Actually this trip back to Kuala Lumpur I didn’t take many trips out of the city..except to Thailand. Mostly packing up everything for Sydney, met up with some friends at the wavepool – for those of you who don’t know, yes, Kuala Lumpur has an artificial wave pool! It’s like a 2 x olympic sized pool, with tanks hidden behind a 10 storey fibre glass volcano (that can spit out flames) and the mechanism is simple. It works like a great big 10-storey volcano shaped…toilet Some Indian dude presses a button and the tanks spit out a slushy, shoulder high wave. Some pro surfers brought a jet ski into there and ripped the place up.

http://flickr.com/photos/folio/sets/4707/

Waterfall are also really beautiful, the rainforests. The surfing is ok during monsoon seasons, some really epic days, always on the weekdays when I can’t make the 4 hr drive to the east coast. Also if you like being pelted by so much rain that it hurts, or living on huts on stilts because it really does flood in the monsoons, walking around barefooted, not having your clothes dry out for 9 days because it’s raining so much. Eating fantastic local food during Ramadhan..mmm

There is also amazing scuba diving if you’re happy to drive 5 hours out of town or take a flight to east malaysia (borneo) – orangutans and all that, very cool. And very strong. Sipadan Island is amazing, we were the last batch they let stay on the island and everyone else has to make day trips there now from Mabul. But you have Volkswagon Beetle sized turtles. I am not kidding. It is freaky to be swimming next to something bigger than you, and 1 snuck up on me (ok, swam above me) on a night dive and I let out a scream underwater. Contrary to what they say, it is possible to be heard underwater if you scream loud enough.

Ah, good times.

What’s that? I have too much fun?

Nahhh.. I just compressed the best bits from 3-4 years.

Well..not too much fun anyway
Shi

Best wishes for 2006…nothing much happened here, spent my NYE in a little seaside town called Cherating on the east coast of Malaysia. Haven’t made any significant resolutions except to 1. Not stress so much 2. Exercise more to eleviate stress. 3. Not think about how stressed I am and 4. Surf more (Source of stress doesn’t allow me to have enough free time).

Anyhow…in the midst of all this, a friend’s friend came to Malaysia for the holidays and we had a pretty good week, I think. Here’s a pic of the good life in KL – Bar Luna. It’s a place on the roof top of a service apartment tower, really close to the bars area of KL – Jalan Sultan Ismail and the infamous Beach Club…

Such a good place to bring a special someone you’d like to canoodle with or if you’re a schmuck like me, come with good company, plant your bottom on the mod cushy chairs, strawberry daquiri in hand (ok, so that’s just MY choice of drink)….admire the sparkling lights, the view and what a weird and wonderful city Kuala Lumpur is….so nice.

And of course before the bar we had a fantastic Indo-Chine (vietnamese, thai etc) dinner at the Bar Savant at the Asian Heritage Row. Thai duck salad, mango salad, starters platter with fresh rolls, moneybags, chicken green curry, black pepper beef…great food. Buddhist décor with sculptures, wall carvings, koi pond and Bob Marley blasting downstairs

One of the perks of being in a warm tropical country….

Best wishes
Shi.