Day 9 - My first Saturday in KL. I took a 20 minute taxi to the Stadium Putra before noon to watch the semifinals of the Proton Malaysian Open; professional badminton. This is a major sport in Malaysia. There was a lot of anticipation to see Malaysia's world #1 Lee Chong Wei. After four hours of doubles, mixed doubles, etc., and ~2 hours before Lee Chong Wei's match, I decided to leave. I got to the hotel in time to see him win; much better view in TV.

I then walked across the street to the Pavilion Shopping Center to get a
pint at Malones from "G"(my personal bartender) and noticed something was different about the crowd. Not only was it super crowded but they were mostly Yanks. It turns out that the Nimitz class supercarrier the USS Carl Vinson, call sign "Golden Eagle" had docked and 5000 of our finest were in town for three days. "Vis Per Mare" means "Strength from the Sea."

Day 8 - Typical start to the day, although my right knee isn't functioning too well after tweaking it during the mad dash to the train yesterday at the Batu Caves. This morning's taxi driver was wanting me to pay him cash instead of charging to my room to avoid the 10% he pays to the Marriott. He kept whining for a few miles until I punched him in the head with my big old hairy knuckles. He then proceeded to drive through town instead of using the highway. This 15 minute ride lasted almost and hour and was 35RM ($12US) instead of the typical 25RM.

Nothing else of note, except for my laundry. I don't know what I expected, but everything came back folded, banded with a heat seal plastic cover. Only $79US for 6 shirts, socks, undies and a couple pairs of jeans. I am definitely under paying the laundry attendent at home.

Day 7 - Today is a national holiday; Thaipusam. This is a Hindu holy day where they perform penance by body piercing or carrying a jug of milk on their head. I'd take the jug option. The local festival is at Batu Caves where they will also honor a gold statue of Lord Muruga . This the biggest statue of Muruga in the world, if you were wondering.

I am told not to miss this, and I am glad I didn't. WOW! Talk about people watching. I took a taxi to the train station and then rode to Batu Caves. There are a couple hundred thousand people there; shoulder to shoulder and 95 degrees. The smell of spoiled milk that has sloshed from their silver jugs gets your attention.

The procession of people climbs 276 steps into the cave to complete their pilgrimage and to make offerings to various Hindu gods. It is shoulder to shoulder, plodding along through the stench of soured milk. You can't take pictures fast enough. I got there early and when I started heading down the line for the climb was almost a mile long.

I assume the local fishing store does great business selling hooks. They also have a shish kabob skewer throught their cheeks, the one guy had limes on his skewer. I like the "Citrus Fruit" theme. The train ride back was a relief although we were squeezed together so tight you could count your neighbor's pocket change.

Day 4-5-6 - Breakfast each morning at the hotel. It's an Indian, Japanese, Malayan and Western buffet. There must be fifty different dishes; some good and some not so much. Then a 15 min. taxi to work and taxi home at ~6:00. The taxi rides home can be pretty long; lots of traffic, but the drivers are more intersting than the hotel taxis. I've had one Muslim driver that listened to some Iman ranting, a Chinese driver jamming on some type of country music and a very talkative Chinese driver who was listening to Asian rap. His English was limited; mostly curse words. "F-this F-that, I'm sorry I don't speak much English".

KL is a very diverse city. It is probably 60% Malay with the rest split between Chinese and Indian. It is a predominantly Muslim country, but Thursday is a national holiday celebrating Thaipusam, a Hindu holy day. I'll be back to work at the plant on Friday.

Day 3 - I'm not sure if this is day 2 or 4 at this point. The 14 hour time difference is taking its toll. The Marriott is an extremely nice hotel; big beds and appropriately sized night gowns.















I spent the day walking around. There are no straight or perpendicular streets or signs with street names so it is hard to tell if you are on Jalan Raja Chulan or Jalan Bukit Bintang. I ended up on Jalan Yap Kwan Seng and had to back-track. I spent a few hours at the Kompleks Budaya Kraf (Craft Center) looking at and talking with locals artists and bought lots of stuff.

After a walk back to the hotel in the rain, I hooked up with a co-worker (St. Gen native & UMR'83) for an evening of Rolla-like commiserating and dinner.


Craft Center

Day 2 - I had a short 8 hr flight to KL this time on Japan AL. A smaller plane (767 v. 777) but I had a whole row to myself and the beer was free. :) Checked into the the JW Marriott and crashed.


The Tokyo airport did have intersting comodes. I'm not sure what the proper mount or dismount was for this fixture so I waited for the plane.

Day 1 - The first day was was a non-stop flight from DFW to Tokyo. I left snowy north Texas at 12:15PM on the 13th and landed in Japan at 4:43PM on the 14th. The seats were a little cramped, finally became an issue somewhere over the Alluetian Islands. I sat next to a school teacher from Chile who was on her way to Hanoi for vacation.

Arrived in Tokyo Narita airport and stayed the night at the Nikko Narita. Nice place with small rooms; just a bed and a bathroom. I was able to get one arm in the night gown on the bed. I didn't fit in the slippers either. The little fellows must look cute in this outfit.