Home Sweet Suite @ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We drove back to Kuala Lumpur, down the winding jungle roads; Adam Tokyo drifting like a responsible pro, Helen clutching the sides of the car trying to stifle her gasps when he toed the left line. Despite our best efforts, we arrived an hour late so they charged us an extra 4 USD. Seeking retribution for our tardiness, we then checked into our next hotel an hour early. However, we were told our room wasn’t ready. So we walked to a nearby cafe to kill some time and eat some lunch.
We returned at check in time and were again asked to wait. After only a couple minutes, the concierge walked over, thanked us for waiting, and informed us we had been upgraded to a suite! We gratefully accepted our room key and took the elevator to the 17th floor. Our corner suite was immaculate. Everything felt new and modern. There was a separate living area with its own TV, the bedroom had floor to ceiling windows, the bathroom had the always essential bidet, and to top it off there was a massive soaking tub overlooking the city. Oh how the mighty have risen! (callback)
After battling leeches in our action packed jungle stint, we decided tonight would be a good night for some R&R. We slipped into hotel bathrobes, ordered Chinese takeout, and called room service for a bottle of wine (a delicious Australian Shiraz). Adam looked up movies and landed on the 2023 Korean romantic drama Past Lives. We thought the movie’s Korean influences would be enriched by our recent travels. The movie was great (Adam rates 8.3 / 10) and the company was better (Adam rates 10/10). We finished our bottle of wine and drifted off to sleep feeling warm, safe, very rested, and very relaxed.
We awoke to the sound of rain pattering the windows. After a slow morning, we dropped off our laundry at a wash and fold. Then we walked to “Little India” to poke around and eat some of the delicious Indian food that Kuala Lumpur is famous for. Soon we found ourselves at an all you can eat lunch buffet called Mr. Naan and Mrs Idly. We loaded our plates and made sure to eat every last crumb. The food lived up to the hype. The flavors of the curries were delightful. Helen’s mango lassi was also good, but we stand firm that our friend Sidd’s recipe remains supreme (shoutout Goapala Foods).
We took the monorail back to Hotel Indigo then hit the 24th floor infinity pool for some obligatory pictures and more relaxation.
Next, we set off on a mission to fulfill Helen’s dream of a rooftop bar at sunset. We found a 50 story building that had converted the helipad into a trendy bar. The sun sank into the clouds behind our cocktails. Then the sky scrapers around us slowly lit up as we chatted about life and tried to guess the relationship statuses of the other tourist around us.
Dinner was closer to sea level. We found a Chinese restaurant; where we ordered a tasty squid stew, eggplant stir fry, and cendol for dessert. Helen had read about cendol in the Malaysian novel The House of Doors (she gives it a 7.5/10). It is a classic Malay dessert of ice flakes soaked in sweet coconut juice with various sweet rice based toppings.
Before we went back to the hotel we stopped by the Petaling street market. Helen had read about this street in another novel, The Weight of Our Sky (Helen rates it 8.5/10). It was the epicenter of the May 13 riots in 1969 between Malays and Chinese immigrants. Nowadays it appears the market is more a tourist trap than a cultural battleground. We found a bar with some live music and more tourists to spin up elaborate backstories for entertainment.
Our time in Malaysia was coming to a close. All things considered we were struck by the diversity of the country, both in its geography and people. It is a beautiful place, much more multicultural than any of the previous countries we had been to. Next up, Thailand!
