So, Chris and I have exited New Zealand. I am officially the furtherest from little Aotearoa than I have ever been. We landed last night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at about 10.45pm local time (3.45am NZ time... Ouch!), and were picked up from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) airport by a couple who are friends of Chris' parents - they have very kindly put us up at their house and taken great care of us. Today we adventured around Kuala Lumpur on buses and trains, looking, tasting, smelling and breathing the heart of one of Asia's biggest cities. I have to keep reminding myself that tomorrow's flight to Kolkata is where it all really begins, but today was a great warm up! Central Market (Pasar Seni) in Kuala Lumpur Central City was definitely a highlight, but the mosques, high rises (especially the Petronas - not Patronus - Twin Towers), shopping centres and street vendors all bustle with the aggressive energy that permeates every Westerner's reports of urban Asia. Poverty is pushed under the ground here, to make way for new, glitzy buildings and shopping centres - while of course, the world at the bottom of them is a very different story. Many of the beggars and sick people hang out near the mosques and temples, under overbridges and in alcoves. I have nothing to compare this sort of life to - New Zealand feels very far away right now. But with all luck, this snippet of time in Kuala Lumpur has been a wee 'practice' for our eyes and body clocks for the heat, sights and poverty of Kolkata. Or maybe not. We'll see!
I can't upload some photos right now - will hopefully manage to at some point when we reach India. Hopefully this post signals a new, more organised blogging beginning!
Love to you all,
Chelsea (and Chris)
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