Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Malaysia and Durian

Snow days make me so productive guys! Two snow days in a row and I've gotten two blog posts done! I feel so accomplished.

Now that I got the patting myself on the back done with, here is a post on my trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and my adventure in eating durian.

The KL towers all lit up at night.



We only spent one full day in Malaysia, plus two half days. So honestly I didn't get to see very much of Malaysia.

I definitely want to return some day. I liked KL a lot, and I've heard that Malaysia has some adorable towns and great beaches. YC and I are already planning a trip back where we drive around to the different towns and beaches.

Until then, I enjoyed my short time in Kuala Lumpur, the trip to the mountains, and trying durian for the first time.

The KL towers are pretty during the day as well, and very shiny.


We spent New Years Eve in our hotel in KL watching the fireworks from the window. The fireworks around the towers were spectacular. Plus we had sushi and champagne, doesn't get much better than that.

We had a pretty perfect view from the hotel window.

Plus we looked pretty snazzy.

It seems like the main things to do in KL are admiring the towers, eating, and shopping. I wish we'd had more time, because I'm sure there is more to do as well. If nothing else, the food was quite good. We got some yummy sushi at the supermarket for New Years Eve, ate some good Indian food, and had some soup at a very local place.

Truth be told, I got super ill after eating at the local soup place, which I thought was food poisoning. YC got sick a couple days later, and then his parents, so I no longer blame the food. I think I had the flu. A post to come on the memorable trip back to Indonesia while insanely ill.

Very messy Indian food.

The local place we ate soup at looked a bit sketchy, which may be why I blamed it at first. Plus I started to get sick while here, hard not to associate it. I apologize for blaming you weird little food place.


I think my favorite part of the trip to Malaysia was our short side trip to the mountains. We rode a skycart up to a casino on the very top of the mountain, shrouded in fog like a castle. The ride up was a bit scary, and I saw a wild boar and monkeys! The view was phenomenal though.

Insane view right?

The casino itself was super lame, because I hate that sort of thing. My lovely boyfriend helped me go on an adventure to find the sunset, and that made it all magical. Finding the sunset was truly an adventure, for a casino on the mountaintop there aren't really any places to see the view. We trudged around for awhile, before YC suggested an adventure outside. First we ended up in a parking deck watching the beginnings of the sunset. Then we noticed a path below the parking deck, it took some running around, but we made it down to the path.
I am so glad we did. The view of the sunset from the path was breathtaking. I think sunsets over mountains are brilliant, just as good as those on the ocean.

This flower made for great sunset shots.

The tree plus the flower was even better.
Posing with the sunset.

Probably the most memorable food adventure on the trip was trying durian, the king of fruits.
I went into the experience only knowing that some people claimed durian smelled and tasted like garbage, while others said it was yummy. I was really hoping I'd be the later.

Especially since YC thought it would be fun to videotape me trying durian, just in case it was as funny as he hoped. Once he remembers to send me the video, I'll make a post with that so you can watch the experience.

Spoilers: Durian is actually pretty good. It has a weird texture, a lot like custard, which I did not expect. I thought it kind of tasted like odd custard as well. It also didn't smell as bad as I anticipated. I'm glad I can say I tried it, but I'm in no rush to eat it again.
It was weird.

And seriously messy. That is the face of "what have I done?"

Also, warning, you will smell like durian for the rest of the day. No matter how much you wash your hands or brush your teeth. I swear it comes out of your pores. At least YC and I both ate it, so it wasn't like only one of us smelled. Seriously though, it is disturbing how long the smell seeps out of you.

I rather believe that if you ate enough durian the smell would become permanent. 


I really enjoyed my short time in Malaysia, even if I caught the flu there. It was a charming country with a lot to see and do. I only wish I'd had more time to explore. Next time I am definitely visiting the smaller towns and the beaches.

One beach trip while in Southeast Asia was not enough.




Have you ever been to Malaysia? Did it charm you as well? Where all did you go? Any suggestions for my next trip?
-Alisa

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