Day 3 -4:
It’s me and the vampires that keep these types of hours…

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention working the graveyard shift is something I think everyone should try at least once in their life- and hey, why not try this grueling recipe while traveling to a foreign and exotic place too? I’ve been keeping the vampire hours, so I call myself batgirl now. I wake up while most people are coming home from work and work while most people sleep – I wake up around 4:00 -4:30 p.m., shower and get ready for work – slipping into flip-flops, and a sundress I shove my laptop into a bag and trot into the morning darkness in search of breakfast, or is it dinner…?  

I’ve been trying to make the most of the free-time I have, so I plan what I’m going to do before I go to bed in the morning, and then head in that direction before starting work at night, which is about 9:00 pm. Are you with me so far? It’s confusing, isn’t it? I find myself saying, “selamat pagi” (good morning) during the p.m. hours and, “selamat malam” (good evening) during the a.m. hours, because I’m really screwed up with time. I think I might be really confusing people with my good mornings and goodnights, because I get disturbing looks – especially after a long, hard night of working, and I want breakfast food and instead of coffee, I fancy a Malaysian mainstay…Tiger beer. After all, it is the year of Tiger, you know. Meow.

 Day 5
Mission Not Impossible…

So, my trip to KL is not for vacation, although I would highly recommend this place to anyone that’s looking for a great bargain, set in a cosmopolitan city that offers fantastic food (I know. I sound like a broken record) and warm, friendly people. My trip here is for business, hence my vampire hours. I came here to learn more about my team; to gain understanding about what they know and what they don’t know; to observe and to offer my support. What I didn’t know was how much I’d quickly bond with my teammates and learn all about their lives. I didn’t expect to like each and every person so much.  I didn’t know that my trip would prove to be so enriching and prosperous – this is a gift that has been giving to me and it is without question something that I will treasure forever.

Okay, so onto more of the food, baby….

Kuala Lumpur is very culturally diverse, which always translates into scrumptious food…just in case you didn’t catch that…. In the short amount of time that I’ve been here, I’ve had Thai, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Indian and no less than 10 different types of curries (and there are more to be tasted too). It’s a foodies dream down here – I cannot begin to describe all the wonderful and fresh flavors that my mouth and tummy have experienced. I’m afraid they both might walk out on me once we all return back home – they’ll leave me out of sheer food boredom after everything we’ve tasted.

Here’s a sampling of some of the tasty treats I’ve had, thus far:

Thai garlic sauce with baby asparagus spears and cooked rice. Hot, spicy and the asparagus was fresh and not at over-cooked. This was absolutely fantastic!

 Fresh tilapia (correct spelling) found at a local eatery in KL’s China Town:

Fresh tilapia from the tank above on my plate…along with noodles, rice and sweet potatoe veggies. Seriously. The. Best. Chinese. Food. Ever. Yum:

Okay, that’s enough for one blogging episode. I have to keep you dear readers hungry for more, more, more, right? Oh, for crying out loud, just agree with me, will ya’? Next trip notes highlights: Twin Towers, yes, of course more food…shopping, shopping, shopping, and my new love affair with all variations of roti (long version pictured below). Oh, and just as a pondering thought…I would imagine roti could also be used as a marital aid…but then again… I’m not sure about all those crumbs…hmm…let me continue to ponder on this for awhile:

Aku akan merindui kamu -
Neve Black