Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The' iconic' Petronas Towers from a distance - perhaps the twin phallic symbols
is cause for Harper & Co being nervous about a Progress take over!

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur (KL) at the Low cost terminal (LCCT) opposite the International Airport (KLIA) Monday afternoon. When I was last here KLIA had just opened and I took a bus from the city to the airport which seemed so far out in the country. At that time I wondered  if the huge structure would ever be fully utilized. Now not only is it busy, busy LCCT has been added and a new KLIA2 is scheduled to open next spring. There are now two rail lines plus many bus services serving the airports and connecting to the city. One train is KLExpres which is non stop to KL Sentral and takes 28 minutes! KL Sentral is a transport hub for trains, planes buses, and monorail close by.

It is only a couple of blocks from where I am staying at Central Lodge in an area of KL known as Brickfields which is near Little India and Chinatown. Brickfields gets its name from the old railway marshalling yards that used to be located here and upon which KLSentral was built and is currently being expanded. Also nearby is KL Lake Gardens which has jogging trails. I was out two mornings ago and it was very humid with temperatures rapidly rising. I planned to go out this morning (Saturday) but overslept.

Every afternoon there is heavy rain and typically electrical storm activity.  

And what would my travels be without a dentist story.  Since it is impossible to get the kind of cosmetic dentistry that I need in the Miramichi and since I had to cut treatment short last year in Thailand I thought I would check here.  Briefly I have three gaps that were candidates for bridges or implants.  I sorely needed to get something done as the status quo was difficult to properly chew my food.  I first went to a cosmetic dentist for a consult and he used some kind of high tech imaging equipment to create a complete image in one shot of my teeth and gums and related bones.  Of course he had a reason why bridges could not be used in any of my three candidate positions - but implants ; no problems ( even on an old two tooth gap where others said dismissively that that was beyond being implantable)  His prices were beyond my reach and I paid for my consult which I think I had never done before. 

In the meantime one of the managers here at the Lodge suggested a 'local dentist' that he used.  So I went for a consult there.  Now here was just the opposite of high tech - old chair and equipment in a not so pleasing atmosphere.  However the dentist explained a bridge possibility that would span my "two tooth gap".  He was 63 years old and his technical assistant is 80 years old and not a wrinkle on his face.  I was a bit hesitant and even skeptical at first but I told them of my anxiety and agreed to the procedure. So yesterday was the first stage of prep and everything went fine, no pain and I would say expertly done.  I return for the permanent bridge on the 14th.

Other than that I have mostly walked around different areas.  Food here (vegetarian) is extremely inexpensive and good.  I usually eat at a place where it's kind of 'smorgasbord" whether in an alley or under shelter.

Malaysia and especially Kuala Lumpur is for shoppers.  They take great pride in having world's fourth largest mall and being fourth in the world for destination shopping.  With nothing better to do this morning, I took the LRT to the Central District.  That is the area around the Petronas twin towers of which I am sure you all have seen images. Walking around that area is like walking the Champs-Elysees in Paris with all the high end brand stores.

Petronas Towers and Suria Mall

Water Playground in the Park behind Twin Towers and Mall
Leave the kids and go shopping

Running Trail in Park at Twin Towers Park