Malaysia: Detour Through Kuala Lumpur

Our trip has been smooth sailing thus far, with our travel mates Dave & Michelle along for the first leg of our journey. Because of the closure of the Bangkok airport due to civil unrest and protests, we were forced to adjust our routing just before leaving home, flying into Kuala Lumpur (KL), then caught one of the few direct flights to Chiang Mai in Northen Thailand - a rather smart move on our part. After 17 hours of flying we finally checked into the swanky Pan Pacific Hotel in KL, for a transit stop and some recoup time. We enjoyed the modern gym and deluxe tropical pool area, followed by an excellent dinner and soon after, some well needed sleep.

During our day in KL we toured about with a new friend Daniel, an interesting and intelligent ex-pat American who's now living in Cambodia and running a non-profit for underprivledged children. He was a wealth of information about the region, politics, and just about any subject you can think of. We went to the world's largest aviary sanctuary where we saw many colorful bird species in a jungle setting.

Later we cabbed into the heart of downtown KL to a street market selling "fake" everthing ~ from purses to CD's. A happy find was an excellent Jamaican restaurant plastered with posters of Bob Marley that covered the walls. We enjoyed cold beers, tasty food and great happy hours prices. Next we explored a bit more of the city, checking out a couple of temples and a large indoor marketplace with batiks, crafts, and western-ware. The city was an interesting mix of West and East, and very easy to negotiate. We said goodbye to Daniel, and had our last amazing buffet dinner back at the hotel.

This morning we finally arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand to pleasant and cool temperatures. We've feasted on tasty food, visited amazing temples, and it feels like we finally made it to our intended destination.