is Malaysia. Adapt and feel welcome.