During our last week in Bangkok, MD and I took a two-day trip over to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to see what we could see. We flew AirAsia from Don Meong airport into KL’s massive airport and grabbed a taxi into the city. Immediately upon entering Malaysia, I was struck by the contrasts of an Islamic country from Thailand’s predominately Buddhist population: many more women wearing the hijab or burqa; the clothing for sale is long-sleeved or full-length skirts; and many places everywhere in which Muslims may pray – the airport offered special rooms alongside each of the bathrooms.

The taxi ride took almost an hour – both because of the distance and traffic. Kuala Lumpur is a huge city, much larger than either MD or I had anticipated. About 1.5 million people live in the city, but the Greater Kuala Lumpur area has about 7.5 million people. We had no trouble finding our hostel, the Reggae Mansion, in the city centre, an old colonial mansion that now caters to young people. The building was a veritable maze of staircases and levels, as it seemed like several buildings had been put together for the current establishment. It also boasts a roof-top bar with views across the city and a cinema. We were only there one night, but it definitely seemed like the kind of place in which it would be cool to hang out for a week or more.

After dropping off our gear, we headed out into the city centre to explore a bit. We noticed a lot of street art everywhere, as you can see from the pictures. Check back tomorrow for details from our visit to city centre.

Title quote: Sign posted on each upper bunk bed at the Reggae Mansion. Seems like mighty fine life advice to me.

Aside: Lest my account here prove disingenuous, I actually stayed in a private room at the hostel, not one of the bunkbeds – a luxurious accommodation that set me back some $30 for the night, I think. /aside