So long Asia, Hello Paris! March 31

Well, my flight here was thirteen and a half hours not seven. For some reason I absolutely spaced the idea of time zones. Must be all the short flights I have been used to. It was 1AM Malaysia time by the time I got across Paris and found my hostel. So far I am loving it, "Paris in the springtime!" There are many trees in flower and the grass is really green, not like the sad looking grass in Asia. This is my street, Boulevard Rochechouart. It is on the edge of a district known as Montmartre in the north of Paris. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur which tourists flock to. I could see it from the train on the way here.

It is a hotel street with little shops underneath.

I passed many street cafes and restaurants just down the street on my way here from the train.

Another street view. My hostel is the one with the lights.

My Last Day in Asia March 30 in KL

I missed the National Museum last time so I decided to start with that. It was almost 11AM by the time I got over there. It was quite good as museums go depicting 4 periods in the Malay history.

I liked that they had reconstructions like this one, films, and things it was easy to interact with without a lot of reading.

Out in the park behind they have what they are calling the first palace. Definitely a humble beginning in two rooms.

The bedroom.

The kitchen.

I opted not to go to the National Mosque but I tried to get a picture of it from the bus.

This building was right beside my LRT terminal. It looks like a mosque but it is actually a garment factory.

Back in Chinatown, my guesthouse area, I decided to walk around. I found a beautiful Hindu Temple.

And also a Chinese Temple.

A couple of young men are putting out some incense here.

A walk through Chinatown.

Still in Chinatown.

And this is my guesthouse, not the red building on the right but only the second floor of the yellow one. The door in between the two is our door. The buildings are super long but have no windows at all except for the front and back which only light the common areas. It is quite a nice place though with air conditioning and all. I think it was 32 degrees here today.

KL is not a bad city but it is harder to get around in than some. I even found Bangkok easier.

Well, that was my last day in Asia. What a great journey it has been.

Tonight I pack and prepare to face 13 degrees tomorrow in Paris.

I leave at 9AM for a seven hour flight so I won't accomplish much else except to find my guesthouse.

Back to Kuala Lumpur March 29

I was having such a leisurely morning today that I was nearly late for my plane. It was just fortunate that they are not so strict with boarding deadlines in the small airports. I left Penang just before noon and arrived in KL airport less than an hour later. The airport is far from the city, an hours drive on the bus. It took longer than the flight. I am in Suzie's guesthouse in Chinatown and it is really nice. I got settled and turned on my computer and it just snapped off again. I tried many times and it kept doing that so I got the location of the computer guys and off I went. Of course, it was just around the corner from where I stayed last time I was here. This store had every kind of electronics you can think of and more. Six floors in a building twice the size of the Bay. Take a look!

All electronics. Here are the escalators.

I found the Acer repair guy and by the way Acer is very popular over here. He turned on my computer and it went on normally. Well, that was good.

Then I went down to second floor which is all phones and talked to somebody about international calling.

I paid 85 ringettes (less than $30.00 US) for a basic phone which takes Sim cards.

Then I got a Sim card for 35 ringettes which is supposed to be international so I just keep reloading it at 7-11.

They say it will work in Europe. I can hardly wait to find out.

No monthly charges. How can this be?

I had to take the LRT and the mono rail to get there but it wasn't very far. A view from the LRT platform as I got back.

Here you can see a couple of food stands near the train station.

Back at the guesthouse and kind of tired. It is already 9:30 and I think I will make it an early night. Tomorrow there is a museum I didn't get to see last time that I think I will do in the morning and then just hang around Chinatown in the afternoon. When my laundry comes back I need to resort my bags with cool weather clothes on top for my Paris stop.

Georgetown City March 28

Today was rather uneventful and lazy. I didn't feel like making the effort to see anything major so I decided to go to the shopping area of town. I walked past this Chinese looking temple ..... wait .... is that a parking meter? I haven't seen one of those in a while and here they are in downtown Georgetown.

Then I passed this building with speakers all around. It doesn't look like a mosque but I bet they have something to do with the Islam services.

The city is spacious and pleasant.

Kids clothing of every hue. I am getting used to the colorful clothing. It seems to go with the sun.

I came across Sam the importer right next to the kids store and he had a wonderful, lined, black, Chinese style wool jacket for a very lovely price and now it is mine. Paris, here we come! A sun dress and a wool jacket should do the trick.

I was only half way to the shopping center at this point and I decided to go anyway. It is huge and meandering with lots of small street shops all around on the streets. I managed to spend most of the afternoon there.

This old building was across the street from the shopping center.

This is a sky bridge joining all corners of a major intersection to the mall access.

The Komtar building is the tallest on Penang and it houses the state government and business hub as well as being connected to the mall of the same name.

A shot from the sky bridge. This street looks happy and healthy.

Here are a group of old buildings which could use a face lift.

Right next door they have all been improved already.

So, that was my day.

I had lunch while I was out and came home and tried to arrange my packs to accommodate all the new stuff. I can't use the new back-pak because I am limited to one bag and a carry on as Air Asia is a discount airline. I should be OK though for weight as well as size.

My big pak has a zippered extension which I have been careful not to use so I will have it for heading home if needed.

I have bought some things which I have just left along the way when I have no longer needed them. My blue plastic kettle that cost me $4.00 was a blessing even though I was likely drinking plastic chemicals from the water. That kettle gets to stop here.

Tomorrow my flight to KL is at noon. Just an hour flight but by the time I get to my guesthouse and get settled the day will be nearly done.

Kuah Town on Langkawi Island March 27

Today I am taking the ferry to Kuah on Langkawi Island because the whole town is supposed to have duty-free shopping. I walked over to the Georgetown jetty as the sun was thinking about coming up. I discovered the light was amazing for some pictures of the town.

Morning begins to dawn on the clock tower near the jetty.

Here is Fort Cornwallis, a star shaped fort established by the British. There are many amazing buildings here from the British era.

Here I am boarding the ferry.

It is called Super Fast Ferry not just fast ferry and is shaped like a bullet. If that wasn't enough to scare me there was also a storm in progress.

I was in the lower level and I had a row of four leather seats to myself. Once we got underway there was too much water spraying out from the boat to see anything out the window so I decided to have a nap. I woke up when we hit a wave that nearly dumped me on the floor. All around me people were vomiting and I could tell that if I lifted my head I would be joining them so I stayed where I was.

Throughout the whole trip I was planning an alternative for the trip back like a bus on the mainland or a plane.

We arrived at Kuah jetty safe and sound and I had five hours to see what bargains I could find.

The town was clean, modern and very green but I was shopping not looking around so I didn't take many pictures.

They had lots of these red brick bridges around.

Here they used a natural out cropping of rock as a gateway to a park.

One view at the harbour.

One view at sea.

The weather was calmer in the afternoon and I came back on the ferry.

I managed to find a new day-trip back-pak. I seem to go through a lot of them so I now have a tough one made by Caterpillar, the tractor people.

I was looking for a black cardigan that would allow me to turn some of my beach wear into street wear in Paris. No luck of course as the sizes here are very tiny.

I also got a spare battery for my camera and some gravol for the trip home. I took it but I wouldn't have needed to.

Tomorrow I am just poking around in Georgetown and preparing for my flight to KL tomorrow. I have only two days left in Asia.