Thought this was lovely.....

Rather than individually pricing items, this shop has pinned sheets of A4 paper to the shelves, listing the prices of items. Some of the customs here are quite bizarre.

The driving here is terrifying! There are no rules, no civilised etiquette, not always seat belts, and no one even minds.  Yet weirdly there are apparently very few accidents.  So far I have been in a car that drove the wrong way up a main road in order to make a U-turn, been dropped off in the MIDDLE OF A DUAL CARRAIGEWAY by a taxi (sorry Mum and Dad) and, most offensively, ridden with a driver who insisted on spraying bubblegum air-freshener all the way home.

Taking a cab here is a massive struggle for a Western blonde girl. They try adding all sorts of extra charges, such as for the journey back to their pick up because the cab will be empty! Looking forward to the days when I can behave and speak more like a local, and know what they should be charging, to stop being ripped off.

The taxis are either all blue (and slightly fancy) or red & blue/white. Blue are mega expensive. Red are MUCH cheaper, but it’s a game of roulette as to which will be equipped with air con.  Taking a red taxi for about 15 minutes costs about 9RM (2 quid), whilst a blue is about 20RM (4 quid).

Lesson 1: Don't take a blue cab. 

Lesson 2: DON’T travel at rush hour, as it starts at 4, lasts for about 10 hours, and doesn't move.  I learnt lessons 1 & 2 in the same journey, when I took a blue cab to the LRT (train) station at 4:30 and had to pay 30RM for an 8RM journey.

Lesson 3: Always ask for a journey on the meter or the driver will invent his own price, correlated to how foreign and naive you look.  If they refuse take the next cab.

Day 7.

Meeting the Team went really well.  There are 5 of us in learning analytics, with 2 more joining next week.  My role will be pretty analytical, and I definitely need to brush up on my Excel skills before I start in September! 3 of us went for lunch. I ordered a soup that was SO hot, still such a menu novice! But they seem very nice, and very kind.  They have taught me some simple, but critical, Malay… Makanan (pronounced makan) means EAT. From my observations quite possibly the most frequently used word in Malaysia.

The food here is Cheap, delicious, everywhere, mulch-cultural, & SPICY!! Tonight Sepideh and I went to China Town for food, joining tables of Chinese & Malaysians eating with their hands, because they believe this provides additional nutrients to the meal. I think I just left with sticky fingers.

We ate from a stall packed with kebab sticks, spearing all number of fresh seafood, meat and vegetables.  The sticks are colour coded, which determined the price of your stick. Meats were about 4 Ringgit (80 pence) and vegetables around 3RM (60p).  All sticks on the left are the stand are for the BBQ, which the stall owner mans, whilst sticks on the right are for steaming – the customers job. Central to every table is some boiling water, which can be seen in the bottom left of my photo above, and this is where you boil your food.  It was so much fun, and so tasty.  In the photo I am tackling a BBQ’d squid. For desert we had Lychees and Watermelon from a fruit stand.

Yesterday I sampled a Taiwanese desert,  with Sepideh, and a Malaysian friend I know from University, Ben.  It seemed to be coconut milk poured over crushed ice, topped with jelly balls that clogged my mouth up and a sweet potato. I realise I am not exactly the lady in M&S advert in my description of the dish, but it was yummy.

We have spent a couple of days exploring the city.  I absolutely love the Petronas twin towers here, in KLCC area.

Obtaining this photo involved being yelled at by a Malaysian park tender, whilst his park tender mate aggressively blew his whistle at me… A telling off a which I took to mean I was not allowed to stand around the lake with my shoes on.

One thing I have really observed in Kuala Lumpur is that they have a lot of people working on what in the UK would be considered one job.  For example, 2 park tenders; 1 for yelling, 1 for sounding the siren.  Similarly 2 check out assistants in supermarkets; 1 for scanning, 1 for packing. 

Another is that I have barely seen any elderly people, even on the buses!!  Worlds different from the 177 to Newton Abbot where you can’t move for the oldies.  Perhaps it is the heat which keeps people indoors.

On Saturday I leave for Kho Phi Phi, an island in Thailand where ‘The Beach’ was filmed.  I am going with a friend called Laura.  The next Wednesday I will travel on my own to the Perhentian Islands in North East Malaysia, where Scarlett and I got our PADIs last year.  I will hopefully squeeze a couple of dives in amongst the sunbathing, snorkling, night time reggae at the island bar and, most excitingly, celebrations for the Malay New Year.  It is on Sunday 19th August – the end of Ramadhan.  The islanders will open up their homes, and a friend from last summer has invited me to join his family for feasting and festival.  I am to wear a Baju Kurung, a traditional Malay dress. I’m so excited about it all.

Photos and tales will ensue.

Day 4.

After a somewhat traumatic flight, spent predominantly on the floor of the plane puking and fainting, I have enjoyed getting settled in to life in KL. It’s hectic, humid and humble.  The people are wonderfully friendly.  The food is painfully spicy. The city is incredibly cosmopolitan and surprisingly advanced, with a huge Western influence.  On Saturday we went to the cinema and people laughed, clapped and whooped.  One boy in the front row even let out a ‘Phwarrrr’ when the lead girl started dancing.

It is currently Ramadan, and many locals fast during the day. We had dinner in the food court on Sunday, joining tables of Muslims sat in front of plates of food, waiting for dusk to start their meal.

As for living – I have a lovely new Iranian housemate and acting-guide, Sepideh.  Our apartment is very spacious and clean, with an amazing view of the city.  Sepideh has been so friendly showing me around the city and helping me to settle in.  Yesterday Sophie (the other Brit joining IBM MY) and I went for dinner with two of Sepidehs friends, Amir and Ghazaleh, at Jalan Alor, a bustling Malaysian street selling all sorts of Asian foods.  Below are some photos from our evening.

Dinner at Jalan Alor.

Local fruits from a stall in Jalan Alor. Lychees.

 Swimming pool on the 36th floor of Amir’s flat.

Tomorrow I am journeying to the office to meet my team. I'm very excited to meet them, and a tad nervous about the language differences. Whilst people here mostly speak very good English, I really struggle to hear and remember names correctly. I don't want to look rude! Updates on this trip and other adventures will follow.  I miss everyone at home so much, but I am settling in well with great thanks to Sepideh. So please don’t worry. Keep in touch.