(Special Post by Marta Velez) Europe vs KL
Hey! I am an expat in Kuala Lumpur and I love it. I have
been here for a couple of months now and this city is still capable of
surprising every day. There are so many
things to do, to see, to enjoy. I have
to confess that when I came here I did not know much about Kuala Lumpur or
Malaysia I had never been to Asia before!
This was a really spontaneous, exciting decision. Moving to
a different continent, a country that you barely know to start a new life… Why
not?
I decided to focus this opinion article on comparing the
western European world where I came from to the metropolitan Asian capital to
where I moved to and the similarities are incredible. Kuala Lumpur is urban, modern, developed
and energetic: in here it is possible to find anything that you see in Europe
(and even more like the amazing rooftops), from the stores to the food to the
clubs or to facilities, honestly the list is infinite. And where does Kuala
Lumpur wins? Let’s base this on a football match.
Kuala
Lumpur 1 -0 Europe
Shopping Paradise.
From Louis Vitton to fake rolex you can find anything! Big malls (I mean BIG),
Small malls, street markets (personal favorite), international or local, it is
amazing. In my eyes, Kuala Lumpur offers much more options and variety. My main
problem now is if one day I want to get back I will need to buy plain tickets
for my suitcases!!
Kuala Lumpur 1 – 1 Europe
Cleanliness. This
is a negative point around here. The streets are dirty, it is common to throw
trash to the floor and it is a struggle any time I try to find a trash bin. In
Madrid, for example, you don’t see trash on the streets as they are being
cleaned literally 24/7.
Kuala
Lumpur 2 – 1 Europe
Food! Let me
start by saying that I really miss the kind of bread that we have in Europe but
except for that the food here is amazing. Indian tastes better (and there is
Naan), the chicken tastes better (don’t ask me why) and besides having all this
combination of fantastic Asian food (Indonesia, thai, chinese among others) you
can also find really good western restaurants so I don’t actually miss home in
that sense. The fact that Malay cuisine is mainly a mix of different others
gives it a special taste!
Kuala Lumpur 2 – 2 Europe
Four seasons. No,
I am not talking about the hotel chain but about winter, spring, summer and
autumn. Yes, warm weather during the
whole year can be fun but each one of the four seasons has something special
about it. The yellow leafs in the autumn, the snow in the winter, the fresh
breeze of spring. I am still trying to
recognize that I am going to spend Christmas in my bikini (much probably)!!
To be political correct let’s consider it a tie. Both Europe
and Asia have a lot of good features and at this moment I have to say that my
heart is half here, half there!
