From our long, lazy stay at Hozumi's mum's, punctuated by bursts of activity when we hit unexpected bureaucratic hurdles, to the big wide world outside of Japan and many more long, lazy days in the sun.
They've done a passable job of making the new Haneda international airport terminal evoke old-school Japan, with lanterns, wooden slatted windows and red cloth draped benches everywhere. They also decided to make the roof resemble a giant vagina, for reasons I can only guess at.
Random numbering observations:
When we checked in for our flight we were given seats 23D and 23F, which confused us a little since I was sure I had selected adjacent seats when booking. The seats went, from left to right, A, B, C, D, F, G, H, I, J. Why no E column? A minor mystery that I really should Google.
Malaysian multi-storey buildings start with G for the ground floor and then 1st, 2nd etc. just like Britain, which initially confused Hozumi when we used elevators.
When we bought bus tickets we got seats 1A and 1D. We were once again suprised to find ourselves seated next to each other - B and C were on the left side of the bus. We weren't in the front row either, that was FB, FC, FD and FA from left to right.
Humidity and heat greeted us on arrival, a sharp contrast from the heavy snow we left 7 hours earlier in Japan.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur with only a phone number, a fake onward ticket and a fake address to get us through customs. We didn't need the fakes as we both got 90 day stamps with the most cursory of glances.
Straight to Chinatown for a cheap breakfast, then we contacted Sabran (Couchsurfing) to try and get a couch for the night. 3 hours, all our coins and lots of mis-communication later we gave up and checked into a hostel. Fortunately the hostel had wi-fi so we got back in touch and met for dinner and beers. Sabran turned out to be an excellent host, taking us all over the place, sightseeing, shopping and eating. We couldn't stay at his place, though, as his brother had arrived early with his large family in tow.
I suppose there are two main types of CS hosts: People like me, that offer floor space, an open door, a little advice and little else and hosts like Sabran who are willing to spend all day showing their guests around. I'm not really sure what motivates those hosts, but I'm not complaining!
Malaysian food is as good and varied as everyone says it is, though I have to say we've had better, cheaper fare at the Indian and Chinese places than the 'Malaysian', but since most stalls are a rioutous mix of all three and more the distinction is pretty blurred.
Our second day in Kuala Lumpur we visited the Batu caves, easily recognisable as a Hindu holy site by the HUGE gold statue and crowds of Indians in traditional fancy garb thronging the place. A very airy, open, cave at the top of 247 steps that would perhaps be more spectacular if we hadn't been spoilt by all the caves we've seen recently. Large white people puffed and panted on the second flight of stairs, debating whether or not to make the climb.
The Islamic Arts Museum was fascinating, covering everything from Mughals to Moors, maces to architecture. I hadn't realised the Mughal were Mongolian descendants or that Chinese muslims are/were so common. The Qu'ran is either much shorter than I imagined or the script is very dense. Glass hilted daggers and kris very impractical, if pretty.
Putrajaya is an entire town purpose-built for government ministries. Huge complexes and large grassy expanses dominate the scenery, with the size of the building reflecting the ministry's relative power and influence. The biggest seemed to be the ministry of finance, naturally. A large artificial lake was built to circle the town, followed by half-a-dozen massive fancy bridges. Sabran was disgusted at the waste of tax-payer's money, and most especially by the fact he quoted regarding the curvy street lights lining every road. Apparently one such light cost as much as a typical Malaysian's lifetime education...
Doesn't sound all that different from Japanese nepotism, except that in Japan, such projects are usually dams and infrastructure, not overt displays of wealth.
We also got to see a few couples coming out of mosque weddings and strutting their stuff for photographers. Be interesting to see the ceremony itself someday.
Next up, Melaka.
Random numbering observations:
When we checked in for our flight we were given seats 23D and 23F, which confused us a little since I was sure I had selected adjacent seats when booking. The seats went, from left to right, A, B, C, D, F, G, H, I, J. Why no E column? A minor mystery that I really should Google.
Malaysian multi-storey buildings start with G for the ground floor and then 1st, 2nd etc. just like Britain, which initially confused Hozumi when we used elevators.
When we bought bus tickets we got seats 1A and 1D. We were once again suprised to find ourselves seated next to each other - B and C were on the left side of the bus. We weren't in the front row either, that was FB, FC, FD and FA from left to right.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur with only a phone number, a fake onward ticket and a fake address to get us through customs. We didn't need the fakes as we both got 90 day stamps with the most cursory of glances.
Straight to Chinatown for a cheap breakfast, then we contacted Sabran (Couchsurfing) to try and get a couch for the night. 3 hours, all our coins and lots of mis-communication later we gave up and checked into a hostel. Fortunately the hostel had wi-fi so we got back in touch and met for dinner and beers. Sabran turned out to be an excellent host, taking us all over the place, sightseeing, shopping and eating. We couldn't stay at his place, though, as his brother had arrived early with his large family in tow.
Malaysian food is as good and varied as everyone says it is, though I have to say we've had better, cheaper fare at the Indian and Chinese places than the 'Malaysian', but since most stalls are a rioutous mix of all three and more the distinction is pretty blurred.
The Islamic Arts Museum was fascinating, covering everything from Mughals to Moors, maces to architecture. I hadn't realised the Mughal were Mongolian descendants or that Chinese muslims are/were so common. The Qu'ran is either much shorter than I imagined or the script is very dense. Glass hilted daggers and kris very impractical, if pretty.
Doesn't sound all that different from Japanese nepotism, except that in Japan, such projects are usually dams and infrastructure, not overt displays of wealth.
Next up, Melaka.
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