My Malaysian Hotel Area

Malaysia has many similarities and differences compared to Thailand.

• Both hot.
• Both are cheaper
• Both have Grab Taxi
• Both have Tesco delivery
• Both have cheap phone service
• Both have cheap taxis and elevated trains
• Both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur have decent water - bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth; tap water for showers, washing hands, laundry, and dish washing.

But, KL is more spread out, sort of like Johnson County and Orange County. It is greener. It has more private cars. In fact, if I were to move here, I would seriously consider getting a car. A lot more Malaysians speak English and they speak it much better.

Both societies are very industrious. However, Thais seem more fatalistic and content. Malaysians are more serious and strive for upper mobility. I could live in either society and be happy.

Anyway, my hotel is in a string of 4 strip malls. There are 3 such hotels in this long strip. This is not a tourist area. I have only seen 1 or 2 westerners in the 10 days I have been here. Although the local people seem to stare at me a lot, they all are friendly. Since they can speak English pretty well, we have had some interesting conversations.

(1) This is from the western end.

(2) This is from a bench right on the corner.

(3) This is looking North from the corner. Lots and lots of private cars. At night the parking is all full because of the many restaurants in the strip.,

(4) This is halfway up, still looking North. Notice the water refilling station on the right. They seem good enough for Malaysians (and Thais). But, you never know if the filter is ever changed, so many westerners, like me, don't use them.

(5) Still looking North, very near my hotel entrance. The restaurants freely use sidewalks, parkways, and parking spots to expand to have more room for cooking and customers.

(6) Same spot as the previous picture, but looking the other way (south). I have eaten a few meals at that restaurant.

(C) I always have the chicken and rice. I leave the sauce and brown stuff on the upper right. I eat the chicken, rice and egg, and the fried peanuts on the lower right.

(7) Just past the restaurant is the laundromat.

(8) At night they stick tables and chairs everywhere.

(9) There is even an extra seller that comes by with his truck food stand.

This is my first time using Imgur to host the pictures and it seems to work well.

Namaste From a detour (halway to) Nepal