Malaysia

We decided to add in Malaysia to our trip just before leaving in September, and I'm so glad we did.  We needed to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu on November 28th, so instead of just flying through the airport, we arranged a three day stop over to tour the city.  It was simple to arrange since no visa is required and the city is very modern and easy to get around.

I'm slightly ashamed by how stoked I was to get to KL just so I could see Hunger Games: Catching Fire Part I--even so, it had been a long time since we had been anywhere modern enough to go to a movie, so it wasn't difficult to convince Blair and Christopher to join me!  I'm even more ashamed that we went to Interstellar two nights later...and loved every second of both films. 

We were staying in a great little Airbnb.com condo near the central hub of the city where they have about 10 malls in a half mile radius. The popularity of malls is so ubsurd to us, but they seem to be the center of Malaysian social life. The malls are usually at least four stories tall, grand in design and offer anything you could ever want. The food courts are massive, so many people visit them for their evening meals. Some have theaters in them with luxury seating, food and bars for a highend viewing expierence. One of the malls even had an amusement park on the top floor--complete with a rollercoaster that twisted up and down between multiple floors of the mall!

Since we arrived in Kuala Lumpur during Thanksgiving, the malls were already decked out for the holiday season. We were surprised by how extravagantly Christmas is celebrated in such a heavily Muslim country.  Of course, they focus on Santa Claus and snowmen rather than the birth of Christ--but the fact that everyone still posts "Merry Christmas" all over the shop windows makes them disturbingly more openminded than us in the US! Regardless, it was pretty great getting a little taste of Christmas while being so far from home!!

Our days were spent touring the beautiful city.  We explored the complex around the iconic Petronas Towers where there are countless malls, tons of restaurants and an evening lights and music fountain show. Blair took us on a fun, self-guided tour through KL's old city stopping at temples, markets, mosques and shops as we wound through the narrow streets.

Our last day was spent visiting the largest bird sanctuary in the world.  Although this normally wouldn't be my first choice activity, the sanctuary is part of a large, beautiful park that was fun to wander around.  Also, the sheer volume of bird types made the experience an entertaining one.

Sadly, the end of our stay in Malaysia marked Christopher's departure.  As he hopped on a bus heading towards Singapore to meet up with his college buddy, we packed and prepped for trekking in Nepal.  It was SO fun having him along to explore Thailand and KL with us for an entire month, so it was hard to see him go. It's great meeting new friends along the way, but none of that can compare to having those closest to you share in your adventure with you. If only we could have other family and friends meet us along the way...hint hint!