why wy?

kl is every bit as noisy as singapore, what with traffic and construction and people shouting in dialect. Note: there are only two volumes when conversing in hokkien or cantonese - loud and very loud. We measured the noise level over dinner at a coffeeshop - all done with a nokia phone - and it was over 90dB. There was the conversation of other diners, the traffic, the hiss of the outdoor gas cooker and the wailing burglar alarm of the bank across the road (which went on all through dinner and stopped just when we were leaving).

but kl makes up for it with the shopping (amazing), the food (to die for) and the people (it helps that most of them were our friends anyway).

finally had ampang yong tau hu (definition: chunks of tofu and veg stuffed with meat and cooked in a stock or deep fried) after a year or so of waiting. What can I say, it lived up to its reputation. We were so stuffed that we ended up playing jenga with the remaining pieces, the aim was not to let the crispy bits get drenched in the gravy.

reading material of choice: jonathan strange and mr norell, by susanna clarke. as thick as a dictionary, i finished it on the long bus ride. makes very good reading, if only it wasn't so heavy to lug around.