CMCO Kuala Lumpur part 2, in lockdown again

It is Saturday morning at 10 o’clock, and for the fourth week in a row, we are sitting at a coffee shop with our laptops. We start the weekend with an hour of walking before we settle down at a cozy neighborhood in TTDI. We don’t walk much further than this because we are in lockdown again, or semi-lockdown or as we say here CMCO.

Rent a car

Things have been going well for a long time here in Malaysia with the number of corona infections. It was with great disbelief that we looked at Europe, where the borders remained closed, and we were pleased that we were able to move around freely, at least in the country itself. Now you can ask yourself what is free because the government knows perfect where we are going, and the moment we step foot outside our apartment, we are wearing a mask. But that’s okay, you’ll get used to this, and we were glad we could rent a car and drive to Redang and Penang.

Penang Georgetown

Restaurants

Although we did not have this in mind when we decided to move abroad, we are making the best of it. No one could, of course, have foreseen that we would be in this situation with the whole world. On the other hand, we are now doing a lot of things that we would not otherwise have done here. We have time now to discover Malaysia, especially all the food, and get to know our neighborhood much better. This is also a lot of fun, and at the same time a bit of a shame. Because there is so much more we can show our guests. Last year we had eight visits and took them to the same restaurants, such as Flour, Din Tai Fung, Madam Kwans, the sushi tent with the crazy lights and mascots, Mighty Monster, which is now bankrupt (!) and Absolut Thai.

Tour guide

Admittedly, apart from Flour, we have hardly been to all these restaurants. We have found so many new places where we can have a delicious meal, on the street or a plastic chair, but where we also support the local people. Such a pity that no one can come here for the time being. For that reason alone, it is a shame that the borders are closed because I am slowly beginning to miss my role as a tour guide. Everyone who has been back in the past year should when it’s possible to travel again, come here again. And if you’ll come to KL, be prepared because I have quite a list of eateries waiting for you!

Image of Lisa

Roadblocks

For a short time, therefore, because we have not been allowed to leave the district for four weeks now. And this is new because in March during the ‘real’ lockdown, we were not allowed to be more than 10 kilometers from our house. Everywhere there were roadblocks, so yes, you couldn’t go much further than those 10 kilometers. To see it from the positive side, they do everything they can here to let your creativity flourish because now we had to find out which district we live in. And that hasn’t proved to be easy at all. Today, we seem to be on the wrong side of the border, and we are in Kuala Lumpur instead of Petaling, 100 meters apart, oops…

Police

And that’s what our weekends look like, we walk (with masks), drink coffee, play a little bit on the laptop, have lunch in a restaurant, and we walk back again. Then you think, why don’t you take off that mask when you walk outside, no one bothers? In the meantime, we have been stopped by the police once already. The policeman without his mask kindly told us to put ours back on. We are doing everything we can to escape the fine of RM1000, which is €200, so now we are a bit more careful and take it for granted to sweat our asses off in the sun with our protection.

Wearing masks outdoors

CMCO Kuala Lumpur part 2, in lockdown again

It is Saturday morning at 10 o’clock, and for the fourth week in a row, we are sitting at a coffee shop with our laptops. We start the weekend with an hour of walking before we settle down at a cozy neighborhood in TTDI. We don’t walk much further than this because we are in lockdown again, or semi-lockdown or as we say here CMCO.

Rent a car

Things have been going well for a long time here in Malaysia with the number of corona infections. It was with great disbelief that we looked at Europe, where the borders remained closed, and we were pleased that we were able to move around freely, at least in the country itself. Now you can ask yourself what is free because the government knows perfect where we are going, and the moment we step foot outside our apartment, we are wearing a mask. But that’s okay, you’ll get used to this, and we were glad we could rent a car and drive to Redang and Penang.

Image of Lisa

Roadblocks

For a short time, therefore, because we have not been allowed to leave the district for four weeks now. And this is new because in March during the ‘real’ lockdown, we were not allowed to be more than 10 kilometers from our house. Everywhere there were roadblocks, so yes, you couldn’t go much further than those 10 kilometers. To see it from the positive side, they do everything they can here to let your creativity flourish because now we had to find out which district we live in. And that hasn’t proved to be easy at all. Today, we seem to be on the wrong side of the border, and we are in Kuala Lumpur instead of Petaling, 100 meters apart, oops…

Police

And that’s what our weekends look like, we walk (with masks), drink coffee, play a little bit on the laptop, have lunch in a restaurant, and we walk back again. Then you think, why don’t you take off that mask when you walk outside, no one bothers? In the meantime, we have been stopped by the police once already. The policeman without his mask kindly told us to put ours back on. We are doing everything we can to escape the fine of RM1000, which is €200, so now we are a bit more careful and take it for granted to sweat our asses off in the sun with our protection.

Penang Georgetown

Restaurants

Although we did not have this in mind when we decided to move abroad, we are making the best of it. No one could, of course, have foreseen that we would be in this situation with the whole world. On the other hand, we are now doing a lot of things that we would not otherwise have done here. We have time now to discover Malaysia, especially all the food, and get to know our neighborhood much better. This is also a lot of fun, and at the same time a bit of a shame. Because there is so much more we can show our guests. Last year we had eight visits and took them to the same restaurants, such as Flour, Din Tai Fung, Madam Kwans, the sushi tent with the crazy lights and mascots, Mighty Monster, which is now bankrupt (!) and Absolut Thai.

Tour guide

Admittedly, apart from Flour, we have hardly been to all these restaurants. We have found so many new places where we can have a delicious meal, on the street or a plastic chair, but where we also support the local people. Such a pity that no one can come here for the time being. For that reason alone, it is a shame that the borders are closed because I am slowly beginning to miss my role as a tour guide. Everyone who has been back in the past year should when it’s possible to travel again, come here again. And if you’ll come to KL, be prepared because I have quite a list of eateries waiting for you!

Outdoors masks