All hail the mighty petrol

Hello friends, before I tell you about my day, allow me to try and answer George's questions/rebut George's comments:
1. I took several hundred photos at Angkor Wat. It was truly stupendiferous.
2. Special observations now that I've got a month (and change) of travel under my belt. I don't know. Right now, I'm feeling like I didn't expect traveling alone to be so hard. Maybe that was silly of me, being an eternal optimist, but I didn't expect to be so lonely so often.
3. What would I have done differently? Honestly, nothing so far, other than bringing a good friend along, but alas circumstance did not permit. I've enjoyed the things I've done and any missteps along the way were good learning experiences.
4. I think Nepal will be a major high point. And diving in Thailand. I'm finding it's harder to do outdoorsy things here than I expected. It's frustrating me a little bit. I like being outdoorsy. So, I'm looking forward to Nepal, where I'll be trekking for several weeks.
5. If my apparition appears at the Goodrich dedication on the 27th, can you guarantee no one will have a heart attack? If so, I will send my spirit to St Paul for the duration of the ceremony.
6. I think decision making is hardest when the possibilities are endless. Really, I could decide to fly to Brazil tomorrow if I so chose. The infinite choices boggle the mind and threaten to have the decision made be...no decison at all. The truth is, though, deciding what and where to buy your food can be a thought-heavy, politically-charged, guilt-ridden experience. The global impact of your food choices far outweighs the impact of Singapore vs Bangkok. Touche!
7. They moved KL to Malaysia from Thailand in 1983.
8. Of course I went to the Petronas towers! Today in fact.
What a convenient segue...
Last night, while I was supping, a local told me about a festival that was happening. Even though I was tired, I decided to go. KL has a metro and good buses and many helpful people! I finally made it to the festival. Apparently, 2007 is Visit Malaysia year. I happened to arrive for the kick-off festifal of 2007 Visit Malaysia! It was really fun. There were fireworks and dancing, the Prime Minister was there along with some foreign dignitaries. Some locals stopped to chat with me and welcome me to the country.
There are a number of different ethnic communities here--the Malay, the Chinese and the Indians. It seems like a bit of a melting pot. Malaysia controled the Straights of Melacca, the passage between South Asia and East Asia, gateway to the spice trade! So, lots of traders came through this area from India, the Middle East (bringing Islam with them), and China. It was controled successively by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British before becoming an independent state in 1957. I went to the National History Museum today.
The country is predominately muslim, but they seem to embrace technology and a modern, pluralistic society. I've seen a lot more public-displays of affection between couples here than I have any where else so far.
I went to the Petronas towers today, the tallest twin towers in the world (there's a building in Taipei that's now the tallest building in the world) and the iconic image of KL. They were built by Malaysia's petrol company: Petronas. You can't go to the top, only to the 41st floor, where there's a bridge between the two towers. So I went and looked around. Then I came back down.
Attached to the towers is a 6-story shopping mall. It was a bit of a shock after being in Cambodia to see Prada, Cartier, Armani, Gucci, Coach, Tiffany's, etc all in one spot. Someone in Malaysia has some disposable income. I enjoyed the air con there for a while. I wandered a bit in the colonial part of town and then came back to my guest house.
I've met some really nice local people. People seem to speak good English and want to talk. I talked to one guy on the street who was Indian. It was fine till he told me how much he likes white people, wants an American girlfriend and would I like to have tea tomorrow? I said no thanks.
Have I mentioned this before? People from Vietnam to here have told me what beautiful white skin I have and how much prettier white skin is. Women literally cover themselves from head to toe, even wear gloves (!), to avoid being exposed to the sun, because they want to be as white as possible.
Anyhoo, still feeling a little bit lonesome. It comes and goes. And hot. I don't think I've ever been so hot, so continuously. Even when we didn't have air con at our apartment in the summer, I would go to work and it would be cool, or I'd hide from the heat at my parent's if I couldn't sleep. Bridget, I'm training for our next camping trip in the Everglades, if you're willing to ever attempt that with me again.
As for my itinerary, I've decided not to attempt Borneo. Sigh. I really wanted to go, but I'd have to squish it in between Thailand and Nepal when the weather would maybe be marginally better than it is now. This way, I won't have to rush through Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Laos. But I wanted jungle time!!! I'll have to find it elsewhere. Day after tomorrow I'm going to head down to Singapore for a few days, just to check it out. It's only a 6 hour bus ride from here, so why not? From there, I'll head up the West Coast of Malaysia and into Thailand.
Hugs to you all,
Lauren