Ok, so you probably have a good idea of my first impression of KL. Of course, we had no choice in returning to KL because that is where we were flying out of, but we decided to go back with an open mind and give it another chance. This time, we had friends that we going to show us around, and we had a bit more guidance this time around than before.
We arrived back in KL pretty late and headed straight to our hostel. In comparison to our first hostel, it was a little piece of heaven; however, in contrast to our last resort (that literally was a little piece of heaven) it was a disaster! Tucked between McDonalds and a “massagey” parlor, and three flights up stairs, we ended up in a small dorm room with three beds and a little rocky table. The next morning, Amy woke up ready to leave after her awful night’s sleep on a rock hard roll away bed while listening to the loud traffic right outside. I agree, it was no paradise, but it was only a place to sleep for a couple days.
We filled the day with some touristy stuff… we had already seen the twin Pattron Towers, so this time we went to the TV tower to the observation deck for a great view of the city. Call me bias, but it is definitely not as awesome as Shanghai’s TV tower, and it stands just about 10 meters short of Pearl Tower, but it did have a pretty great view – one that you could never get anywhere in China. Then, we went to the city Square Pavilion to a large art exhibition United Buddy Bears that presented “the art of tolerance”. It was a large traveling exhibition since 2006 that features bears designed by each nation. The bears represent living together in peace and harmony together on their global tour. Each bear represents the people of its nation and the culture but not the political system. A lot of the bears were really cool, and I really enjoyed the message that they stand for.
(view of KL from the top of the TV tower)
(United Buddy Bear Exhibition)
After visiting the bears, we did the only other thing there is to do in KL – we went shopping. KL is loaded with malls, and it has some great shopping. That was when we started to run into people. Now, living abroad, I understand how small an expat community can be. Even though Shanghai is gigantic, everyone is connected by a rule of three. No matter who you meet, you can find a connection to them by at least three degrees. At this point, we had been in KL for less than 24 hours, and suddenly we started running into all these people that we had met throughout our vacation. First it was a couple that I met while standing outside of Sunba the night we went to the club. Then, less than three minutes later, we ran into Omar and Tamer while walking down the street. Later that night, we ran into Armin while we were at a bar. Then before we left, we ran into a lady named Orietta that we had met on the ferry ride over to Langkawi… talk about a small expat community!
That night, Ahmad told us about the expat bar street to go to for some lady’s night drinks. Well I will tell you that KL did not let us down the second time around! KL is good for three things – shopping, drinking and Middle Eastern men! We had already indulged in shopping, and we were quickly learning that ladies NEVER pay for drinks. Even while drinking in Langkawi, we never paid for a dime of anything. In KL, not only was there lady’s night everywhere, but the guys loved us! We met up with Ahmad, Omar and Tamer again, and then rain into Armin who were getting us drinks left and right, but the male bartenders were catering to us, along with other guys from all of the bars. Of course I had to refuse many shots and drinks so that I could remain coherent and responsible, but I will admit that we were loving the attention.
(me & Ahmad)
(Armin, Amy & Anna)
We never get attention in Shanghai. I mean we are three beautiful single women enjoying life, but Chinese guys want nothing to do with us (and we are not interested in them) and the expat guys whom aren’t married are all chasing down the Asian women sick with the fever! It is kind of frustrating, but I guess I never realized how obnoxious it was until we were at a place that we had guys tripping over one another to talk to us… never in my life have I experienced anything like it. During the day, we got ice cream and I got it for free because they guy behind the counter was flirting with me. Our last night in KL, we rolled out of bed at 5:00 pm after staying up until 8:00 am partying, did not shower, and went to grab dinner and a drink looking like hot messes. Within 10 minutes, we had a guy buy us all a round of drinks, and three guys approach our table to get us to join their table…. Really? I mean, it was literally incredible! I am pretty sure that I would get into a lot of trouble if I lived in KL with all of that free flow alcohol and the attention from men!
Friday morning, we packed up and after 12 hours of traveling, we were back to the cold of Shanghai, sadly.
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