A couple of hours in flight and we’ve landed at the Kuala Lumpur International airport. Typically upon arrival to an Asian country, you wait in a line, before a stern faced immigration officer reviews you and your passport. Sometimes they scan your fingerprints digitally or take a photo, before stamping your passport without further comment, waving you in. This time is different, there was no line, and we just scanned our passport at an electronic turnstile and we’re in. High tech, cool….
Our hope is that Malaysia has more English and a few more of the amenities we’ve been missing a bit in Vietnam. We imagine air-conditioned towers and modern shopping centers, based on what little we know of “KL”.
Having gained its independence from the United Kingdom in the late 1950’s, Malaysia is a nation of about 34 million people, with a multi-cultural mix of various Malay ethnic groups, as well as Chinese and Indian decent. The official language is Malay, but English is a recognized language and highly utilized in the country.
Grab is expected to be affordable here and is our plan to make the 50 minute drive (28 miles) into the heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur, where we’ll be staying for the next month in a high rise tower. We make our way to the Grab pickup zone, only to find signs that today only, Grab has been moved and we’ll need to shuttle to another area. Minutes later, we’re on a bus crammed awkwardly with other passengers and luggage, for a 20 minute ride to who knows where. The trip leaves the airport and heads down a highway, while finally making the turn back towards the domestic terminal, in a large parking lot with signs indicating a parking area for “women only”. What exactly is Women Only parking we wonder?
After some trouble getting our cell signal to work, we’re in a Grab vehicle and heading north along smooth modern highways, surrounded by green in every direction. It isn’t long before we hit traffic and a major slowdown, as menacing black rain clouds form ahead.
The reasons for delay at the airport and the traffic slowdown are made clear as we pass a huge digital sign that reads “Welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping”, along with large red flags for China. Apparently all the fuss is because Mr. Xi is also visiting Kuala Lumpur on this same day and Malaysia is rolling out the red carpet. We learn that he is making a tour through SE Asia, visiting Malaysia, Vietnam and other locales to build economic ties, thus taking advantage of the high tariffs being levied by the American government. Interesting…
The storm hits and suddenly it feels dark in the daytime and the rain comes down in buckets. We start to feel a bit bad for our driver. The ride is going to charge us only $11 and he’s going to be driving us through traffic and an absolute deluge. He’s kind, patient and professional and thankfully we proceed safely, although the rain is so hard that the ride induces a few white knuckles. The landscape becomes more urban as we approach KL, as we track progress on Google Maps. There it is, in the distance, more high rise towers than we can count. It’s so dark, the question is asked “Is the power out?” We’re not sure. It reminds us of the film Blade Runner, with towers in every direction, wet and dark, with an eerie melancholy. Is this typical, we wonder?
We arrive at The Robertson Residences in the Bukit Bintang neighborhood, right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. There’s a guard tower at the entrance and we have to register before obtaining our key cards. We choose the first elevator bank and up we go to the 35th floor, in a building of 46. Once in our place, we can finally look out the large windows and oversee our new city and it’s absolutely spectacular. Look ahead and you can get lost in the sheer number of towers in the distance. Pivot just to your right and you’ll see the Merdeka 118 building, just a couple of blocks away, a 118 floor mega-tower and the second tallest building in the entire world.
We can’t wait to explore our new home.
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