I love Malaysia!

Last week I went to the 9th Asian Pacific Conference on Clinical Nutrition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was so excited to still be in Asia for one more year so I could attend. I love Malaysia for many reasons: it's tropical, they speak English, the people are friendly and funny, the food is yummy (if spicy at times), things are inexpensive and it hold a special place in my heart as one of the stops along the early spice trade routes. 

 To the left you can see the impressive Petronas towers as viewed from my exit from the metro system. Above you can see me working hard at my conference. I got this cute little Chinese girl to stand with me so I didn't feel so lonely as the only American at the conference (although I was the only one from the US). To maintain my credentials as a registered dietitian I have to have 75 hours of continuing education over 5 years. I could always read 75 journal articles or travel to climes unknown. I chose the later.

One day I took a walking and eating tour of Kuala Lumpur. I was so excited to try street food at places where I knew I wouldn't get sick. (They take Australian tourists every day to these places.  If people started getting sick I would have known really fast.) Our first stop was the home cooked Indian restaurant joint. (By the way, the population of Malaysia is made of Indians, Chinese and Malays). I learned how to the rice and curry dish you see below with my fingers. After the excitement wore off, I became acutely aware of the fiery curry seeping into my dried and cracked fingers. To the bottom left is a traditional Malaysian house spruced up for tourists.

The bowl below contains sweetened condenced milk, shaved ice, toasted coconut, interested bright green gelatin slugs and it was delicious!

On my last couple of days I met up with my mom and dad who are serving as LDS missionaries over the Asia humanitarian aid projects and are based in Hong Kong. We were lucky enough to meet up while they were doing some wheelchair training in Malaysia. It was eye opening for me in a couple ways. #1, Senior missionaries work hard. I was so happy to come home to my 4 kids under six so I could have regular nap times again. #2, Senior missionaries do a great job taking care of people. #3, Senior missionaries get to meet amazing people and do unforgettable service. 

 I talked my mom and the Public Affairs missionaries into visiting the KL bird park with me. I got to feed and ostrich! They are kind of fierce animals and I was happy to leave with all my fingers intact. I love hornbill birds and was delighted to see some roaming free.

 

 Could I go anywhere without getting a market picture or two? The vegetables on the left have a pink ton from the tarp above not the "rose colored glasses" setting on my camera. On the right is where I bought a kurta top.

 On my way back I stayed at a "capsule hotel" at the Haneda airport. This was my room that I crawled into for the night. I had been itching to try one of these for a long time, but thought I would never get the chance since this would not be a good place for kids. You have to be totally quite (Japanese quiet not American quiet- that's the difference between a buzzing fly and an F-16 fighter plane). Oh, and there is no door, just a screen curtain that comes down 80% of the way. Only in Japan would I feel safe enough to sleep.

Three cheers for Ryan who successfully kept the kids alive while I was gallivanting around! Here they are showing off their new Indian prince/princess clothing.