kl

so the rain and a hostel with free computers is making ye ole blogging easier. i wondered the streets today and headed to the city's main mosque by train: it was a veritable compound (15 acres) of beautiful architecture and men wondering in and out. i was there at the bewitching hour when the call for afternoon prayer rung out over the streets of downtown. i watched men flurry across the road and flood into the gates as i stood on the train platform drively above the entrance. it was pretty awesome. and then i wondered the chow kit market for about two hours, which is a rather dingy conglomerate of fruits, dried fish, wallets, motorcycles zipping along sidewalks, and something that smelled putrid. i walked in and out of little alleways with vendors and ever time i ducked outside the twin towers stood hovering. and then all the sudden i couldn't see them. and then all the sudden it started POURING! i was unprepared, and walked for a while longer before i had to duck in to a few places for a respite. i accidentally ate the signature dish i was supposed to be tracking down. all i knew when i got into the restaurant was that "ayam" means chicken and i couldn't understand anything else on the menu but "roti" (duh) and "tom yam" soup. so i ordered, under the roti section, "murtabak ayam." and it was awesome. thin bread under and wrapped around a dense concoction of onion, egg, chicken, and some other stuff. all the while to be dipped in a red curry gravy that was freaking amazing. and my lunch cost 6 RM, or 2 US dollars. sweet. so tomorrow, i'm off to the train station to pre-buy tickets to penang, check out the towers, and wander around somemore, maybe go to the main city park?
selamat!