Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

Kuala Lumpur: 

For some strange reason, a lot of backpackers and flashpackers leave Malaysia completely off their itineraries.  In my opinion, that is a mistake.  Just like the other countries on the classic Southeast Asian trail, you can travel on a very tight budget here.  The real beauty, though, is that Malaysia lets you completely avoid the chaotic hordes of travelers currently choking out Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

A short, two-hour drive north from Malacca via a super comfortable bus landed us right in the bustling capital of Kuala Lumpur (aka KL).  This place is easily one of the most cosmopolitan cities in all of Asia.

Mega-Malls and Steambath Humidity

KL is filled with massive skyscrapers, the absolute crown jewels being the famous Petronas Towers.  Back in their day, these were the tallest towers in the world, and they still clock in at around number five or six on the global list.

There are mega-malls scattered all over KL, and they are wildly popular with the locals.  The Malaysians don’t just go there to shop or hit the food courts; the mall out here is a legitimate social hub where people go to meet up and simply enjoy the blast of air conditioning.  Let me tell you, it is absolute steambath hot in this city.

On the plus side, KL has an incredibly diverse range of restaurants, bars, entertainment, museums, and markets catering to visitors from all over the globe.  They also have a spectacular public transit system that gets you around the city efficiently without breaking a sweat.

The Old KL

We elected to stay in a boutique guesthouse in the popular Bukit Bintang area. It’s directly in the city center, but safely tucked a few blocks away from the massive, sterile, high-rise chain hotels.

This is one of the few remaining pockets in the city center that hasn’t been torn down and replaced by bland towers.  It still retains that laid-back neighborhood ambiance that I remember from my first time in KL twenty years ago.  Unfortunately, soaring property values mean these old areas with actual character are losing the battle to developers.

The absolute best part of our location, though?  We were conveniently parked exactly one block from Jalan Alor—the biggest outdoor eating street in the city.  At dinnertime, this street is a total foodie’s paradise, steaming with action, smoke, and smells.

Next-Level Caveman Dining

The food standards here are remarkably high, and you can eat for dirt cheap throughout the city, which is exactly what we have been doing.  But while chowing down, we noticed one of the strangest things about local dining etiquette: a ton of the locals eat with their bare hands—no silverware whatsoever.

Just picture yourself going up to a buffet and piling a plate high with an assortment of different dishes.  Now, take a combination of those items, mix it all around with your fingers and hands, grab a solid chunk of it, roll the whole thing into a ball-like formation, and toss it straight into your mouth.

Big Doug is totally down with eating like a caveman from time to time.  But damn… these guys in KL take caveman eating to an absolute masterclass level.  I actually have a buddy back home whose nickname is literally “Caveman” because of his eating style, and these guys in KL could easily school him.

🍽️ The KL Food Scene

• Cu Cha Restaurant: Located right on the Jalan Alor eating street.

• Pinchos Tapas Bar: Western food when you need a break from noodles.

• Dragon-i: Dim sum and dumplings.

• Food Republic @ Pavilion Mall, Lot 10, & Suria KLCC: Mall food courts. Pristine quality and freezing cold A/C.

Racing the Tourist Clock to Myanmar

The itinerary is shifting again.  We are flying back to Singapore for our two-and-a-half-week house and dog-sitting gig, and then we’ll loop back into Malaysia to hit a few spots on the peninsula that we missed.

Looking forward into the new year, we have tentative plans to hit up a fascinating country that very few people have visited, but is guaranteed to be on everyone’s bucket list down the road: Myanmar (aka Burma).

I feel like it’s an absolute necessity to visit right now.  Myanmar only recently opened its borders to tourists, making it the very last frontier in Southeast Asia that isn’t choked out by tourist herds.  But the secret is out, and it’s changing at a breakneck pace.  Backpackers are racing across the border to catch a glimpse of what “the Asia of thirty years ago” looked like.  Tourism out there has literally doubled every single year for the past five years, with over a million visitors expected in 2015.  We have to check it out now before the floodgates burst and it gets completely built up like its neighbors.

LOOSE STOOLS INDEX

• Big Doug Rating: 9 / 10

Everything is completely cool with BFD’s bowels.  The system is processing the Malaysian street spices like a absolute champion.  Barbie, on the other hand… her index has been slipping a bit lately.  Send thoughts and prayers.

Thru the Binocs

I hope you’ve all been having a stellar holiday season, and I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

My personal New Year’s resolution for 2016 is simple: to be significantly more lazy.

I want to indulge more heavily in the fine Art of Laziness.  I want to fully master the art of being aimless and completely indolent.  The goal is to relax even more, unwind deeper, and simply do less.  I am genuinely looking forward to doing absolutely nothing in particular, continuing to live entirely in the moment, and refusing to think about the future.

I know it makes me sound like a total stoner, but it’s really just about achieving a more Zen-like existence.  Do not underestimate how incredibly difficult this is to actually execute when you’re used to the rat race.