Central Asia Coming Up

It’s been a long time since I have been in any part of Asia, but I am using this old bloggie as my vehicle to write and send photos while I am in Central Asia next month.  I will be spending time in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,  Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan with four Australians and a guide, and I will use this space to document my journey in case any of you are interested in learning about another part of Asia.

Okay, so I lied... This is KL to Taiwan



On the bus to Air Asia terminal as the sun rose, I took my last look at Malaysia, only to discover when I got to the check-in counter that my flight was for YESTERDAY!  I had to pay $200 extra dollars to take another flight today, and I am PLENTY peeved that Air Asia never sent me a reminder.  After I booked today's flight you can bet your bottom dollar that I received THREE pre-flight reminders, all after the fact.  Heads will roll when I get home...



I was so thrilled to be back in Taiwan where things actually WORK, and just to prove it, here are two men with white gloves on, lining up the suitcases as they come out of the conveyor belt onto the passenger conveyor belt.  Now these guys are WORKING, and it was all so tidy and smooth that my spirits lifted immediately.

Thanks to my new friend Ena, I got the bus to the bullet train station, we bought some tofu and noodles at 7-11, and off I went to Kaohsuing!

This was out the window on our way into Kaohsuing.



And this was a huge mural over the stairs/escalators going down into the MRT from the high-speed train station to the main train station where my Single Inn is located.



I saw this funky old truck as I strolled around the city tonight, drinking gallons of juice because the 7-11 sauce on that tofu was FULL of MSG.

On my wander around the neighborhood, I stumbled on this walk along a narrow river or some body of water and thought it a perfect spot for my run tomorrow morning; in the meantime, I must snuggle down into my pod where I have a bed and a table.  There is a television on the wall at the foot of the bed, but that's not really of interest to me.  I just can't WAIT to get home!!!!

Goodbye Kuala Lumpur and back to Taiwan

But first one last trip - now on a fast speed train - out to Batu Caves, the 113 year old  cave, 400 feet above ground, 273 steps up.
This is not a bad website for more detailed information:  http://murugan.org/temples/batumalai.htm#.UBKQALQeP

The monkeys are beyond rascals; they will grab ANYTHING out of your hands, bags or cameras.  Here is a mother and child, but don't think she is any less capable of aggression than the others!

It's not difficult to see why this place was used as a spiritual destination.

And this is so high that we could feel the breeze coming out of one of the other caves.

Unfortunately, it was so hazy that the photo of the Petronas Towers did not come out clearly enough to see them, so later this afternoon, we walked to see them.

This is new, but I thought it a good enhancement, in addition to the cleaning up of all the red graffiti, which I normally love, but these markings just marred the aesthetic of the site.  I'm ALL for no spitting at all times!

What is an Indian site without  a gigantic Hanuman statue??

The Petronas Towers in the late afternoon sun

Tomorrow I am off to Taiwan again, heading down the coast to Guohsuing (sp?) for two nights and then back up to Taipei to catch my plane HOME to the U.S.  I am ready for some salad...

Dorothy, we are not in Penang anymore!

 I apologize that this entry is a jumble.  I am unable to organize the photos the way I'd like to and feel rather tired after a full day of walking in the hot sun and steamy concrete of Kuala Lumpur.

By the early evening we walked back to Brickfields, which is where my hotel is and where Mehta and Peivand took the train back to their apartment.  I find these minarets and domes as compelling as the calls to prayer.  I think I'm probably Muslim at heart...

This was Italian, of all things, at the Islamic Arts Museum.

I cannot seem to move things around very readily tonight, but this marvelous bird was also at the Islamic Arts Museum - all ivory or pearl inlays.

Kuala Lumpur is definitely NOT a walkable city; in my efforts to stroll around today, I got stuck in the middle of highways, crossing over ramps, scurrying under bridges, through dirt and around rivers.  This is the sort of construction going on absolutely everywhere.

This morning I made it to the Central Market as it was setting up.

I met my Iranians friends at the Islamic Arts Museum, which is so exquisite that I was thrilled to be back there, AND they let me take endless photographs of these delightful miniature paintings and gorgeous illustrated copies of the Qur-an.

Many of the pieces at the Islamic Arts Museum were from Iran, and this is an example of one of the more elegant dishes.

After the museum we trekked back to the Central Market where we all had our feet nibbled by the fish who eat off the dry skin; giggling is an irresistible component of the experience!

The ceramics were delicate and beautiful with Arabic written around the edges; the writing always looks more like design than communication to me.

This blue ewer was a knock-my-socks-off color, shape and design.

These tile pillars outside the museum had such grand blues and shades of green that I had to pose next to them and try to blend into the palette.

Hankering for Penang Food?

Morning Market at Pulau Tikus - Joe's T-shirt

Putu piring - Ceylonese dish

After the rains cleared, we went to see Joe who makes a Ceylon dish called "putu piring," which is a rice flour, hand  squeezed through a little press to make thin, cold noodles, which he then dunks in brown sugar and coconut; he let me try the press and make the noodles.  It was difficult and much easier just to eat them!

This morning it rained so hard at the "wet market" that everybody hunkered down under the tin roof of the market, a roof that made the pounding of the rain sound terrifying and terrific.  This lovely chicken lady just kept on chopping her chickens and paid little attention to the rain that was splattering her back!

Fried oysters I won't eat because I know how they make them with glutinous flour to  make the egg and oysters stick together; the process doesn't do justice to the final taste, which is, I admit from having them on another trip, sublime.

Last night we went to New Lane where rows and rows of hawkers' stalls line the street which closes from 4-11 every night, and tables line the street, parking lot and any spare spaces available.   It's a hustle-bustle of food, aromas, people and eating.

The natural world grows out of an aging man-made world.

I will get to the food, but first I need to fold in the town's texture - everywhere.  You can see where Penang is going and where it's been.

Did anyone know that fish have tongues?  If I am not reading this photo wrong, because I found this mouth at one of the fish counters at the Pulau Tikus morning market, I am assuming fish tongue.  Who knew?  If anyone does know, please inform me!

Then, we have the whole eel, which reminds me of when we went hiking/camping on the Appalachian Trail and Jack caught an eel with his hand-made fishing rod; he let the rod go when there was a big tug, but John retrieved it, and we dined on eel in port wine that night, which did mean that we had to relinquish a little of our port stash, but the advantages outweighed the loss.

These black fellas are fermented chickens.  Again, who knew??

I love the notion of "small" and "big" instead of shades of gray like "medium" or  "giant."

You have to love the guy who sees my camera out and asks randomly if I would take his picture; here  he is whoever he may be!

    I have just finished Gioconda Belli's Country Under My Skin and Anne Enright's The Gathering, both excellent reads; Belli's description of her life as a Sandinista in Nicaragua is compelling if a little self-serving, and
Enright's books is a tautly woven tale about an Irish family after the death of one of its members.  Secrets abound and questions of veracity and history and recollection rear their heads.  Just bought Coetze's Waiting for the Barbarians, the only NON Danielle Steele I could find!!!

Fishing and Whispering

From the rocky beach this boat sat idly, and I wondered if it was used for fishing.

Batu Ferringhi

Beach day?

This is Batu Ferringi beach

The bidding at Muda where fishermen whisper during the auction for their fish baskets.

Wonderfully secret is the bidding!

Laughing before the auction bids

The fishermen bring up their haul for auction.

THIS is the bidding.

This was on the ferry ride over from Penang to Butterworth when we were on on way to Muda where the fishermen whisper their bids when they auction off their baskets of fish. 

These were the little displays at the market we stopped at on the way to Muda. 

The bows of the boats

And then there is the light on the plastic bags of noodles...\

This proud fisherman spoke flawless English.

This is one of the most beautifully arrayed hauls up for auction.

...and the bidding begins!

Everyone gets into the act.