Keep left

The first thing that struck me when I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia two days ago was that it is impressively humid. It makes you think about showering three times a day. It also rains twice a day. You need to be dressed for sun, rain, hot and cold (airconditioned indoors).

Does the city feel like Manila?  When I first visited KL three and a half years ago, my impression was that KL is a cleaner, greener, more beautiful version of Manila. (Check out the August and September 2008 archives.) Sad to say, but that impression has not changed. It even depressed me a little on my first day here. I have been a little emotional since the PDOS (pre-departure orientation seminar) at POEA last Thursday, but I feel much better now although I think it would still be easy to make me cry.

Since I had already gone to the tourist spots and had used the LRT and Monorail before, I don't feel so lost and tourist-y. I wish the LRT, MRT and buses in Manila had the integrated card as they do here. And that train stations would also have electric fans. But then from the looks of it, these are just fantasies.

Just one thing that I have to rewire: keep left. Being a former British colony that still drives on the right hand side, Malaysia might be mistaken for a place with the same habits when it comes to escalators and stairs. I've become so used to staying on the right that I have to remember to keep left unless passing (overtaking). But I'm not sweating the small stuff.

I will blog more regularly again on mama's request. More stories soon.