TRAVEL...
I landed in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Borneo. It's known for its beaches, rain-forests and mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultural influences. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is home to colonial buildings, busy shopping districts such as Bukit Bintang and skyscrapers such as the iconic, 451m-tall Petronas Twin Towers.
KL is the cultural center of Peninsular Malaysia. A melting pot of cultures and traditions, the city is a modern cosmopolitan hub, and the capital. The city has been described by many food writers and travelers as one of the best places to visit if you love Asian food as much as I do!
Sara, a Malaysian woman I met for the first time in the foyer of the hotel I was staying in, I was waiting in a line and she was behind me, we got to talking, a slight relief that she could understand english, I was tired and a little irritated at why it was taking so long to check in people, something I've been custom to feeling over the years however this being my first real solo travel experiences, what I've learnt is patience is not just a virtue, its a must do. Sara was visiting with her friend Lana, and they were as curious about me as I was about them, we agreed to get food together later that evening. This was the start of my first love affair with Malaysian food, and the girls knew exactly where to go to find it.
FOOD...
Much like the culture, the food is a fusion of European, Indian, and Asian flavor... that night after drinking local beers they took me to a Malaysian noodle house called Kedai Makanan and let's just say what I ate that evening was mind blowing, and now although I cannot completely replicate the dish I'd say this recipe I've created is pretty damn close.
Recipe:
ART...
As a visual Artist the best way for me to understand a different culture and history is through art and the narrative it focuses on, KL offers some of the best contemporary artists in Malaysia, it has an exotic visual language, compared to other art from around the world. The range starts from artists who create traditional landscapes and depictions of former ways of life, to those who write Islamic calligraphy.
Ivan Lam is one artist I discovered who quickly gained popularity in the 21st-century as one of the best contemporary artists in Malaysia. The artist, who works as a full-time college lecturer, produces modern realism. His pictures often tell a story, featuring mundane scenarios such as a car workshop or airport lounge. Ivan masterfully uses careful layers of paint and a combination of textures. With viewpoints from everyday life, this artist is quickly becoming known on the regional and international art scene. A recent exhibition called Panorama, hosted at Wei-Ling Gallery in KL, attracted many masses of people.
LIFE...
Finding the beat to your own heart in a world that challenges you to actually be you and the best version of yourself is what solo travelling does to you. The push I had that lead me to the point in my life to just give life a real go, and be present in the moment without anyone around me I knew, provoked a freedom beyond that I new knew existed in me, and so too it does for everyone, we are in a lot of ways more connected than we think, even if we do not completely understand each others, thoughts, minds, culture or the way we present ourselves... patience to connect and understand each other is something that actually helps us connect to ourselves.
LOVE...
On the last evening of my visit to KL, Sara, Lana and I decided to venture off to find another restaurant and I asked Sara the big question I ask most people... what is love?, she looked at me, inquisitive and took a minute or two to answer "Love is having confidence and self worth and not looking to the person beside you for validation"
LESSON...
What I learnt is that by being open enough and understanding that we do not need to know all the answers and the reasons why life is the way it is, or why people do the things they do, why we can feel success and disappointment simultaneously in a situation, yet the space where our programming through our own story lines, predicaments, culture, race, economic realities and difference, can easily slip into confusion and hysteria if you allow it, by simply playing into the narrative that know body understands what its like to be you, however asking the right questions to understand what's happening with you and by virtue asking what may sometimes feel like the most awkward questions to a stranger, can offer a little beacon of light that inspires a thought, an idea where we begin to understand that the confusion is just an illusion to avoid the depth of connection we all need to connect with our real selves, and that not knowing whats actually right within our own reach to understand, you just have to want to ask the question and be willing to listen to the answer and the meaning of it that connects to you.
Next time on The Love Vibration I travel to Vietnam, sharing cuisine, wisdom, beauty and connecting with locals about love, food and art.
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