I arrived safely. It's pouring here.

I got in a little bit after 4am. Just like in Bangkok, the bus pulled over to the shoulder of the highway and let us all out. It turns out that unlike in Bangkok, there actually was a bus station near by.

A few taxi drivers asked me if I needed a ride anywhere (they just hang out waiting for buses to show up and then swarm down on the tourists getting off) and I was happy that they were much less aggressive than in Thailand, Vietnam, or Cambodia. An Indian guy came up to me and asked me if I needed a hotel room. He was trying to sell me hard on it, and he wouldn't stop talking even though I was clearly ignoring him. 'Blah blah blah, Pudu Hostel, blah blah blah.' HEY! That's the hostel I'M LOOKING FOR! I suddenly became interested and he was able to walk me over to the right place. He wanted me to sleep on the couches in the lobby as the house was currently full. There would be guests checking out by noon and then I could move into a room. I had slept for a few hours on the bus so I was good to go. I grabbed my backpack and walked around the city before the sun was even up.

I had no ringgit and nobody wanted my baht, so I was effectively broke. I had bought snacks and soymilk in Hat Yai so I was fine with sitting on the curb and reading my guide book. Kuala Lumpur seems cool. Everything here is very green and the highways are great. Manicured medians with palm trees and flowers, no visible trash on the side of the road, and the highways themselves are brand new and 3 lanes wide. Everything looks and feels modern. Some of the architecture in the city is cool. There are these old colonial buildings (Malaysia was colonized by the Portugese, Dutch, and more recently by the British) that are falling apart so that underneath the paint and stucco you can see exposed brick. Some buildings have been abandoned and they look really cool set against the palm trees and jungle. Kuala Lumpur is also the only major city in the world with protected rainforest downtown.

Oh! If you've ever seen a bad Hollywood movie thats supposed to take place in a jungle somewhere, then you know that they always use this one bird call to create the 'jungle' atmosphere. It would be impossible to imitate or explain in words, but its like a KrrraaaaaAAAAHHHH! KrrraaaaAAAAAAH!!!! where it starts quieter and gets louder at the end. Ugh. That was terrible. Anyway, those birds are here in Kuala Lumpur and this morning sounded like something out of Predator.

If you tried to plot the course that I've taken with movies, then my journey across Asia would be: Lost in Translation, Apocalypse Now, The Killing Fields, Tomb Raider (part of it filmed at Angkor Wat), Brokedown Palace, The Beach (filmed on Koh Phi Phi), and now... I don't know. Something with jungle. I also couldn't think of any movies for China. I'll put some more thought into it.

There are plenty of 7-11s, KFCs and McDonald's here, but there's also great Halal Indian, Malay, and Chinese food stalls. I haven't had anything to eat yet but that's because its only noon and I just got money changed. I bought 9.8 MYR for 100 baht and I think I got hosed. I just checked Google for a quote and it lists the rate as 9.36. I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to find a fair rate here though.


I walked to the most famous mosque in the city and got there just in time for morning prayers. No vistiors were allowed inside but someone was singing through loud speakers so I sat outside and just listened for a while. I went to Independence Square and to the Petronas Towers too. On my walk back to my hostel from the towers it started to rain and it hasn't stopped since. That was maybe 2 and a half hours ago.

I want to go get a bite to eat but my little backpack isn't waterproof and I have too many things in there that can't get wet. I hope it stops soon but I don't have high hopes.

I met these Danish travelers (two guys and a girl that I met earlier on Koh Phi Phi in Thailand) and we made plans to go out and get drinks or something. I was talking to the girl on the bus and she said I shouldn't spend more than 2 and a half days in Singapore. It sucks.

Miss you all. This computer won't read the pics from my camera so I'll find another cafe and try again later.