So my stay in Malaysia comes to an end. I haven’t had either had time or internet access to be able to update the blog the last few days. So briefly here goes…

The day after the presentation (the 13th) I had a meeting with Professors Ramayah, Rozinah, and Bala at USM where we discussed ideas for collaboration and research. I think we have some good ideas and hopefully they will work out. After that Rozinah took me on a quick tour of some Buddhist temples, the most famous of which is the statue of the reclining Buddha. I remember reading somewhere that this is one of the largest statues in Malaysia, but I am not sure of that and the lack of Google at this moment (I am typing this in Word to post later when I have the Internets) is somewhat frustrating. I was expecting a long drive to get to the temple but as it turns out it was pretty much walking distance from my hotel, bang in the middle of the city. In fact I remember driving by it the last couple of days here, but it is relatively non-descript from the outside so I didn’t give it much attention. We visited two temples and I of course took a lot of pictures, which I will upload when I get a chance.

After that I bought Rozinah lunch at Woodlands where we had a delicious chappati thali: 2 fresh chappaties with sambar, dal, and three vegetables, all for 5 RM. Add raita and some delicious South Indian filter coffee, and life can’t be much better. I must say having some good vegetarian food was a blessing. I think I am done with meat for a while – though given that I am going to Taiwan and Hong Kong, vegetarianism may have to take a back seat for the next week or so.

After that it was back to Penang airport to fly back to KL. I was met at the airport by Kurnia who, after I checked in at the hotel, took me on a short tour of Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC). I have been feeling a bit sick for the past day or so – cough and stuffed sinuses, maybe caused by allergies, maybe a touch of the flu, so I wasn’t, I think, the best of company. That said, we went to the food court there, and had a bowl of hot, spicy noodle soup. That was just what the doctor ordered (that and some ZyrtecD) and things look much better this morning. KLCC is right by the Petronas Twin Towers – and boy, are these buildings amazing. Photographs cannot do them justice, though I did take some.

Then it was back to the hotel, relatively early, to get some sleep before I leave for Taiwan tomorrow morning.

(Written in the hotel, posted online from Kuala Lumpur airport, which provides a very slow, but free, internet connection.)