the first few days of the rest of my life...Kuala Lumpur...

no photos to post just quite yet due to technical problems: apparently my Nexus 7 tablet does not read what is called Exfat files, and it seems that the photos taken on my SD card are in such format. So I cannot seem to upload my photos using my tablet and have to rely on finding a laptop or PC on my way.

I will do my best to post pix soon.

In the meantime, some comments about my trip so far...

...My lay over in Tokyo was really short (only over night), but I did manage top see Yuri again,m which after about 8 years, it was long over due. The good thing about true/real friends is that no matter how long you havent seen each other for, when you see each other again, it feels as if only a day has passed. Yuri, I miss you so much. I real hope we can see each other again very soon. That short lay over also made me really want to spend more time in the country. The little I saw definitely resonated with the idea I had in mind.

...Kuala Lumpur...nothing to do at all with what I had in mind before coming. This city is totally first world and urbanized. The only very crucial detail (which might sound a bit simple and silly) but here we drive on the left side of the road and not the right side. And when you spend your whole days walking around jay walking from street to street, trust me, it is VERY IMPORTANT, as buses do not arrive from your left  side, but rather speeding by on your right side!
Anyhow, two words to describe KL: HOT & HUMID...as hell! Not sure about the exact temperature so far, but the summer Miami temperature feels like winter compared to here right now.
I have been in KL a total of 3 nights and 2 full days. I think that because of the heat and the discomfort it would be to stay in my dorms all day (yes, I rented a bed (rather a plank on a bed frame) in an 24-bed dorm room hostel, at $4 a night, budget travelling is budget travelling...after all, I did fly from DC to KL in business class!), and so I decided that I would put the two days I have in KL to good use and try and see EVERYTHING there is to see in this city...I think I have walked a total of at least 10 hours in two days...take into account the heat and humidity!
And though I have seen every monument and site worth a visit, it is only last night that I realized I had omitted the Indian part of KL...why is this important you might ask? well...yesterday was Holi celebration in the Hindu temples of the city, and for years now I had dreamt to join this celebration. So booh me! :o(
You will see for yourself with the photos, but those two days showed me that KL doest not actually have that much to offer after all. Lets just say that the rest of my trip can only be more mesmerizing...

Something interesting actually happened today: so between my jet lag, my terrible bed, my neck pains, and the heat, this morning I was up and about by 7:30am. One of the points of interest I had wanted to do was the Batu Caves (they have the worlds tallest Hindu statue apparently! and quite a few monkeys) These caves are located on the other side of the city, and so two options to get there: Subway or bus, both take you pretty much to the gate of the site. Well...subway means underground, fast speed, and not much local culture bathing. Bus means the opposite...so I went for bus. After leaving my hostel and walking for about a good 20 minutes, I finally managed to find what I thought was the spot to wait for the so called bus...after waiting for a good hour, while observing a guy making (what I would later realize) rotis, I am told that this is not the right spot (I should have asked to three different people instead of one) and so I move on to the next spot...there, after waiting for 15 minutes, I am told that a few blocks away there is a bus that is much faster and more frequent...so off I go again, and finally catch the damn bus at about 9am or  so.
hmnmm...all of a sudden, when driving through the Indian part of the city, another bus fish tails our bus...our driver aint so happy about it and starts speeding to get to the level of the other bus to curse at him and tell him that he will beat him up soon. The other bus pulls over (to the left side ;o) both buses stop to the curb, both drivers get off...ours all of a sudden run towards the other and jumps to his throat. They both fall on the curb/gutter, battling between the gutter and against the bus tires...UFC moment...punches and kicks and so forth.
People get off the buses, but do not move a finger...seems like a daily thing to them I suppose...after all, no blood in the scene. I yell a few times "STOP" "LET GO". Not sure if for that, but they finally stopped. Our driver definitely got the upper hand on the fight. Both drivers regain their bus seat, and off we go. So between that and discovering the whole Little India part of town, I guess it was worth the wait after all.

My next stop was the national mosque. A very modern architecture, where I was welcome by a white american lady from Ohio. Go wonder...

I finally made it back to the hostel, and met this interesting British man,. who is as amazingly bohemian as can get. He volunteers in a refugee school on the burma/thailand border in the winter and volunters in the various music festival;s in the summer. Well...even more interesting is that he has crossed, biking, tajikistan, kyrgistan, and parts of china in one trip, as well as laos, cambodia, and thailand. He also drove from England to Mali in a 2 Chevaux, and later in the same car, from England to Syria! Fascinating adventurer! He also spent last month in Burma, and now Burma is definitely on my list for this trip! Am going there either before or after Thailand.

Tomorrow I am actually flying to Borneo. I think I will do the whole coast of the island before I start island hoping in Indonesia. (Crazy thing, but the British guy is actually going to Bali tomorrow to start yet another biking trip, this time crossing all of Indonesia - except Sumatra).
Sebastian...this kind of biking trip has our name written all over it!!!!!!! 2015 or 2016 maybe?!

Ok, i think that is a good update for now...nothing philosophical just yet...only beginning my adventure, and being in such a big city is not helping...I need to crash in a hammock on a beach and sleep for two days.

On this note...buenas noches a tod@s!

I am very proud and happy to report that while my hostel is lopcated in the very heart of Chinatown, and thus surrounded by enticing street markets, I have managed to hold myself and not buy a single thing...so far!  Sebastian, see? I am able to actually control my compulsory shopping habit. Thank God I still havent crossed any Zara store. lol