Kuala Lumpur: a trip made special by photos, Lydia and Ika, and roti

Kuala Lumpur has the reputation of being a city with "not much to see".  In fact, its listed in my guide book as the 3rd most recommend place to visit in Malaysia.  I however had a fantastic time in KL.  I felt like I got to experience China, India, and Malaysia all on the same trip.

Nicole, my CS host, is Malay-Chinese.  Her ancestors from 3 generations ago came to Malaysia to escape internal conflict in China.  She is 33 years old and teaches private Mandarin lessons, mostly to expatriates, for a living.

I met Nicole in front of the Starbucks at Kuala Lumpur City Center or KLCC, famed for its twin towers which are the tallest in the world.

Vientiane to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia: a couchsurfing experience gone wrong

I took a 3 hour flight from Vientiane to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.  My couchsurfing host in KL (I'll call her K) told me she could pick me up in the city center at 5:30pm.  So I took the skybus to Sentral Station, got there around 3:30pm, and spent 2 hours walking around and checking email until 5:30.

Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place.  I waited for 30 min, and then at 6pm I skyped called K.  She said went to mynews.com where she told me to wait for her and didn't see me.  I thought she came during the brief moment I left to skype her so I went back.  When I still didn't see her I skyped her again.  She said she was there but since I didn't see her, I realized I was at the wrong station.

Vientiane: Market tour, Cooking class, and Herbal Sauna

Vientiane is the capital city of Laos, but it attracts fewer travelers than Luang Prabang.  I decided the spend the day doing a cooking course.

I met the teacher, Nook, at Full Moon Cafe.  Nook is originally from Luang Prabang, and moved down to Vientiane.  Her cooking has become famous due to a Vietnamese chef, Nguyen, who featured her recipes on an Australian cooking show.