A lazy Sunday in Malaysia

View from the in-laws' balcony

It's Sunday afternoon here in KL, and the rain has started again. The thunder in the background complements the pitter-patter of raindrops, the occasional downpour heightening the intensity. I love lazy Sundays be it in London, Barcelona, Sacramento or KL, especially rainy lazy Sundays, when there's nothing to do but to relax from the travels and watch the raindrops. Life seems to slow down--even in chaotic KL--and the tropical birds hide away, leaving only the sounds of the rain cascading in the background.

The rain and thunderstorm highlights the one-week mark that we've been in Kuala Lumpur, a week marked with exploration of the city and traveling around Malaysia. It's also an opportunity to relax and reflect before the second (and last) half of our vacation. This past week: Explore in and around KL, go to Jelebu, go to Penang, dinner celebration on Saturday. In line for next week: Malacca, three-day trip to Singapore, and if we have nice weather, a trip to my birthplace, Pulau Bidong.

Bubur pulut hitam

As I wrote before in a previous entry, Malaysia is a foodie's paradise. There are so many different ethnic groups and subgroups and the inevitable mixing of them makes for some of the best eating experiences in the world. Some are so familiar in taste and appearance--if you're a fan of Chinese, Indian, and various Southeast Asian cuisines, you'll find many of the flavors familiar, if served or prepared slightly differently. Others I have utterly no reference points to draw upon. Perhaps the most different dish I had was cendol, a sweet chickpea-derived dessert from the Mamak, the southern Indian Tamil Muslims. Another is bubur pulut hitam, a glutinous black rice dessert by the Nyonya.

Cendol

Also, for a complete gallery of each and every dish I had in Malaysia, follow this link. I've yet to repeat a dish, so we'll see how long I can do that.