Wet Markets to Fine Dining: Day 11 (5/30)

A vendor at the wet market cleaning a sting-ray

Our last day in Malaysia took us to a wide range of locations.  We began the day bright and early to another wet market.  This market was larger and more open than those visited in Vietnam.  Also, there was a larger selection of products, particularly marine life.  Many of the stands had live products that could be processed directly in front of you!  Even though there was a supermarket directly next door, people seemed to inclined to purchase from the wet market.  We asked Shellen at one point where she purchases her groceries.  During the week, when she is short on time, she goes to the grocery store.  But on weekends when she can spend the time to make a home-cooked meal, she goes to the wet market.  This is similar to those who visit the farmers market in my college town of Blacksburg, Virginia.  I wasn't expecting an answer like this, but it was interesting to find out how similar cooking meals in Malaysia is to that of the United States.

Me, McKenzie, and Nellie with the long row of cranes at Westport

After the wet market we moved on to our visit to Westport.  This is one of three port facilities with Port Klang (the others are North and South port).  This port is ranked 13th in the world and is a Free Trade location.  The port ships many things in bulk, the main categories of shipments include: dry bulk (agriculture products and minerals), liquid, and vehicles.  Once we had the overview, we got to go out to the port and see how huge it really was!  This visit was really interesting because even though in Virginia we have ports (Norfolk) I really don't have much knowledge about them.

The rest of the day was filled with sight-seeing and networking.  One of the most spectacular sights in Kuala Lumpur is the Petronas Towers.  They are the tallest twin towers in the world!  We got to travel up to the 86th floor and walk across the bridge that connects the two towers.  It was a great view of the city, and I was able to get a souvenir spoon for my collection.

Shadow of the Petronas Towers over Kuala Lumpur

Later in the evening we got to wrap things up from our previous agricultural visits.  The U.S. Grains Council hosted a networking event in which we got to have further conversations with the professionals we had met along our trip, and new folks as well.  This was a career opportunity that not very many people our age get to have!

The next post will finish up the I-CAL adventure with notes from our day in Singapore!