Hello hello! How have you been? It's good to be back...writing, sharing, catching up. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday morning and despite having the airline lose one of six checked bags for nearly two days, everything went smoothly. We're all settled into our temporary serviced apartment as we wait for our first batch of home necessities to arrive via freight - I just pray that everything makes it over here and in one piece. In the meantime I'm loving living in a place where if we need honey for our yogurt and granola all we need to do is press a button. Also, I'm getting really spoiled with daily house keeping and a breakfast buffet with tons of cut fresh fruit (I'm the laziest when it comes to cutting my own but I will eat it all day long if it's there - anyone with me?).
It's day four here and while I can't say that I'm in love just yet (never mind the post title - I make a city work for it) I can tell you that I won't be lost for inspiration anytime soon . Between the lush vegetation, patterns and textures of modern buildings, and the juxtaposition of Islamic and Colonial British design everywhere you look, it's going to be pretty sweet. I think I'll be able to do an entire photo series on Islamic patterns found on pavements, fences, entryways...seriously, my geometric pattern-loving heart is in heaven.
We got into the local swing real quick by hanging out at ... uuhh...hate to say it...do I need to say it?...yeah, okay: at three different malls. There are so many malls here but we get it, it's just not very comfortable to do anything outside for longer than 30 minutes during the day. We'll just have to re-wire our anti-indoor shopping center brains and succumb to being mall rats. It's almost like being in Vegas where every Casino is a self-contained air-conditioned world. The three malls we visited had a post office, day care centers, art galleries, spas, gyms, full-serviced restaurants, medical clinics, movie theaters, you name it. You can practically live there and many people do. As difficult as this is to say, I may eventually set up office on the fourth floor Coffee Bean or Starbucks like the locals do. In LA or London this would have been cringe-worthy but until I find something more my style, I think it's gotta be my norm.
Another thing we did that we otherwise wouldn't was buy tickets for the local hop-on hop-off buses. You know, those double decker buses that every touristy city has that follows a points-of-interest route? We've always dismissed them by preferring to explore via foot and the local transport systems. However, with KL being a bit more spread out - and not the most pedestrian and public transpo friendly city - we opted to go for the big bus to get a lay of the land. It was a good move because we got a glimpse at Chinatown, Little India, the Lake Gardens, and other cultural and commercial areas that would have otherwise each been a full day trek. There's a lot to take in here - yes, obviously the cool sights but also the cultural norms and personal lifestyle adjustments. I've always been proud to say that I take change very well and adjust easily but let's face it, London was a piece of cake. KL is certainly very new and different but one comforting thought is that if any city-woes do arise, we're only a cheap airplane ticket and hour away from the most beautiful beaches in the world. They can cure anything, I'm sure.
Yesterday was the first rain we've experienced since moving back to LA and I'm sure that the grey morning skies and cool mornings of late have everything to do with my draw to these images.
Better yet, Happy February! It's my favorite month of the year for three reasons: 1) the anniversary of when Joe and I met 2) Valentine's Day and 3) my birthday. Actually, we really don't care too much about Valentine's Day (it should be every day - duh) but since it falls smack in the middle of the other two, we include it in what we call Valen-Birth-Sary. We coined the term last year after the month filled up with celebratory plans, shared love notes, gifts....and well, it's now an official holiday in our household :)