I just spent twenty six hours in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia.
Before I arrived I was a little apprehensive about visiting Malaysia. In case you don't know, Malaysia counts itself among the nations of the world that choose to not recognize that Israel has existed for sixty one years now. This means that a full half of my extended family would be denied entry to the country with their Israeli passport. This means that if I took out the wrong passport, I would be denied entry to the country. Understandably, I wasn't sure I wanted to give this country any money.
In the end, I decided I was curious to see the society, and that it would be a good educational experience. Besides, its not like one night in a hotel will really make a dent in their economy.
I arrived early afternoon, and as in every other place I've been, the first thing I see in the airport is a McDonalds and a KFC. Here however, a big sign informed me that the meat in the restaurants was all Halal. Not quite Kosher, but at least there is no pork in the cheese burgers. There was also a Muslim prayer room, and a big compass pointing towards Mecca.
I took a bus into town, and then a subway ride brought me to the famous Petronas towers. When they were finished in 2004 they were considered by many to be the tallest buildings in the world. I found a place to stay near the towers, and once I was settled in I returned to the towers to explore the area a bit.
The bottom seven floors of the towers form a massive mall. Every luxury brand in the world seemed to be there, though the huge iPhone stand in the middle certainly dominated the scene. In the food court I was greeted with many familiar names; however, everything seemed just a little different. Famous Amos here was basically a souvenir shop that sold cookies as an afterthought. Auntie Anne's selection of specialty pretzels included Seaweed, Green Tea and other equally appealing options. When I made my way to the supermarket to see what I would find, I noticed a bid box of Matzohs lining a shelf. On the box, a notice from the Rabbinate of London explained that while kosher, these were not to be eaten on Passover. Now I know what happens to all the matzos that are accidentally allowed to leaven.
Later, on my way back to the Hotel I witnessed a very weird situation. Everything happened pretty quickly, so I'm not exactly sure what went down. I was slowly walking to my room when I heard someone yell behind me. I look back to see one guy, looked to be a local Malay teenager, attack another group of locals. The group responded in kind, and hit him back. Truth is, they may have started things, I didn't see. Suddenly, twenty people appeared behind the lone guy, and a genuine street brawl ensued. No one in the fight looked older than twenty. I notice to police officers walk right by and not do anything. Realizing that the last thing I needed was to end up hurt and alone in Malaysia, I made the decision that if the cops could ignore the fight, so could I. As I turned around to walk away, a group of Chinese tourists headed in that direction noticed the action as well, and decided it would be best to make a wide detour around the fight. Seeing that I was not Chinese, they somewhat condescendingly pointed to the brawl and said "no good." When I concurred in Chinese, they all giggled with excitement and we had a very nice chat.
I woke up early the next morning and visited the Guan Yin Sagely Monastery. The monastery is in the middle of the city, and with the communal kitchen and shared roles, it felt more like a kibbutz than anything else. The main difference is that in kubbitzim that I've been to, if there is a temple on the premises, it usually doesn't have large golden idols of buddhist gods in the middle of the room.
On the way to the airport, I noticed many large mosques adorning the city. The mosques are all very beautiful and quite larger than any I've seen. At the checkout counter I was informed that I would not be allowed on the plane, as they do not have me registered with a visa. One of my friends currently in Australia told me that I would not need a visa for short the trip. Not true. Luckily, Australia has an instant visa approval system online, and I just opened my laptop and applied for the visa. Twenty minutes later I was able to check in no problem.
I'm now on the plane nearing melbourne. The virtual map on screen shows the direction to two cities, Melbourne and Mecca. All in all, Kuala Lumpur was a fun and interesting city. Everyone was very friendly, and I think most of my apprehension was shown to be unfounded. Granted, they didn't know I am Israeli, but even if they had, I'm pretty sure most wouldn't have cared. Then again, I was only here for one night, and already I witnessed a full on street brawl. It was probably best that I didn't get involved.
Yoni
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