An Evening in KL, A Day in Melaka

Max is deathly afraid of heights and I'm no high flying tight rope walker myself but we both enjoyed the sunset view from a 60 meter ferris wheel last night. The Eye on Malaysia is located in the "Green Lung of Kuala Lumpur" or the Titiwangsa Lake Gardens. It offers a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of the city including a light show on the water. This is the ideal month to visit Kuala Lumpur because all the attractions we've been to so far have been queue-free. That's good news since the last thing a traveler wants to do is wait in line when humidity is hovering around 100%.

Checkers, the nickname we gave our driver because we can't pronounce his Indian name, scored mucho points when he stopped to let us take stills of the Petronas Towers. These towers are the city's two front teeth - as important to the skyline as they are to the government and economy. At night, they light up like a rare jewel caught in the headlights of a really big flashlight.

From another gem called the Menara KL Tower, Max and I dined on a rotating viewing deck. We sat at least 100m higher than the Petronas Towers Skybridge enjoying a Singapore Sling and an infinite choice of buffet cuisine. Vegetarians beware - there's a fully cooked lamb carcass hanging on a spit for easy consumption. I opted for the Chinese dim sum instead.

This morning we hopped back in the van for a 2-hour bus trip to Melaka on the Straits of Malacca. This charming little harbor town offers dozens of museums to discover the heritage and history of Malaysia as well as escape the formidable heat. It's named from the Melaka tree which bears fruit which is strangely poisonous.

Rather than brave an erratic driver of a colorful trishaw we ambled up to the top of St. Paul's Church where the Portuguese empire once built a fort called A'Famosa. Only crumbling walls and well-preserved 15th century tombstones remain.

On our walk down the hill, I listened with amusement to a Portuguese musician making melodies on his harmonica. His teeth were limited but his talents were numerous. He played the American bluegrass hit "Oh! Susanna" with such gusto and clarity you'd think he came from "Alabama with a banjo on his knee."

Melaka is full of friendly go-lucky people like the harmonica player, many that will let you take their picture if you ask politely. Just a few minutes before, Sara bought Max and I 5 souvenir drawings from a vendor who could recite Melaka's history better than a genealogist. And before that a wee little boy (see Max's blog) gave us a toothy grin sitting with his parents enjoying roti.