Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2006)

One morning, as I was talking with a student, a fellow post-doc burst into my office and asked with great urgency, “Sorry, Josh—do you want to go to Malaysia next week?”  Not knowing anything about Malaysia, I contemplated for a couple seconds, checked my calendar and replied, “Sure!”  The British Council paid for 10 researchers from the UK to meet with 10 researchers from Malaysia to exchange ideas and knowledge related to remote sensing and geographic information systems of natural resources management.  Little did I know I would soon embark on a whirlwind adventure to tropical islands, through dense jungles, deep into remote villages and swimming among immense schools of brilliantly colored coral fish.

 

I arrived in bustling Kuala Lumpur and spent a day visiting the main tourist attractions—Petronas Towers, Merdeka Square, the National Mosque, the large Hindu Sri Mahamariammam Temple, Old Railroad Station, Chinatown’s Central Market, Masjid Jamek, and Masjid Negara.  Surprisingly, a tourist can finish these attractions in a single afternoon unless, of course, you prefer to spend extra time shopping for fake designer goods or haggling for good prices on electronics.  I picked up a pair of cheap stylish sunglasses (I think they are Gucci-Versace-Ray Ban-Adidas all in one).  Later, I would end up haggling down the price of a nice camera for a fellow researcher, saving her $106 (apparently impressing our Malaysia counterparts who we brought along to get better deals, but they couldn’t)—of course, everything is in the Malaysian currency of Ringgit.  She saved even more money because our Malaysian friends took us through a maze of buildings and streets throughout KL to get to the cheapest camera store in the city—that un-documented guided tour was exciting and interesting from a city-going perspective, and the UK researchers got a chance to bond with the Malaysians.  We also stopped by a store in a shopping mall that specialized in pirated software and games.  We, uh, of course didn’t buy anything…

On the airplane into KL.  You can see the Petronas Twin Towers.

Lord of the Ringgits: Two Towers.

 

Genevieve is happy with her new camera.

 

At the illegal software store.  What a bunch of guilty faces!

 

The National Mosque.

 

National Mosque fountains.

 

It’s all about symmetry.

 

It’s all about geometry.

 

A place to pray.

 

Outside the National Mosque.

 

Temple of the food court.

 

Dragon fruit!

 

Genevieve sinks into some juicy fruit.

 

The Hindu temple.

 

Nomadic tribe.

 

A thing.

 

The fake-goods Petaling shopping area.

 

MACRES—the Malaysian remote sensing center.

 

The MACRES conference room.

 

I demand more air conditioning!

 

At another meeting in KUSTEM.

 

Our group.