I am on cultural overload. Each and every time I sit down to write, I think of my day and it is so hard to capture every thought, every view, sound, taste, interaction. I want to get it all out, so it doesn’t slip away from my mind. There is so much to take in, so much to observe. So much beauty and so much corruption, all wrapped up in the amazingness of the human race.

Chinatown

When I woke up yesterday morning and looked out the window of my 12th floor hotel room, I was totally intimidated. I am staying in an area of Kuala Lumpur called Chinatown. All around me are buildings standing higher than I could have ever imagined. There are complexes of half a dozen buildings, each at least 50 stories tall, full of residential units. And there are dozens, more than dozens, of them. They are making up the city skyline. Intermingled with those buildings are fabulously created office buildings with architecture like I’ve never seen before. This was most definitely the largest metropolis I’ve been in on this trip, so yes, I was intimidated.

I had gotten in right as the sun was setting the night before. When I arrived at the airport, I messaged the private driver I had arranged to pick me up. No response. I waited, and waited, and waited. It took about an hour before I realized I was on my own. I wasn’t ready to venture onto the train system in the nighttime, so I tried Grab (the Uber equivalent). They were all booked; no one available. Finally, I realized a taxi would be my best option. In this airport, I didn’t have a ‘helper.’ I was on my own. I can do this. I can do this, just stay calm and think through every move. You’ve done this before!