Kuala Lumpur

We've landed in another world. Yesterday we arrived in Malaysia, and the differences between here and Thailand (and Cambodia) are almost overwhelming! It's Southeast Asia, but then again, it's not the Southeast Asia we've become familiar with over the past two years. I have to say that we are enjoying it very much!

Today we toured some of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. It's an amazingly clean and green city -- filled with parks, well-maintained streets, and beautiful buildings. Perhaps we just haven't seen the more run-down parts, but it has really been lovely to us.

We started with the Petronas Towers, of course, because how could you visit Malaysia and not stop by the world's tallest buildings? They didn't really look all that tall to me, but it was fun for taking photos anyway.

From the towers, we rode subways and monorails to the starting point of the Lonely Planet's "colonial district" walking tour. British and Islamic architecture combine to make some fantastic buildngs. We also visited the National Mosque, where we learned a lot about Islam in Malaysia. It was really interesting. As you can see, my clothing was not entirely suitable, so I had to cover up a little more. (I had been wearing capri pants and a t-shirt.)

At intervals, we've also enjoyed several delicious Indian meals. The Indian population in Malaysia is about 8% of the total, and I think that's even higher in KL, so finding cheap Indian food is very easy. I can't get enough!

Tomorrow, we'll start exploring more of the peninsula. Stay tuned!