We showed them our baggage claims and described our bags in all memorable details, both as to exterior appearance and contents. Their computer check gave no indication as to the present location of our bags, though we were assured that, "99 percent of the time" these things turn up in a few days.
After the hour spent getting our [first] claim filed, we were waived through Customs without inspection (perhaps because they were aware that our checked bags had not arrived?). Later, it bothered me to realize I’d not had the opportunity to ask my question about my dried fruit---just call me "the inadvertent smuggler."
Happily, despite the long delay occasioned by our missing luggage, Jana’s sister (Pat) and brother-in-law (Kean Giap) were still waiting to take us back to their small, 3-bedroom apartment in KL, where we are staying the next four or five days. I am pleased with the relative privacy of our bedroom in their Kuala Lumpur apartment and find I can recharge my computer on their 220V outlet though the use of three adapters in series. We don’t wear footwear in the apartment . . . I like the coolness of the polished marble floors against my feet . . . the apartment is not air-conditioned, except for the bedrooms at night.
The first evening, we had supper at a street vendor’s place in Chinatown (noodles in a tasty sauce with crispy bacon-tasting pork . . . a good value for only a few $’s). After dinner, we strolled the nearby, open-air, night market [Jalan Petaling], where I bought a switch blade knife for it’s novelty value. Jana bought what appeared to be a superior Rolex knock-off for a friend for RM110 (about $30US), with Kean Giap’s expert assurance that it was all but indistinguishable from the real thing.
Kuala Lumpur: Monday evening, December 29, 2003
After sleeping-in a bit late and a good breakfast (beans in a sweetened tomato sauce with eggs, +), KG & Pat dropped Jana & I at KLCC, the large, classy, well-designed mall at the Petronas Towers complex. It has 5 levels, a beautiful, domed skylight atrium (now decorated for Christmas), and all the amenities, including some top-flight stores, two food courts (one specializing in Asian food), and some fine looking Asian restaurants. It also has an excellent Japanese bookstore (Kinokuniya), which is as good as the best Barnes & Noble and more interesting--it has a nearly as extensive collection of English titles as B&N, as well as a large selection of Chinese titles, and others in Japanese, Malay, etc. It also has a café with a view.
After spending much of the afternoon on our feet, Jana & I stopped at [The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf], where Jana had a latte & I had a coffee-mocha ice-blended beverage, better than a Starbuck’s Frappucino [because less sweet (with a sharper coffee undertone and a dark-chocolate’s bitter sweetness). I’m sure I will order this again another time and wonder if it will taste as good on subsequent orderings, or will instead come to taste like the bottom of a coffee cup in which someone has extinguished a cigarette].
With our coffee drinks, we enjoyed the view of the skyline & park in the intermittent, low-angled sunbeams, especially the mesmerizing spray patterns and formations of the plaza’s large dancing fountain. After the Coffee Bean, I found a great value on some good-quality, dressy shirts at the Japanese department store [Isetan?] and bought two. Btw, the mall movie theater shows first run American movies (and some others) for a full-priced adult admission of about 10RM (i.e., 10 ringitt (the Malaysian currency) . . . this translates into less than $3US, so, from my perspective, it is a very good value, though I don't know that I've come all the way to Malaysia to see "Lord of the Rings."
[As an interesting sidelight, while we were at KLCC, there was a parachuting competition going on. Each competitor would jump, one at a time, from one of the higher levels of one of the Petronas Towers (maybe about 900' up?), free-falling 4 or 5 seconds before popping his chute. The chute was a controllable, wing-like thing, reminiscent of hang-glider, allowing a gliding, controlled descent. Each contestant would try to come as close as possible to landing on a target spot, which was made more difficult by the sometimes blustery winds.]
At around 8pm, our hosts treated us to a six-course dinner at one of the better Chinese restaurants . . . this was a truly fine meal, with six main dishes served (whole steamed fish, shrimp waldorf salad, venison, ostrich, tofu & vegetables). The tofu, homemade on the premises, very soft and in a subtle sauce, was, no doubt, the best I’d ever had. After dinner, they took us to KL’s "Golden Triangle" area, allowing us some time to walk through this area of upscale nightlife, which boasts a goodly amount of neon and other brightly colored lights, as well as a number of shopping malls. Back at home, we enjoyed an aperitif of mandarin orange and coconut juice.
Tuesday, December 30
Jana & I began the day with KG’s guided tour of some Kuala Lumpur highlights: Lake Gardens (a beautifully peaceful park of some 92 hectares, including the separate Orchid Garden & Hibiscus Garden), the National Mosque, the old railroad station, the National Monument, Parliament, etc. After that, KG dropped Jana & me at the Central Market, where we looked at the batik & other wares and had lunch at Ginger’s (Malay cuisine - good).