Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!!!

So, I'm officially back in Beijing after my week-long trip around South-East Asia, which including Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and three cities in Thailand, Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and Kanchanaburi. PJ and I traveled to Malaysia together first and then Marcus flew in to meet us in Thailand halfway through our trip. Angela was suppose to come, but she had visa issues at the airport (because she's a Chinese citizen) and they wouldn't let her board the plane. I'll see how much I can include in this post about my time in Malaysia!


Malaysia is, honestly, one of the most amazing places I've ever visited. Although it doesn't have the cultural aspects that cities in Thailand have, everyone one there is very friendly and willing to help and give directions. In addition, English is an official language in Malaysia, which made communicating a lot easier than in Beijing! A couple of other important things to note about Malaysia (in my opinion): Malaysia was once a British Colony, so people drive on the left side of the road (takes a while to get used to!) and over 60% of the population is Muslim. It was nice to actually see religion around the city everyday as compared to China, where religion is rarely ever given a thought, except in some of the major temples. Also, it doesn't hurt that Malaysia is right next to the equator. Can you say warm weather year long and delicious tropical fruits???


The first day in Kuala Lumpur, PJ and I went first in the morning to the Batu Caves, a large Hindu shrine on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. 

Of course, like all cool things in the world, we needed to climb to the top. On the way up to the top of the 272 step staircase, we ran into a bunch of monkeys hanging out and looking for food! 

The inside of the cave was very pretty and natural, a nice change from the urban settings of Beijing.


After seeing the cave, we wandered around the city for a while and spent a little while in Little India (Brickfields). The entire area was very colorful and beautiful. Not to mention that we bought some delicious Indian food and some amazing Indiana desserts, which were very bright colors and tasted like pistachios.

When we were exploring the city, we also stumbled upon Sri Mahamariamman Temple (still not sure how to pronounce that...). 

We also went to Merdeka Square, which was in the middle of the city and a nice place to walk around. Then, we found this large market where we walked around for a while before heading to the downtown area of Kuala Lumpur, KL Sentral. Of course, when we were in Kuala Lumpur, we had to see the Petronas Towers, the tallest twin buildings in the world.

Finally, for the evening, we FINALLY saw Harry Potter, part 2, since the movie is still not out in China (there's a long explanation why but, basically, the Chinese government is postponing the release of all summer blockbusters until a Chinese movie about the formation of the communist party sells a TON of tickets - half a billion, I believe). Either way, the movie was amazing, even though I know I'm about 3 weeks late saying this :)