Malaysia, Truly Asia

I opened 2012 with a luggage in tow. Since I always spend the Christmas holidays at my hometown in Davao, I have always opened the year with my travel back to Manila. January 1 is such a dreary day to travel as generally, travelers are still smarting from the loneliness of going away from family and friends. 

Yes, am one of them. Leaving home never fails to tug my heart :-( Yeah, yeah am a wuss. Yet, I always get a kick out of traveling especially if it's not long-term. Third week of January, Avon brought us to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for our 2012 Field Team Conference. 

Tallest Twin Tower in Asia.

I've already managed my expectations knowing that we will surely be on a tight schedule as we are there for business. Yes, day and night, we are on a schedule. Plenary. Recognition Night. Fellowship Night. Then, last night. Ha ha ha. 

In spite of the time constraint though, we were able to have a glimpse of Kuala Lumpur. I've observed that they have longer days. The sun sets at eight in the evening! At six in the morning, the sun is still hiding from humanity. Quite the opposite in Manila where at 5pm, the sky starts to darken already. 

Upon arrival, the first thing we did was look for a hawker's place. Naturally, we rode their public transport. Act like a local, is our mantra. We rode the Mono Rail Transit. 

My friend, Josette at the train station.

And ate authentic Malay food. 

At the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel. Laksa, Papa Dom, and Roti are the best here.

Back at the hotel, we saw from a distance the magnificence of this structure. So, we promised ourselves that the next night, come hell or high water, we shall see it. And we did!

Petronas Twin Towers from afar.

Of course, no travel abroad is complete without the requisite shopping. Did I mention that our schedule was tight? Yes, because all the malls were already close every time we dash for them. So, we opted to take our pictures on their facade. Fun, eh?

And as promised, the following night, we raced to the KLCC. Lo and behold, we only had 30 minutes before the tower lights were shut off. So, this is what I was able to capture from my phone. 

Hello, Petronas. We had to bend several ways just to get a good shot.

Then, we found a platform. Afterwards, we learned it's prohibited to be up on this ledge. Ha.ha.

Malaysia has so many Public Banks. Yes, it's called Public Bank.

On our last day, we had a mini-city tour. We went to the King's Palace. According to the tour guide, there are seven kings right now in Malaysia but only one is elected to represent the OPEC. 

One of several palaces. Here with beauties Erika and Gemma.

View from the top.

And here are the conference delegates. 

These ladies are the last batch of Train-the-Trainers training I handled (2010) before I transitioned to the Operations Development Team.

The field Sales & Operations team with the Head Office Support and the Executive Team.

Thank you, Avon! Go for More in 2012.