NICE!!! Just had to take this picture.
Notice the hair!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Formula One Grand Prix
We have a really busy weekend. The Formula One race was in KL and there was alot of partying going on all week. Everything was happening at the Petronas Towers, Suria Mall and Mandarin Oriental Hotel which is all across the street from our apartment. There were race cars coming to and from the hotel constantly. They had some practice sessions and qualifying on Saturday which we went to and the race on Sunday. David and I enjoyed it and was glad that we went, but it is not Nascar. There are no numbers on the cars so you had no clue who was who and the leader board close to us was not working. We were lucky enough to be in front of a monitor so we watched most of the race on it. There is very little passing and no wrecks so I lost interest very quickly. Of course, as most things are in Malaysia, the track had alot to be desired. I met a friend here through Mary that is from Houston and she calls Malaysia "the land of almost". David and I agree 100 percent. Of course the humidity and the temperature was 100. I have posted some pictures at the Suria Mall where the bands were playing on Friday and from the race on Sunday.
Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra
We bought tickets Friday night to see a "Tribute to the Beatles". It was performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra at the Petronas Towers. It was wonderful. We went with Dan and Mary and some friends from Houston who are visiting, Mike and Newhanna Moody.
Looking down on the floor.
The ceiling -the lights change colors during the performance.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Craft Fair - Kompleks Kraf
Back in February I mentioned that Mary, Katie and I went looking for the Craft Fair and found out that it was not going to be until March. Mary and I went today (Katie is in the US) and it is quite interesting. The city puts it on and vendors rent booths to sell their merchandise. It reminded me of Festival in the Park for those of you who are from Montgomery, except that it is inside. They set up huge tents and pump a/c into them. It will last for two weeks. I posted a few pictures below.
The wood work was incredible.
Group of girls playing instruments. It looked more like pots and pans to me but the music was beautiful.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Facts about Kuala Lumpur
Well I did not go anywhere this week so I decided to give you some interesting facts about Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur is the beating heart of Malaysia and the focus of most of the country's development. Today (book written in 2008), KL contains about 1.5 million people within the city and more than 4.5 million in the surrounding metropolitan area.
Malaysia's fast paced development in trade and commerce, banking and finance, manufacturing, transportation, information technology and tourism depends on Kuala Lumpur. The city is also the politicial and cultural centre of the nation. The number one contributor to Malaysia's gross domestic product is the petroleum industry.
The average annual household income in Malaysia is US$11,531.00. The lowest 10% of wage earners in the country receive only 1.4% of the country's wealth. The wealthiest 10% enjoy 39% of the wealth.
With a labour force of 10.68 million, Malaysia experiences an unemploymnet rate of only 3.5%. Most foreign nationals who work at high-end jobs in Malaysia are those who have been sent by parent international companies. Spouses of such people are not allowed to work. A few expats do get work permits locally when it is conclusively demonstrated that no local person can do the work, but this is relatively rare.
There are a large number of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Asian countries, particularly Indonesia working in Malaysia. Since they provide much of the manual and domestic labour, they are quietly tolerated, but periodically the government does a sweep and several hundred thousand will be sent home. Preference for jobs is always given to Malaysians.
Tourism is a major income earner for Malaysia with between 15 and 16 million tourist a year passing through KL on their way to various destinations in the country.
The national flag of Malaysia somewhat resembles the stars and stripes flag of the United States. Each of Malaysia's states also has an individual flag.
Malaysia's climate is both tropical and monsoonal. In the lowlands, where KL is located, temperatures vary between 70 degrees in the morning and 90 degrees in the late afternoon. Humidity is high (80%) throughout the year. The average annual rainfall in the lowlands is 100 inches. Yes I did say 100 inches!! Monsoons visit KL in November and December. There are often violent but short thunderstorms in October and March. Generally Malaysia has two seasons; the dry season from May to September and the rainy season from October until April. In KL the rainiest months are March, April, October and November. In each of those months rainfall exceeds 8 inches. The city copes well with heavy rain, but really severe downpours can sometimes bring traffic to a standstill as streets flood and drains are unable to handle all the water. To deal with the problem of flash floods the city has found an ingenious solution, The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART). The tunnel consists of two parts; the stormwater tunnel and the motorway tunnel. Excessive rain is diverted to the stormwater tunnel and held there until it can be safely pumped out. In really heavy rain the tunnel is closed to traffic and both tunnels are used to hold water. I thought this was really interesting when I heard about it. The tunnels were actually closed Wednesday night because we had the worst thunderstorm I have seen since we have been here. Believe it or not with all the thunder and lighting we never lose power. The cable goes out on the tv sometimes but we are never without power.
The official language of Malaysia in Malay. English, however, is very widely spoken, especially in KL. The quality of English among the educated classes in KL is very high with many people being completely fluent. The language of business is English.
I hope you enjoyed some of these little tidbits about KL.
Kuala Lumpur is the beating heart of Malaysia and the focus of most of the country's development. Today (book written in 2008), KL contains about 1.5 million people within the city and more than 4.5 million in the surrounding metropolitan area.
Malaysia's fast paced development in trade and commerce, banking and finance, manufacturing, transportation, information technology and tourism depends on Kuala Lumpur. The city is also the politicial and cultural centre of the nation. The number one contributor to Malaysia's gross domestic product is the petroleum industry.
The average annual household income in Malaysia is US$11,531.00. The lowest 10% of wage earners in the country receive only 1.4% of the country's wealth. The wealthiest 10% enjoy 39% of the wealth.
With a labour force of 10.68 million, Malaysia experiences an unemploymnet rate of only 3.5%. Most foreign nationals who work at high-end jobs in Malaysia are those who have been sent by parent international companies. Spouses of such people are not allowed to work. A few expats do get work permits locally when it is conclusively demonstrated that no local person can do the work, but this is relatively rare.
There are a large number of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Asian countries, particularly Indonesia working in Malaysia. Since they provide much of the manual and domestic labour, they are quietly tolerated, but periodically the government does a sweep and several hundred thousand will be sent home. Preference for jobs is always given to Malaysians.
Tourism is a major income earner for Malaysia with between 15 and 16 million tourist a year passing through KL on their way to various destinations in the country.
The national flag of Malaysia somewhat resembles the stars and stripes flag of the United States. Each of Malaysia's states also has an individual flag.
Malaysia's climate is both tropical and monsoonal. In the lowlands, where KL is located, temperatures vary between 70 degrees in the morning and 90 degrees in the late afternoon. Humidity is high (80%) throughout the year. The average annual rainfall in the lowlands is 100 inches. Yes I did say 100 inches!! Monsoons visit KL in November and December. There are often violent but short thunderstorms in October and March. Generally Malaysia has two seasons; the dry season from May to September and the rainy season from October until April. In KL the rainiest months are March, April, October and November. In each of those months rainfall exceeds 8 inches. The city copes well with heavy rain, but really severe downpours can sometimes bring traffic to a standstill as streets flood and drains are unable to handle all the water. To deal with the problem of flash floods the city has found an ingenious solution, The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART). The tunnel consists of two parts; the stormwater tunnel and the motorway tunnel. Excessive rain is diverted to the stormwater tunnel and held there until it can be safely pumped out. In really heavy rain the tunnel is closed to traffic and both tunnels are used to hold water. I thought this was really interesting when I heard about it. The tunnels were actually closed Wednesday night because we had the worst thunderstorm I have seen since we have been here. Believe it or not with all the thunder and lighting we never lose power. The cable goes out on the tv sometimes but we are never without power.
The official language of Malaysia in Malay. English, however, is very widely spoken, especially in KL. The quality of English among the educated classes in KL is very high with many people being completely fluent. The language of business is English.
I hope you enjoyed some of these little tidbits about KL.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Nursery Purchases
A pepper plant for David. There are actually alot of peppers on there, you just can't see them.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Visit to Plant Nursery
David was out of town so Joyce took Mary and I to the nursery Saturday morning. I was very careful about where I walked. It made me really nervous because I knew there had to be creatures around somewhere. At this nursery you would pick out your plant and your pot. They would plant it for you and then deliver to your home for free.
Bonsai tree that cost 800 ringet or $266.00.
This view was behind the nursery. We see this all the time.
This plant is called the "lucky plant".
Hibiscus - national plant of Malaysia. Joyce could not believe we have these at home.
Anyone need a pot?
More pots
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