Week 2

We had a very busy weekend and head into Week 2 somewhat tired. On Saturday Steve Wise, a veteran Taylor teacher took us on a tour of KL. Kuala Lumpur is definitely a cosmopolitan city that turned the architects loose with carte blanche. The Petronas Towers are not alone in their architectural splendor. However, they are spectacular, especially lit up at night!

Inside the towers is a mall that features every high end store from every country in the world, from Hermes of France to Harrods of England and everything in between. However apart from the Gucci's there are also normal stores on the other 9 levels of the shopping area. I can only think that these stores cater to the vacationing peoples from the middle east.

Steve took us on a tour of the city that included a marketplace, China Town, and the Petronas park. We watched the sunset from the Traders hotel rooftop pool sipping wine, beer, and a Hemmingway Daiquiri por moi. (hey Gabe, trying to keep my poop de do up). As the sun set, the various levels of the Petronas Towers lit up.

Shelley found a jewellry trade show in the convention centre and we all signed up for a free visitors pass. The prices were excellent but unfortunately time was short and Shelley came away empty handed due to the lack of comparison shopping time. I am sure there will be opportunities in the future :-)

We travelled to KL from Subang jaya by train and it was really crowded. We came back by cab for 17 ringgits ($5.50 CDN) and that was a much better choice! We ate dinner in Chinatown at a restaurant with a sidewalk cafe that Steve recommended. It was excellent and the people watching was even better. There are many westerners travelling around KL compared to Subang Jaya where we are somewhat of a rarity. I also saw quite a few young backpackers.

Five star hotels in KL can be found for $125 CDN. The city is definitely a bargain if you can survive the iron butt flight to get there. Shelley and I took lots of pictures and we will be creating a site on flickr for you to peruse.

Have to get ready for my class now. I must be doing something wrong as my class sizes have grown to 26, 26, and 23. Time to scare some students off :-)

TTYL,

Jim