Pictures from KL

I feel like our blog could use some more pictures, so this update is pretty much entirely going to be pictures I’ve taken while walking around Kuala Lumpur. When I took these pictures, I started off at the Pasar Seni (Central Market) neighborhood, in the heart of Chinatown and a short walk from Little India. As I was walking around, an Indian man approached me and told me there was a great Indian market a few blocks away that he had just come from. He said that he had studied English for 7 years and that he makes it a habit to approach English speakers and introduce himself. So we walked for about fifteen minutes up to the outdoor market and he said he had to be on his way, but before he left we stopped in an outdoor café and had iced coffee (his treat) and he told me what I should see and where I should eat in the area. After he left I wandered around Little India for a while and got some food.

I headed back to Chinatown to check out a massive and surprisingly quiet mosque in the center, masjid jamek.

I crossed the highway (always a lengthy ordeal) right underneath what I think is the skyline’s most interesting building. I have yet to determine what it actually houses.

After that, it was a short walk back to the national mosque, the visiting hours for which I had missed the previous day. However, this time I also arrived an hour and a half before it was open to non-Muslim tourists, so I walked two minutes up the road to the Islamic Arts Museum. Unfortunately they didn’t allow pictures, but I took some of the building, which is a beautiful example of Islamic architecture in itself.

Then I walked back to the national mosque for visiting hours.

As the sun began to go down, I made my way to Menara KL, the huge tower that dominates the skyline less than only the Petronas Towers. I took the pricey and touristy (but also obligatory) ride to the top for the best view of the city. Unfortunately, taking pictures of the Petronas Towers and the rest of the city all lit up at night proved to be an exercise in futility. However, I did manage to take some pictures from the base that didn’t turn out too blurry to make out.