mel in the milkyway: Day 2 of Asia - The familiar and unfamiliar

currently: kinda itchy.

You know how in my last post I said I was debating between sleeping or eating or dunking my head in water?

I decided to eat in the end. Feeling in a horrible state with my headache and the heat, I went out and had an ice milo and ate dosa. Which made things a little better.

That's really one of the biggest differences between Malaysia vs New Zealand - the feeling you can eat at any time, any moment, and you can get food pretty much on every street. Also it's cheap.

It's only been three years since I was last here in this country, and I'm beginning to remember certain buildings and little quirks about being here. But of course, there's still plenty of new things to take in.

Familiar: eating curry laksa for breakfast.

If you hate cooking, this city can pretty much do it for you. Most food is so cheap here and so accessible, don't bother getting out your pots and pans. Just grab some noodles from a local street vendor, and why not some char siu baos while you're at it. The char siu bao guy is right next to him.

Familiar: seeing a thunderstorm every day.

In one moment it's sunny, and then 15 minutes later, the roads have surface flooding. Every time you put on a pair of shoes, you always need to consider the possibility of rain. The last trip I was here, I impulse bought an ugly pair of shoes because the ones I had been wearing were soaked. In New Zealand, I haven't worn those shoes since.

Unfamiliar: Seeing brand new buildings all over the place.

The thing that throws off my bearings the most is trying to recognise areas that are now completely different. There's a constant feeling of change because there are always road works, there are always new apartment blocks, there are always new shops being built that are waiting to be filled. Anything that wasn't built in the last two years looks neglected and run down.

Unfamiliar: seeing so many gyms.
I know KL always had gyms, but I've never seen so many massive gyms franchises sprout in this area before. It's like the New Zealand equivalent of FroYo shops - which in KL, I've yet to see one of those.

Kuala Lumpur is such a dynamic city - a place that's constantly changing, and yet still exactly the same.

Meal of the day:

 

My uncle took us to this place where its signature dish is Nasi Biryani - a long riced based dish with fragrant spices. I had mine with chicken (the lamb one was really spicy), and this was matched up with a mint and lemon drink. My sister described it as "tastes like grass" but it really was quite refreshing.