Claire in Kuala Lumpur

travel update

2008-05-25T21:37:00.002+08:00

It's a great time for travel around KL with Air Asia and MAS (Malaysia Airlines) currently having a big price war. I'm a big fan of Air Asia - comfortingly new planes and amazingly good food for a budget airline (even if you have to pay a bit for it).
The last month has been full of impromptu travels hence the blog and email neglect.
I went to Miri on a work trip, but due to kindness of client managed to squeeze in some tourism after hours. Then a few days later I foolished volunteered to take someone's place to climb Mt Kinabalu (not to be underestimated! A humbling experience for Claire's legs and a reminder to self - Must use expensive gym membership!!). Mid-May, took another scuba trip, this time to Tioman Island. Once again, everyone saw turtles except for me (mostly because I was busy lying on beach rather than diving for most of the weekend). I was happy to survive the Berjaya Air plane landing on small airstrip squeezed impossibly between mountains, houses and ocean. Oh - another highlight - 3 beers for 10RM ($3) at every resort's beachfront bar happy hour....heavenly. Tioman Island is basic but quite beautiful, except for the fact that a chunk of it is currently being butchered by a new Marina - darn progress. Great weekend but also great to get back to air conditioning and shops...yes I am spoilt...
I went to the MANZA ball last night (Malaysian Australia NZ Association) - fun night and good to hear the national anthem (always a bit goose-bump inspiring, and then red-face inspiring when I didn't know the words to second verse). Everyone seems to go to every nationality's ball up here (if you can afford and get your hands on a ticket) so it's just as well I have a good selection of lovely bridesmaid dresses to choose from!

April already? ...and identical weather...

2008-04-01T19:31:00.007+08:00

Climatically, Malaysia is a great place for a person who doesn't much like change...there's no grief about summer ending and days getting shorter. It's always the same, 32 degC with a chance of a thunderstorm. I never bother looking at the forecast. Apart from when it's pouring (almost daily, and ALWAYS when I've left my umbrella home), it's always swimming pool and beach weather - the only difference is which side of the country to go to to avoid monsoon. Over Easter, a buddy visiting from the UK and I spent 4 blissful days in Langkawi (It seems I have metamorphosed from a 'high altitude trekking' type holidayer into a 'doing nothing' holidayer). I was quite proud of my ability to doze on a deck chair for hours on end (sensibly under umbrella -some things haven't changed). On a particularly active day we rented a scooter and did an hour of sightseeing. Even my ski trip in Japan back in late Feb was spectacularly lazy - some called it the 'coffee shop tour' of Niseko mountain...there were cute little coffee shops buried in powder all over the place...
I must say it's lovely when people notice my blog postings drying up. Someone even wondered if I was still alive. I guess the novelty of being in a new place has has worn off a bit (thank Goodness!) and the interesting things that I notice now fall under those no-no topics (politics, race/religion, business dealings, the nocturnal habits of expatriats in seedy nightspots!).
So instead I'll talk about kittens!..........in Langkawi , my friend and I visited a great resort called Bonton, owned by an Aussie animal lover who set up an animal refuge on the island. To my delight, the resort was full of animals and profits go to the refuge (great excuse for a 3 course meal if ever I had one!) . There was even a cat in the empty bungalow that the staff showed us when I was sussing out a place to stay next time...not a good place for people with allergies...
As an aside, I'm so glad K explained the benefits of the US Primaries to me while she was here. I am now also hooked on CNN too & even finding the US election coverage vaguely interesting...who would have thought that possible a few weeks ago when I was snorting in disgust at CNN's pronouncement of: 'entire world mesmorised by US election' or similar.
I have uploaded some photos, but no captions, lah. Quiz: See if you can work out which is Japan and which Langkawi for yourself.

"Don't Smoking" on the speedboat

2008-02-16T15:09:00.005+08:00

Gemma and I had a great (if brief) time in Phuket with Claire Mc. Patong Beach area was not nearly as full of seedy Aussie yobbos as feared. Or maybe we are just Aussie yobbos ourselves, and didn't notice? Power lines EVERYWHERE - incredible. It's like Kathmandu I guess. People so friendly even when bargaining...

Phi Phi island snorkelling trip was lovely - We embraced the touristiness of it all, and wore our labels with our boat number and lunch table number proudly. We dutifully took photos of Viking coves and greedy monkeys. The water was magic. The fish were everywhere especially when I produced bread (part of the tourist package). Considering the number of tourists every day, the water was surprisingly clean. I didn't see any Tsunami memorials - the only reminder is tsumani evacuation routes signposted everywhere. Our trip guide Alex was great. We admired the firm but forgiving way he dealt with the people who didn't seem to know what "Be back on the boat in half an hour" meant, and were still swimming over an hour later... gggrrrr. He just suggested they get a private trip next time, it's more better. And remember - Don't Smoking on the speedboat!

Definitely got to get back to Thailand to see more!

landslide

2008-01-21T22:00:00.000+08:00

The Flower Power gig was a Malaysian company's annual dinner. My colleagues and I managed to have fun & win some prizes but were pretty happy to bolt to a night club afterwards and drink something other than alcohol-free punch.

I've been having some communications issues here and I might start trying to learn Bahasa Malaysia again, esp. now that I know how similar it is to Indonesian. e.g. Trying to order Thai takeaway over the phone:

Claire: "One Pad Thai please"

Operator: "sorry, we don't have that"

Claire: "But I ordered it 3 days ago from the same place! "

Operator: "sorry"

Claire: "what other noodle dishes do you have?"

Operator: "sorry, none"

Claire: "ok, just one green chicken curry. Oh and some steamed rice"
Operator: "Sorry, we don't have that".

Claire (loses her cool): "I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE A THAI RESTAURANT DOESN'T HAVE PAD THAI, NOODLES OR RICE!!!"

Eventually I got everything I wanted...

And it makes me glad that I'm in Malaysia where everyone DOES speak English, even if they struggle with my accent...not sure how I'd fit intensive language lessons in amongst all this shopping and travelling!

At work we've been talking about Barlow and Chambers lately, for some reason. The Pudu Prison where the execution happened is very close to KL city centre. Conditions were apparently awful and it was closed soon afterwards and converted to museum for short time, till they needed it to use a lock-up for drug addicts etc (there has been talk since of demolishing to build residential accomm, but no-one would want to live there- ghosts for sure!). The night before they were executed, they stayed in a pitch room with no windows and were granted about a 7 ringgit allowance for a meal of their choice - usually KFC was what the budget extended to. I had forgotten that the execution caused much bad feeling btn Malaysia and Australia because the guys were executed while an appeal was underway. THey were the first Westerners to be executed under Malaysia's new drug laws.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlow_and_Chambers_execution

On a cheerier note, I've discovered the funniest thing at work. Everyone has an 'alias' using their first name and initial of their surname. e.g. Mine is ClaireW. Check out my colleague's alias below. This is 100% legit - I thought they were joking until I checked myself in the directory...

ClaireW/"company name inserted here"
UfukER/"company name inserted here"

There have been some instances of hijacking, bag snatching and unprovoked beating up of expats here lately. I am doing less walking around and taking more taxis - at least I have a reason for doing it rather than laziness or being too laden down with Ted Baker bags... One guy (an oil and gas service company employee) got his leg broken by the moped gang. On the whole, i still feel safe here. Am just taking more precautions e.g. bag over shoulder, carrying less valuables, etc.

Went to a fabulous Japanese resto the other night with the American Association - tagged along with a few Americans from work. I pretended to be from Noo York. Met some great people - all so friendly and positive and enthusiastic about life hehre. Enjoyed Sake for the first time of my life after the couple across the table introduced me to a brand you can't buy anywhere else in Malaysia. It didn't even taste too much like Metho. See photo of their AMAZING Chinese NY special meal - all that sashimi, salad and sauce for $15AUD)- i sure wouldn't want to grate all those vegies for that! http://www.daidomon.com.my/

2008 - an auspicious (吉利) year we hope...

2008-01-09T21:04:00.000+08:00

Apart from another rotten cold, 2008 is shaping up to be a goodie so far - as Chinese numerology might predict - and it's hard not to be happy because tis the season of public holidays. I've no idea what we are celebrating tomorrow but I am all in favour of it all the same. There are 3 more public hols coming up in the 1st half of Feb and I am very excited about Gemma coming to visit - we are off white-water rafting and then to Phuket - here's hoping there won't be too many Aussie cringe factor!

Despite my love affair with public holidays, work is going fine. The guys I work are delightful and most of the time I can translate the thick Scottish accents into English. One of them is dating a Chinese girl and he told me about the Chinese custom/tradition after women give birth - for a month they are to stay in a sort of isolation and have their tummies massaged by a visiting masseuse every single day. Traditionally, the new Mums weren't even supposed to shower for the whole month (ugh!), after which they proudly present the new bub and their flat tummies to the world. It seems we Westerners know nothing about Yummy Mummies!

It has been an interesting week. Out for dinner last night with a former colleague - a Russian guy who I worked on the rig with in Gabon - a happy reunion all thanks to Facebook! Out for lunch today with 3 new friends from the Mexican embassy. One of them is Vegetarian so we went to a Buddhist Temple where there was an enormous buffet which cost 5 Ringgit including a (vile) drink (A$1.75). All they ask if that you don't take more food that you can eat - and that you don't wear anyone else's shoes home....

I know a blog needs photos which is why I've irrelevantly uploaded some piccies of my new paintings which arrived just before Xmas. I love love love love them and though it sounds super daggy, they remind me every day to be grateful...which is a great antidote to the "poor me"s that can creep into my head when I'm missing folk from home. I'm not missing obvious things like the beach, though - and I've got over the lack of mid-strength beer with considerable dignity and grace...

happy new year readers!

My first visitors!!!

2007-12-22T17:07:00.000+08:00

Had a great day so far with Mum and Dad here. Their plane was slightly delayed because (as the pilot explained in a disapproving tone) Malaysian Airlines had to eject an inebriated passenger at Perth and then turf off his baggage. Soon afterwards, the air stewards circulated economy class with tumblers full of what looked like urine, but turned out (to Mum and Dad's delight) to be very cold Tiger beer. Kind of ironic for an airline belonging to a Muslim country. Maybe there's an exemptions to the rules while flying...just like my diets have always gone out the window in the air...
Despiting protesting they needed a lazy day after 2am bedtime, Mum and Dad managed to devour 4 massive shopping centres (KLCC, Pavillion, Star Hill, Low Yat Plaza), see 300 Xmas trees, photograph same, endure 300 decibel Xmas carols (the Muslims seemed to be enjoying the amplified orchestra much more than we Westerners), order custom-made shoes and prescription glasses, sample mucho local fare involving lychees, all without getting run over by a moped (not a bad effort considering you have to look both ways - sometimes they drive on the wrong side of the street). Even though we were all tired, we've also managed no arguments so far - even with differing opinions about the germ count on escalator handrails. This bodes well for the 10days ahead. A mutual love of Ted Baker merchandise kept us all happy. Tonight it's champagne on the balcony then off to dinner at Senses for some fine dining. We're taking the underground train which should make Dad happy! It's great having visitors. Mum and Dad notice things that I don't and remind me not to take the view for granted. Mum was almost speechless when she first saw them (quite a feat ha ha!)

Ho Ho Ho

2007-12-18T20:50:00.000+08:00

Ho Ho Ho. At the risk of sounding critical of my beloved home country, I think Malaysia does a very classy Christmas. Today in the shopping centre underneath the Twin Towers, I came across a string quartet planing classical music so beautiful that I felt a bit tearful. I can't remember the last time that happened (being inspired to great emotion in a shopping centre), except maybe last Christmas at Karrinyup shopping centre trying to find a parking spot! I am really looking forward to showing my parents all the cool stuff. Like buying a whole coconut with a straw in it as a drink with your meal...

I have joined a Fitness First gym and I'm glad I've started getting fit for Japan ski trip quite early...I found myself puffing in a PILATES class! The gym is very high tech, and I was quite excited to see TV screens on the treadmills and cross-trainers etc, until I've remembered how stupefyingly boring CNN can be, even if you are cycling! I am really grateful for the CDs that friends have given to me recently, thanks a lot guys and Katrina...

It has been a good week. Last weekend had all the pre-requisites for a good weekend - time around the pool with a book, a fair-weather hash complete with obligatory beer skols and bawdy songs, some vodka-fuelled nightlife and of course, MORE SHOPPING.

I've had 7 days at the new job now and it is going well. I am quite motivated and hoping it extends into more than the initial 8 weeks. I feel like I have stepped into Aberdeen - my colleagues are almost entirely Scottish. However, change is NOT as good as a holiday, and I badly need the week off next week.

Something that is amazing me up here is how it still feels like there isn't enough time in the day. I don't have to do any house work. I have no travel time, everything I need is walking distance, I have no kids or pets or hubby to look after, I have a lot less friends up here to share my time with, I never cook because there is a good restaurant about 50 m away (where the yummy meals from the buffet cost about three dollars), and it still kinda feels like there isn't quite enough time to do all the things I want to! "Busy" must be a state of mind...!

all shopped out

2007-12-12T20:56:00.000+08:00

I'm hoping I'm all shopped out, but not before the bank phoned asking if my card had been stolen by a Ted Baker fanatic! You know you've shopped too much when you can't carry a single thing more.
Went grocery shopping - had no idea till now that there are Halal and non-Halal aisles at the supermarket. The microwave at work is Halal only too. Impending visitors (parents) are shaming me into putting something in the fridge besides beer and apples. There are now some persimmons and cans of soft drink as well. I still have no desire to cook.
Went hashing on the weekend. Tried to ignore lots of rustling in the undergrowth but towards the end a python popped out!!! Even the locals were scared Some people will never go out on a hash without a stick.
Had the best professional massage of my life for A$10 and can't wait to go back. Spent Sunday PM at the Tivoli Villas pool with friends who live there. All the taxi drivers know the place because it's where the famous alleged act of sodomy occurred (former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim spent quite some time in jail after a fairly suspect court case in 1999) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Ibrahim

We had a power failure at 11pm last night. I wasn't too worried because it was kinda time to switch off The Chaser anyway, but when the P.A. came on and they told me a couple of times not to panic ("The situation is ...under investigation..."), I started to wonder if I should panic. Distracted myself by busily sewing buttons onto a shirt with DENTAL FLOSS using my headtorch - can't wait for my boxes to get here! When the power came back on 10 minutes later, they felt the need to get back on the P.A. and announce that a couple of times (I thought the noisy air cons might have been a bit self-explanatory).

There was some sort of public holiday yesterday and the traffic went bonkers. It's times like that I am extra glad I live 10 mins walk from work. It took my new cubicle neighbour 1h35mins to drive 1km!

moving up...20 floors!

2007-12-07T22:05:00.000+08:00

Had a terribly exciting day. I have been seconded to Client B and I start working in the Twin Towers on Monday. It's a dream come true - they might even have a good coffee machine and reliable lifts! (O hang on - I quit coffee 3 days ago. The low fat iced la latte I had today doesn't count because it was cold). Anyway...back to work stuff ...Importantly the new boss is very nice. Basically I'll working on a series of technical documents with some tight deadlines and reasonably important repercussions. The client is delightfully grateful to have found someone to help - I feel a bit like I should be wearing a Superwoman outfit. Since I have to start using my brain again on Monday to appear a Competent Consultant under the watchful eye of a Clued-Up Client, not to mention having to do this virtually at high altitude (level 60+), I'm going to try get lots of ZZZs this weekend, plus some time lounging around the pool...and try knock over that Christmas shopping as swiftly as possible without buying too many more Things for Claire.

Anything but creamer!

2007-12-05T22:36:00.000+08:00

I've had a request for explanation of Nasi Lemak, unofficial national dish of Malaysia. The name literally means 'rice in fat'. There goes my waistline *sigh*. The rice is soaked in rich coconut cream and then the mixture steamed. Traditionally, this comes as a platter with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies, roasted peanuts, stir fried water convolvulus (?), hard boiled egg, pickled vegetables, and hot spicy sauce. Nasi lemak can also come with any other accompaniments such as chicken, cuttlefish, cockle, beef curry. See what I mean - tis a weird combo. Even weirder - Nasi lemak is traditionally a breakfast dish!!!!!

I've decided to give up on milk. And since I can't drink black coffee, this means giving up coffee as well (which I was trying to do in Perth anyway, on and off...). The receptionist here has been buying milk especially for me, but we keep having power blackouts overnight and she has to chuck it out. The last straw was on the Malaysian Airlines flight when I asked for milk for my tea and was handed a sachet of creamer powder instead of the usual tub of UHT. Creamer brings back memories of long, hungry days in Algeria and Gabon, also milk-free zones.

My taxi driver could have died on the way to work this morning. He opened the car door while driving along to lean out and have a huge spit, just as a motorbike came flying up alongside. It then took me about 15 minutes to get up to the office on the 46th floor because the lift seems to stop at every floor. I am spending so much time waiting for and standing in lifts that I am having to become a patient person. Good meditation time. I had lunch with the big boss from Perth at a Sundanese restaurant (is that Indonesian?) and dinner at the Aust High Commissioner's house - the first Xmas party of many hopefully. Tested the "Law of Attraction" on the food platters, drink waiters and the charity raffle with little success, but then jagged an unexpected unvisualised unanticipated lift home with friends of friends. Oh well even Murphy's Law doesn't work 100% of the time...

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Christmas everywhere

2007-12-04T20:42:00.000+08:00

For a predominantly Muslim country, Malaysia seems to be very excited about Christmas already. I had to hold myself back from buying a fibre optic Xmas tree today at lunch.
Just got back from ripsnorter of a visit to Perth to collect belongings and catch up with the crew in head office. I also managed to catch a wedding, a ball, a housewarming, spa party, work Xmas party and a birthday dinner. Very serendipidous. The BellTower Gods were conspiring to make Perth life look far more enticing than it did before I left. I afeared that I wouldn't want to leave again. Fortunately, I felt surprisingly happy to get back to KL and see those Twin Towers again. While in Perth, got some surprisingly blog feedback. Some people want to hear more about my job! Start reading again at asterix for those not interested.
Much as I am now happy with my career choice, I think there's a good reason why there aren't TV dramas about Engineering and Accounting offices. I think they could be unsexy professions. That's why till now I have spared this blog from work talk. Work's a bit piecemeal at the moment anyway (due to being "between phases" of a project with Client A). I'm not complaining however - it's my first quietish stint in 3 years so I'm trying to recharge a bit. A holiday would probably work better! Luckily there are a few potential hols coming up - Pangkor Island (Dec). Bali (Jan). Japan (Feb). Beijing (Aug). Off topic Claire!! You were supposed to be telling June about work! Something new popped up today (an overworked understaffed Client B that appeals to the people-pleaser in me) so stay tuned. Oh and we are recruiting local graduates so pretty soon I should have someone to handball things to. Oops I mean nurture and develop...
* ok enough work stuff. Time for other important stuff. I am off to try to master my new battery-operated eyelash curler, for which the instructions are all in Chinese.

chicha and chichi

2007-11-19T21:50:00.000+08:00

Week 3 in KL was quite relaxing - just what I needed after 2 weeks of acquiring Malaysian antibodies. I'm feeling a bit weary and much, much vaguer than usual - but alas, deadlines don't go away and I'm disturbed about the fact that my new client is eager to receive and read long reports. Andrew and I have destroyed whole sections of the Amazon the last few days.

Spent Saturday eating, shopping and pub-hopping with various new ex-pat buddies and spent Sunday with Sri who I was on Schlumberger boot camp with in 2001. We went to Bangsar for shopping (can't wait to go back alone and spend hours in that Ted Baker changeroom guilt-free) and later on to Bukit Bintang for tapas and apple chicha - very yummy but now that I've googled and found out it's as bad or worse than smoking, I won't be making a habit of it! Then back to Skybar for the trademark Chi-chi cocktail. They wouldn't let us in though because Glen was wearing three-quarter length trousers and they have a "No shorts" dress code. Fair enough we thought - at least we were allowed to sit in the entry area which still had a pretty speccy view of the Twin Towers. As we sat there sipping our cocktails and trying hard not to take the offhand treatment personally, at least one female in short denim shorts was allowed entry. O well...

I had my first Nasi Lemak (typical Malay dish) - see piccy. After a couple of weeks of thinking it was the weirdest combination of foods ever, I have discovered it really works! Yum.

Penang

2007-11-12T18:57:00.001+08:00

Ok I'm getting a bit over this food poisoning malarkey now. It has been a week now! Going to Penang for the weekend was just the ticket - there was lots of lolling around in a five-star hotel getting spa treatments. I was very warmly welcomed by all the gang who were there for a wedding on Sat night, including the bride and groom themselves and invited me to all the 8 course Chinese banquets! Air Asia was great - I travelled in a brand new plane with leather-look seats. The cleaner in the airport toilets (pictured) was so amused about our height difference!

Like Kuala Lumpur, Penang has good night life and we had a lot of fun dancing to old classics like "Uptown Girl" in every nightspot. I'm trying (with huge difficulty) to get used to people smoking around me again - inside!! How quickly I got used to waking up without smoky clothes and hair. I had a fun trishaw ride home from the club on Friday night. One of the crew from Perth persuaded the driver to let him pedal us home. It proved to be pretty hard work! Another trishaw driver stopped halfway back to the hotel and dropped off 2 of our crew saying they were too heavy and had to catch a taxi!!!

Finally someone pointed out to me what the arrows on the ceilings in the hotel bedrooms are. I thought they were pointed towards a safety device (emergency exit?) but of course they are pointing to Mecca (NOT Macca's as the stereotypical blonde in me misheard...) to assist with prayer time!

Coming back to KL after a weekend away felt surprisingly like coming home. Viknes the taxi driver is such an angel-in-disguise...it was lovely to get picked up at the airport by a familiar face and know that I wasn't going to be white-knuckled or ripped off during the 1hour journey!

food poisoned

2007-11-06T17:28:00.000+08:00

Yes I can now tick food poisoning off the list of life experiences conquered...
The buffet at the KL Tower is the main suspect and I'm never eating there again. Alanis Morissette would call it ironic - it was the first expensive meal I've had in KL... As a result, I missed a critical 5-hour meeting but I couldn't have got there - I could hardly stand up in the lift to go to level 8 to get some fizzy drink (I found something that tops Lucozade in the placebo effect stakes). Colleagues and the cleaning lady were very sweet and offered to bring me drugs but all I need is time and sleep... and Mum of course...
On a positive note, I've just booked to go to Penang for the weekend, joining a friend Claire from Perth who is there for a wedding. I am excited at the thought of being in a holiday spot and seeing a familiar face from home.
Update: Another new-colleague-buddy ("The Pingsta") has just succumbed to "Buffet Bug Belly", 24 hours after I did, and 48 hours after Jimmy did. I feel inclined to write the KL Tower a dirty letter about their hygiene practices but maybe I won't, for fear of being given a free voucher to another meal at their anorexia-inspiring buffet! After a phenomenal amount of sleep, I managed a somewhat brain-dead half-day in the office today, just in time for a public hol tomorrow (Deepavali). Apparently it's traditional for Hindus to open their homes for friends for a meal at Deepavali, but we haven't managed to be invited anywhere. My new friend from Melbourne is disappointed but I'm relieved - I'm not so brave around strange kitchens at the moment!

fun runs, snow domes

2007-11-05T19:45:00.000+08:00

I'm in the honeymoon period of being a new place where you say yes to almost everything. Soooo that's why the morning after a strenuous hash and a big party, I was up at sparrow's fluff to go on a fun run for charity with my first non-work-related Malaysian friend, the very lovely Sue who lives just around the corner. The fun run was a fundraiser for cancer research in memory of an amazing Canadian guy called Terry Fox who ran across Canada with a prosthetic leg after a battle with bone cancer. 50 countries around the world have a Terry Fox run. The walk was in the very beautiful Lake Gardens aka Taman Tasik Perdana (took lots of piccies on my mobile phone but am resigned to the fact that I've never work out how to find them again!). Sue introduced me to a new noodle dish (fish ball soup or Sop Tekwan) which I love and could eat 3 meals a day (and probably will!). Sue is keen to come to Chiang Mai for a weekend and do a Thai cooking school with me sometime. Hurrah - the universe is providing me with some travel buddies! Shealso doesn't use indicators all the time when driving so I'm now convinced that I just need to accept how different the driving style is here and have a go at relaxing!

Later that day (after my first dip in the pool and first training session of MANY hopefully for the Busso swim!), I went with the colleagues to the Batu Caves and confronted my monkey phobia. Managed not to shriek when they bared their teeth at me, and also managed not to succumb to temptation to buy a laughing Buddha snow dome (very good luck, I'm told). It would have looked nice alongside my Brisbane snow dome... Sunday night, we all went up the KL Tower and had the obligatory over-priced buffet while we revolved 360 degrees. Everyone thought I was very brave (foolish) for eating imported oysters...however it was the unlucky Jimmy (who didn't touch the oysters) who woke up at 1.30am with food poisoning. I tried Durian icecream which is the most disgusting thing ever. Durian might be the King of Fruits, but I think Connoisseur can skip it as a new flavour. Durian is such a stinky fruit that there is a sign in the hotel lobby banning guests from eating it, along with Mangosteen. After dinner we went back to AF's apartment for a few drinks and exchanged oil rig tales. I'm due to renew my helicopter safety training but after their tales, I'm not really looking forward to another offshore experience (the toilets in Japan sound a lot more fun!). I don't much like the sound of triple decker bunk beds either.

Sat - hashing

2007-11-03T10:51:00.000+08:00

New Pavillion shopping centre (L) and Chinatown (R)

Luckily I found someone to explore with on Friday night - in factI borrowed someone else's Dad who was visiting from Perth! That's the sort of thing that I love about travelling alone - it's do or die (do=ask a 60 year old complete stranger out for dinner) or die (watch Frontline re-runs alone in the apartment and think "poor lonely me!"). We meandered down Bukit Bintang St (ginormous shopping centres, electronics shops HEAVEN and pushy reflexologogists galore), ate some good Thai, swilled down some Singha beer and then taxiied to Chinatown (Petaling St) where I resisted the overwhelming urge to buy lots of Calvin Klein t-shirts. Who would have thought that the first item of clothing I would buy here would be a woolly cardigan thing (for the fffffffreeeeeeezing office!).

The whole taxiing experience is quite fun, and I'm starting to understand why some of the drivers are so inclined to drive badly and try to rip you off, after seeing the "Client's Charter" which is posted up on the walls on most taxis. Here are the guiding principles of taxi-driving in KL:

1) Give priority to passengers

2) Be courteous

3) Be decently dressed

4) Honest and trustworthy

5) Drive with care

Now I dunno about you, but I'd quite like to see #4 and #5 bumped up the priority list a bit. I mean, I'd much rather be driven around safety by a rude, naked taxi driver with the meter on. Actually, would I really prefer that? Who can blame them for trying to squeeze a few extra Ringgit out of expats who will surely not miss them? And in a city with this many traffic jams, if you don't drive aggressively, you'll never get anywhere!

I managed to get an awesome sleep-in today by whacking up the "do not disturb" sign. I've decided that a serviced apartment is going to suit me pretty well, thank you very much. It shames me into being tidy but saves me those annoying little jobs like bin-emptying and doing dishes. Yes I am getting my dishes done for me every day. I can tell that I'm falling back into expat-slobdom quite easily because it's already seeming like quite a struggle to put the dry dishes away myself (the staff leave that job for me, darn it!). I've starting sleeping through the hotel breakfasts too. I've decided sleep is worth more than chilled starfruit juice...

I went out the Petaling Hash House Harriers again today and enjoyed it even more today (I'm still a leach virgin too!). Met a lovely English couple who bravely tried their 2nd hash after an awful first time experience a few weeks ago, when it poured the whole time, they got covered in leaches and didn't get back to the beer van until it was pitch black. The hash course was quite close to KL city and I guess the reason they haven't developed this land is because of how bloody hilly it is - seriously hard work! We met some locals who live in the forest and collect rubber from the trees - I felt a bit blind hiking right past their homes (huts) but they were very smiley and friendly (and even helped us out with directions!). Luckily this is not a very conservative Muslim country. We parked on the side of a bridge for the duration of the hash. Afterwards we shower and change from the boot of the car (the shower pump plugs into the cigarette lighter!) so any prudish drivers-by might be horrified! The hashers themselves are a very baudy lot - it must be bad for a female engineer to notice!). We went out for Chinese dinner afterwards which was good fun. I could be imagining it (Honeymoon period) but even Chinese food tastes better here?

At the on-on (after-party) at Chinese resto. Oh yeh and we saw the 7-week old puppies...awwww!

noodles

2007-10-31T15:20:00.000+08:00

I still can't believe how cheap it is to eat here. Andrew and I went for lunch at an outdoor food court in front of our office today. For both of us (2 canned drinks, a nasi goreng with chicken, and a yummy noodle dish) it cost 12 ringgit which is less than 4 Aussie dollars. Omigosh! The noodle dish that I love is called Char Kuey Teow. I think it's one of those dishes that tastes healthy but really isn't (like muesli bars). Yup, I just looked it up and Wikipedia has told me this: "It is fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard, which give it its characteristic taste." Hmmm, maybe not real healthy! I had a giggle about a restaurant I saw named the "Fatty Crab" - surely somewhere to go if you need thinner arteries.

I went for a long walk tonight because I thought it would be quicker, easier and more pleasant than getting a taxi during peak-hour gridlock. Now I am thoroughly convinced that even in gridlock and without a seatbelt, taxiing is quicker and much, much safer. This really is a very pedestrian-unfriendly city. At one point I almost got cleaned up by a motorbike hurtling towards me ON THE FOOTPATH. Even at the intersections which DO have green men for pedestrians, you always have to run to get to the other side before the countdown hits zero and it goes red. I've seen loads of cars and bikes running red lights so a Running Green Man doesn't even mean you're safe. I've been concentrating a stupid amount for such a normally vague person.

greenery and good luck

2007-10-29T23:28:00.000+08:00

The empty apartment was starting to bug me so I found a plant shop and it's amazing what a few plants can do. Already the vibe / feng shui / oxygen levels are a lot better. The young guy at the local equivalent of Waldecks assured me that I won't be able to kill them - hah! Little does he know that I've killed cactus. He also assured me that everything I bought is "lucky" - hurrah. Now that I've succumbed to international adoption (6 beautiful plants), and that I'm going to be very lucky, I guess I'll be staying awhile!

I've now discovered how blunt some Malaysians can be. A girl at a club we were at the other night (QBa) asked me excitedly "Wow - how tall ARE you exactly?" and the plant vendor was determined to find out why I haven't got married. If it happens a lot I'll print a t-shirt that say "6 foot tall and NOT here with husband".

Went to a fabulous "food court" the other night on the ground floor of Star Hill shopping centre (I think?). I was a bit horrified at being taken to a food court on my first Friday night in KL, but it was like no other food court I've ever seen. Great restaurants and bars 360 degrees around. I had a Singapore Sling and wasabi icecream at the piano bar (both yuk but I've ticked them off the list now!). The toilets were ridiculously posh. There was a staff member in there who rolls the hand towels and turns a large wooden wheel which powers the taps.

And I guess I'm here for work not holiday...so this is what's happening...I'm currently translating a technical report from manglish to english - right up my alley! The clients don't talk to me much yet, which is actually a bit of a relief since I'm trying desperately to get the hang of their names and roles before being thrown in deep end when Jimmy leaves.

We went to a workshop today at the Mines Beach Resort & Spa, at the site of what used to be the world's biggest tin mine. The tin mine has been converted to a huge lake with huge and imposing buildings all around (apparently there is talk of something similar happening with the Supa Pit at Kalgoorlie eventually?). I love the architecture here even though it would probably look a bit silly in a developed country. The resort we went to has a gorgeous "beach" and a lagoon for swimming and a day spa. For a 25RM taxi ride (A$8), the Mines looks like a good little half day getaway from the big smoke. Naturally there's a huge adjacent shopping centre too ..."The only shopping mall you can sail into!" - but really, how many giant shopping centres does a 3 million population city need? - not that I'm complaining of course! Shopping (along with eating) is a national pastime, although lots of people don't actually buy anything. A new friend has coined a verb for it - "malling". I'm staying away from the night club called the Beach Club where apparently there's an expat equivalent called "mauling"...:)

On our way back from the meeting, I was delighted to meet a taxi driver named Viknes who has a taxi with seat belts in the back (including the buckles to clip them into!!). He also used his indicators occasionally, didn't drift in the middle of 2 lanes very often, didn't complain about the traffic one bit and didn't drive at terrifying speeds either. I asked for his phone number and he looked very chuffed when I explained that I liked his driving. He told me proudly that he used to drive for the Czech army.

Time to scoot - there's my room service!

first weekend in KL - Hashing and Hallowe'en

2007-10-29T02:27:00.000+08:00

11:07am Sunday, Oct 28
Badly needed some time to explore and maybe even put a few items in the fridge. I've discovered that even though Malaysians are very friendly, checkout chicks are universally miserable and surly. The sooner they make checkouts fully automatic the better for everyone. I had some fun exploring the shops yesterday (somewhat of an understatement - I felt like I was in heaven and I haven't even gone to the good mall yet!). I showed some restraint and managed not to buy the bling Ipod.

Malaysians are beautifully presented. This next comment would horrify my friends but delight my mother - I could be turning into the sort of person who can't go anywhere without makeup. But I went fresh-faced to my first hash yesterday. KL is where the Hash House Harriers started in 1938. I went with my colleague and his dad. His dad has 4 x 6week old shitzu puppies and I predictably fell in love with them. Eventually tore myself away and went running. Have never sweated so much in my life. After a 2 hour walk/run/scramble/slide through jungle in 100% humidity, the beer looked pretty good. The "on-on" (Hallowe'en style after party) was at an AMAZING house built by an ex-pat - The owner of the house has 2 labradors and during the setting of the course for the Hash, one of them got a python wrapped around his neck. The dog couldn't even bark (being strangled) but the owner noticed and bashed the python with his stick. Lucky dog survived but not the python. I am assured that this sort of thing is quite rare! I met lots of people on the hash. I am feeling very optimistic now about having a great (AND healthy) time here. Time for reflexology now...

mangos

2007-10-27T09:27:00.000+08:00

In case there was any doubt about whether I'm going to enjoy it here and whether my mango-fetish family should visit, I will mention this:SEVERAL VARIETIES OF CHEAP MANGOS! I don't even hear the morning prayers from the Mosque anymore - it seems my Muslim advisors were spot on about Westerners rapidly developing an auditory dead zone.

Something I can't get used to yet is not wearing a seat belt. All the taxis have them in the back but nothing to clip them into. Apparently 5 motorcyclists are killed a day here. Driving is erratic and rules like speeding/drink driving don't seem well respected....

I spoke my first words of Malay this morning, somewhat timidly, and was delighted when the taxi driver seemed to understand and didn't chortle. The girl in the office is coaching me. We went to a Hari Raya party last night and the Malays wore full traditional costume. The guys wore checked things like kilts (called Sampin) over their trousers. Would have loved to get a photo of a matching couple in full pale pink, but it seems totally ungrateful to poke fun at my very friendly host country's traditional outfits.

Things claire hasn't done in KL yet

2007-10-25T13:45:00.000+08:00

10:45pm Wednesday, Oct 24
Things Claire hasn't done yet in KL:
1) Sat on a sofa in her apartment
2) Used a single utensil in her apartment
3) paid more than A$1.50 for a meal!
4) bought an item of clothing
5) had a soursop smoothie
6) got homesick (I haven't had a chance!)
7) got drunk - but I'm not used to going out on Tuesday and Wednesday nights (not since Hippy Club Backpacker Nights anyway!)
8) got fat - this is Claire's tourist week but after that, deep fried stuff and desserts shall be cut back!
9) been caught in rain. I still don't believe it rains here but am carrying an umbrella religiously because I'm a play-it-safe-left-brainer.

Air con very fierce here. I tend to put ON my jacket when going INSIDE a restaurant - the opposite of what happens in Perth in winter. And instead of buying a glass of vodka, lime and soda at the bar, it seems the done thing is to buy the whole bottle! There seem to be lots of transvestites here (some of them utterly gorgeous!) and one of them blowdried my hair tonight at the hairdresser. He was quite pretty but was still wearing men's shoes ... which really doesn't bode well for Claire "Thorpedo" Wilhelm finding any footwear that fits.

This place is much less western than i expected. Every toilet I've seen has a bidet / hose thing???, often with signage asking people not to splash everywhere. KL is also much less dirty/smoggy than expected (only 3 million population... I think that means there must be a shop and a restaurant per capita!) I guess I thought it would be like London or Bangkok where you sneeze black soot every day. I chatted to as Malaysian Muslim girl today who said that Muslims here aren't supposed to have dogs as pets. I never knew that because there weren't any dogs in Hassi Messaoud camp (Algeria). They also aren't supposed to go to Genting Highlands Resort, which is the local casino / amusement park, i.e. KL's answer to Las Vegas. Incidentally, Tan Lim who built Genting and Burswood casinos died yesterday of old age. Although this is hardly important world news, it's a refreshing change from Ben Cousins, daylight savings, Rudd vs Howard and current affairs programs about the woman who wanted to have 10 kids all by different fathers...*sigh*

no more sleeping in...

2007-10-23T21:24:00.000+08:00

Mosque and hidden power station

Was woken up at 5.30 this morning by prayer time at nearby mosque. Hoping to get used to it - or else I can chuck out my alarm clock... There's a power station next to the Twin Towers and the Mosque (this is what powers the Twin Towers). The power station is disguised as an office building but there is smoke coming out the top 24/7. Wow! And the Twin Towers themselves, double wow! I went up for a meeting today. There are as beautiful inside as out. If my apartment is Freedom showroom, these are Monro.

Obligatory sunset shot of twin towers from balcony

Breakfast at hotel is scrumptious. Chilled starfruit juice! Dragonfruit! Cheesy omelette whipped up in front of me. Smoked salmon and capers! I am going to start investigating exercise options...

Malay looks like a great language to learn. E.g. Lift Lobby is "Lobi Lif" in Malay! How cute is that. O well - time to get degreased for dinner.

KL - first impressions

2007-10-23T11:22:00.000+08:00

View from apartment

Wow! It's much greener and less of a concrete jungle than expected. The twin towers are STUNNING - like giant wedding cakes (or someone else described them as giant corn cobs!). There's a 1.5km springy running track around a park en route from "home" to office, lovely. "Home" is amazing - I feel like I'm living in a Freedom showroom, with ottomans galore - the furniture is exactly my taste. "Home" has a definite 'hotel room' feel about it at the moment, but once I've filled it up with Lauren's paintings and more Claire clutter, it will be better.

The shopping centre near my apartment (underneath the Twin Towers) is a zillion floors high and open till 10pm. Full of all stores like Zara that you see in Europe but not Oz, so I'm going to have to show restraint and not buy every darn thing that fits. I think the struggle here could be finding the time to do all the stuff I want to do, while also trying to fit in that pesky Work Thing.

Andrew picked me up from the airport this afternoon, checked me in and took me for a walk around town which was lovely. We are going for dinner tom night with his g'friend and my other colleagues. Then out for dinner Wednesday night with more colleagues, and then to a another dinner thing Thursday night. The kitchen in my apartment is a bit pokey and that's fine because I doubt I'll be in there much!