I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia around 5:30 pm via train from Johor Bahru, the first Malay city north of Singapore.  Upon arriving at the station I made my way to the bathrooms where I met my first squat toilet, and after a brief moment of, "I'm supposed to do what?" I managed without peeing on my feet.  Small personal victory.  The walk from the station to my hostel was quick and after situating my things in my bunk and locking up my backpack, I hit the streets to find some dinner and wandered into Chinatown.  After politely declining several offers to purchase DVDs, sunglasses, and counterfeit Louis Vuitton I made it to the street vendors.  Yum.

Now, when I was still in the preparation phases of this trip I made a visit to the travel clinic to get vaccinated and prescribed what I would need to stay healthy.  I was also advised to avoid street food and to stick as much as I could to commercial and sealed foods.  To which I say, bad form, why eat what I can eat in America?  While I nodded in agreement with my physician, I had complete intentions to disregard that advice, and that disregard has thus far led me to deliciousness; tonight's prawn dumplings with noodles and a generous quantity of chili paste being no exception.

As the streets of Kuala Lumpur darkened I made my way back to my hostel to grab a drink at the roof top bar.   I joined a group of guys and one girl who were, like me, all traveling alone.  The group included individuals from Sicily, China, Germany, England, Switzerland, Florida, and one (sorry to feed into stereotypes) extremely intoxicated Irish man who continuously referred to Guiness as "Mother's milk."

New friends to see sites with tomorrow and all it took was a "Mind if I join you?"  Love meeting people in hostels.

Sorry, no pictures this time, I'll double down next post.