It has been more or less 3 months since I left Kuala Lumpur for the land Down Under. I love Sydney for the weather, the view, everything but as the rain falls outside and the room feels cool, my mind rushes to a tropical city with after the rain. The smell of moisture that is unmistakably Kuala Lumpur’s.

I think I miss the city already. I can see the all so familiar places in my mind’s eyes. Sigh…

I suppose home will always have a place in my heart, wherever I am.

When I returned to KL from Ann Arbor, I had a kind of consternation about the city. Moving is alway hard for me and I don’t really like it. While in Ann Arbor, I could safely say that I moved about 2 times a year. But that was just moving within the same city. Or rather, town with respect to Ann Arbor. Moving from a continent to another continent is another matter.

Although I call Kuala Lumpur as my home city, years being away turned my into a pessimist. It is too big, the environment is not so free, etc. In a sense, it was Malaysia, with its illberal culture. Being used to living in a society with deep respect for individual liberty, moving to a society like Malaysia’s, even in Kuala Lumpur being the most liberal of all places in the country, feels like sacrificing part of myself.

I’d like to think that I rebelled while I was in Kuala Lumpur. But I guess, I learned to love it. And I did have a great time in the city. Furthermore, its colonial architecture is something to marvel at.

I mellowed and learned to accept the reality of Kuala Lumpur. With that acceptance, I familiarize myself with the city, slowly discovering the city by going through its alleys. It took time. And it took me time to put Ann Arbor behind and focus on facing Kuala Lumpur.

Now, I have to do that all over again with Sydney.

I think, I will love Sydney. People have been saying that it is like San Francisco and I love San Francisco. It easily ranks a top city in my list due to its ambiance, its location, weather, services, people.

Still, I was in San Francisco as a visitor, not as a resident. My context in Sydney will be wildly different.

I’ll be boarding my plane on Thursday. Judging by my inactivity here, it is likely that this will be the last post written in Kuala Lumpur for a long time.

So, goodbye, for now. Goodbye KL.

He’s the guy by the road in KL that sells a lot of tasty chicken curry. Okay, that was absolutely lame.

He is the photographer that produced that famous National Geographic’s “Afghan Girl” photo back in the 1980s.

I found out about the talk quite late; less than 12 hours only. But I did get there in time at 20:00 hours. Unfortunately, being on time was not enough. According to a friend, the small hall was full by 19:30 hours!

I couldn’t get in. And a lot of people were standing outside, clearly disappointed because they couldn’t get in too.

I went straight home after that, heartbroken. Oh well.

PETALING JAYA: A drive home from the bank turned violent for a 72-year-old retiree who fell victim to a road bully in Damansara Damai. [Road bully in his 30s assaults 72-year-old man. The Star. June 5 2009]

According to a tweet on Twitter, the road bully drives a WRW8402 Green Avanza. Be an the look out. If you see it, contact the Petaling Jaya Police Station.

Tourist: Err… it ain’t that tall…

And it was a warm night. Oh, damn.

It is not too common to see small cars with less than amusing noisy exhaust. Broom, broom, broom it goes.

Not only that, they have the tendency to step on their gas pedal while at rest, just to show that their tiny pathetic cars can make big noise.

I have nothing against those with small cars. Indeed, small cars with their efficient consumption of fuel and more often than not, limited carbon emission, I like them. But motive for small cars differs between those with care for the environment and those with big ego and small income.

That difference can be seen when a small car is being pimped up, which usually include noisy exhaust.

It was hot like hell but the sky was clear and blue.

And later it was dark and wet, but felt so cool.

My brain is going out of control.

Shutting off the lights? Dimming off the lights?

No. Giving out free F1 tickets.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters Life!) – A Malaysian mall is marking the global Earth Hour climate change initiative by dimming its lights — and offering tickets to one of the world’s most polluting sports to well-heeled shoppers.

More than 80 countries have signed up for Earth Hour on Saturday in which homes, office towers and landmarks such as Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium and New York’s Empire State Building will turn off their lights from 8.30 pm local time.

“Earth Hour Specials 8.30 pm-9.30 pm, March 28th 2009: Free! A pair of F1 grandstand tickets when you spend 1,000 ringgit ($276.1) and above in a single receipt,” said promotional posters placed around the six-level Suria KLCC complex.

I promise not to set foot in Suria KLCC for a very long time. I will encourage other people to do the same.

I don’t mind if they do not want to participate in Earth Hour but to do so in the name of Earth Hour is missing the point.

The management of Suria KLCC is made of idiots.

Fortunately for me, my workplace for today close to home. So, I only had to suffer a short time trapped in massive traffic congestion. I escaped Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman by using the road passing by Sultan Sulaiman Club.

My joy was short lived when I discovered that Jalan Raja Muda was simply impossible. It went on as far as the eyes could see. Scouring around, I finally decided to try Kampung Baru and boy, I enjoyed the cool wind.

I thought I outsmarted the traffic by cutting through Kampung Baru but I later found out that Jalan Tun Razak was not moving at all. The cause of all traffic was Jalan Tun Razak!

And the reason for the situation in Jalan Tun Razak was flash flood. Reading from the news, Batu River was overflowing. That was a good 5 km away but here, at the juncture of Semarak, Raja Muda and Tun Razak, a stand still. A couple of ambulances got stuck in the traffic. Somehow, I thought, the drivers were giving up.

The trains were not in operation either. At the time of press, I am still unsure if the trains are in operation. There was a disruption of electricity during the heavy rain. Having been through a time when train service was disrupted during rush hour, I understand how sucked it would have been to be a train commuter for day.