I've taken 21 long distance bus rides (that I can count) while traveling around this rock and usually the scenery can stand being more spectacular. Let's just be real: most long distance bus rides don't have neck-breaking vistas. So what was it about the bus ride to Kuala Lumpur that was SO interesting when I touched down in Malaysia? Power lines! That' right, I realized I hadn't seen proper power lines in about 4 months.
Now, I get that a power line isn't something to be drooling over but it made me realize how removed I have been from any type of "western" norms. Well the power line I saw from that bus served as foreshadowing to what I'd eventually be experiencing here in Kuala Lumpur (KL) because electricity runs through KL's veins literally and figuratively. How else are we to see the endless advertisements splattered around town?
I was well aware of what a bustling, developed, and technologically advanced city KL was before getting there and in a bittersweet way, I was intrigued to see it but a bit sad to leave Indonesia. Immediately after coming out of the airport, had I not already known where I was, I could have sworn I was somewhere in the US or Europe.
Big highways, traffic signs in English, modern buildings, and...power lines! What I was not expecting from KL is the overwhelming amount of ads EVERYWHERE I looked. Bridges, buildings, taxis, on people, inside trains in the ceiling, on the floor, and on chairs.
The town felt like one big sticker. I guess it's a good way to save on the cost of paint? It was all really comical to me. One day I ran into what was either the Malaysian headquarters of KFC or a very well negotiated KFC ad in a rather important looking building. Regardless, it made me want chicken.
The thing is, the advertisements seem to work. There are KFC's, McD's, and Starbucks' EVERYWHERE and they're always oozing out the door with hungry customers each of which is holding some sort of electronic device in their hand. There is certainly no lack of options in KL when the need indulge in electronic gluttony hits you.
Phones are bigger, thinner, screens are clearer, and it just seems like things here are ahead of their time. Maybe all the ads just WANT us to think that? Well they're working and I bought some new headphones dangit!
Another thing I wanted to experience here in KL was the food. KL is definitely a melting pot of culture, religions and cuisine. It was really cool to be surrounded by so many different types of faces from all over Asia and I was anxious to taste the smorgasbord of delicacies.
In the short time I was here I enjoyed Malaysian, Indian, Persian, Chinese, Thai, and now in its very own category...McDonalds (yeah one of the advertisements worked on me and there was one RIGHT next to my hostel.)
In addition to the food, it was interesting hearing all the different languages spoken around town and wherever you went you'd likely hear another interesting dialect. On the elevator up to the top of the 421 meter KL tower I picked up three different languages...none which I understood a single word of.
The view from the tower was spectacular and I could really see how developed KL and the surrounding area was. When I came down I headed towards the Petronas Towers which at one point were the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world.
Another good example of advertisement, Petronas is Malaysia's national gas company and the towers are probably its best known symbol. The towers lure you in with their stunning lighting, a beautiful park surrounding the grounds and a mega-mall bursting with electronic stores, and massive food courts which are blanketed with thousands and thousands of, yes, you guessed it...advertisements!
SE Asia is an area of the world I already cannot wait to come back to. There is much much more to explore around these ways and I have a feeling we will be hearing plenty from them in the economic sector in the years to come. On that note, I provided my last bit of economic stimulus as I got my second haircut in 8 months before I embark on a 33 hour journey halfway across the world for my much anticipated visit to Colombia!
