Connections to our roots – Kuala Lumpur – Part 2

Kuala Lumpur

Going back to where you grew up brings about connections. The whole duration in Kuala Lumpur was relaxing, hectic and fun. We had the chance to relax in the morning. The shops were not yet opened, so we hit the pool and the gym, and later we searched for local hawker food around the Bukit Bintang area. The weather was warm and humid, and very different to the cold winter weather we left in in Sydney. Our connections to our roots continued…

During the morning before the shopping centers opened, the best place to hunt for nice authentic local food would be the local coffee shops or the markets.

So, this is what we did.

With the help of the hotel concierge and maps, we found a nice little coffee shop and noodles galore. We enjoyed the hawkers’ delicacies, both noodles and cakes, which went really well with the local black coffee.

The next day, we went to the local market. It was just a 10-15 minutes’ walk.  It brought back memories as we walked past each stall, salivating at the aroma of the food, while at the same time enjoying the local market atmosphere. After enjoying a couple of bowls of noodles, we also took back food and cakes, which we used to enjoy as children, to the hotel to enjoy later. What a treat!!

After the relaxing mornings, we were gearing up with catching up with our friends and families over both lunches and dinners for the next few days. We even had the opportunity to celebrate a cousin’s birthday together one night at a local Chinese restaurant together with a few families.

Some of our cousins came down and took us over to their homes. We had the opportunity to experience the traffic chaos during office hours in downtown Kuala Lumpur, but the food and the connections with the relatives compensated for the hours on the road.

Over the course of our few days in KL, apart from relatives, we managed to meet up with our universities’ friends whom we had not seen since we graduated over 20 years ago. We also met their families for the first time. We did not have time to meet all of our friends this time round, but will be back again soon for the next round of connections.

P/s One of our nieces even shared her 3 day-old rabbits with us.

The next stop of our journey would be Malacca – the third smallest Malaysian state after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malaysia Peninsula, and this area is the start of the Baba Nonya or the Peranakan culture in Malaysia. (Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago and British Malaya (now Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan)

Have you recently travelled back home or met those whom you grew up with? How did you re-connect?

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