A little bit of Earth: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Knights come in juice booths, and make strawberry smoothies. I arrived at LCCT and the first thing I did was purchase a sim pack with data plan only to realize that my mobile phone is locked to a network in the Philippines. I hadn't turned on roaming so it was a total bummer. I headed out of the airport, and as I stepped out a sudden gush of heat, unfamiliarity & disorientation hit me. I started sweating not because I was panicking, but probably because my brain was overstimulated and at the same time trying to calmly think of how else to reach my friends. I saw payphones, detected wifi, all of which didn't work. I knew I had to get to KL Sentral so I got my bus + train ticket, walked around until I decided to cool down with a strawberry smoothie. A few sips later and still by the juice stand, I blurt out to the cashier, "Can I use your phone? I need to reach my friends and my phone doesn't work." He mentioned I could but that he didn't have enough credit to make calls, and so I tell him we could use the one I had just bought. Chivalry is not dead! Thankfully, I was able to contact Yesodhra and we both agreed I get to KL Sentral and hopefully find another person who would let me use his/ her phone so I could call her or Jockim. In the train, I was thinking, damn it how many people would let me use their phone. I play a game on my phone to soothe my nerves, stupidly try to turn on roaming, turn on my dataplan, and then turn on wifi - my phone buzzes, AHAH! Whatsapp! The wifi in the KLIA Express train and at KL Sentral helped me spot, Jockim. Roaming around Malaysia was a comfortable experience for me since I didn't have to find my way around. Jockim and Yes kept me company all throughout my stay, toured me around and squeezed in a history lesson here and there.
Highlights of my Stay

• Magnifico welcomed me in Chapter One at Hartamas with a filipino song! (I felt so special)
• Meeting a Silat Guru, having cider til I felt bloated, and getting a damned good read or as Kuya (Jockim) says chismis
• My knight in shining armor disguised as a juice boy, haha! Thank you, thank you!
• Roaming around Kuala Lumpur with lots of laughs with Jockim and Yes
• Street side food stalls just outside my hotel.... mmmm roti and masala tea, I miss!

Places I went to See

KL Bird Park, Lake Gardens

• The "World's Largest free-flight walk-in aviary"
• So cool to see birds just making their way around the park

Batu Caves Sri Subramaniam Temple, Gombak District, Selangor

• 272 Steep Steps that were once wooden steps
• Monkeys are free to hang around
• Proud of Yes and Jockim for making it to the top (I insisted!)
• I didn't go inside the Dark Caves, something to try next time
• I learned that just north to the caves is Gua Dumai wall, a place to enjoy not only the scenic view but rock climbing as well!
• Before making our way to Batu Caves, Yes and Jockim took me to try out some hawker gourmet! Nom nom, an experience you would not want to miss, and yes, I miss the sambal noodles.

Dataran Merdeka Square

• There is also a Merdeka Square in Jakarta
• Close to the Merdeka Square is an underground entrance to an old theatre which to this day still holds shows/ plays
• If you hang around long enough til the wee hours of the night you may just be able to witness kids drag race

Central Market

• You'll find a variety of Indian, Malay, to Chinese items
• Refuel yourself with a snack like Putu Bambu (pandan rice cake, yum!) or have a full meal
• Had my first ever Nasi Lemak at the Old Town White Coffee

KLCC Petronas Twin Towers

• Yes and I walked the sky bridge to get to the Pavilion Mall stayed at Malone's, an Irish bar and had Sauvignon Blanc. We had a few hours to ourselves for some girl talk.
• Devoured delicious pastries from Loaf
• Dinner was at The Apartment back in KLCC Suria Mall with Yes, Jockim, and little Vida

The trip may have not been perfectly planned, but I think that takes away from unraveling whatever mysteries a city has to offer. In Kuala Lumpur, I learned that your knight in shining armor can be some guy standing behind a juice stall, the unexpected will still surprise you and at the end of it all you may just come home feeling a little bit luckier, a little bit wiser, a little bit better.

Although there had been many years between us these two easily made it feel as if it were yesterday.