Dessert Galore Dinner from Butterfly/Bird Park【53】

It's my second morning since arriving in Kuala Lumpur.

I ordered the same menu at the same Starbucks as yesterday. It's yogurt and American coffee (Tall). On closer inspection, the yogurt container seems to be similar to those used for ice-based drinks...

While sipping coffee, I checked the plan for the day.

I really wanted to go to "Malacca" from the morning, but when I checked the internet to book a bus the previous day, I found out that there were no departures from Kuala Lumpur in the morning on this day. I don't know if it's because it's Saturday or the end of the year. So, I decided to go to other places in the city that seemed suitable for sightseeing.

The first destination was the Butterfly Park. I took the monorail from Bukit Bintang to KL Sentral, and from there, it was about a 10-minute taxi ride.

Upon paying the entrance fee and entering, you are greeted by lush nature. Various plants exist in a space resembling a vinyl house, and on closer inspection, butterflies are flying everywhere. There are a variety of species, and you can see types of butterflies that I have never seen in Japan.

There was some device where a large number of butterflies (which looked like moths) were gathered.

Besides butterflies, in the aquarium corner, you can see crayfish? and mysterious fish and frogs.

Among them, I liked the Long Neck Turtle, which, as the name suggests, has a long neck. It was cute how it turned its neck towards the direction I pointed.

Indoors, there are also taxidermy and insect cage corners.

I was amazed by the large and beautiful insect specimens, but I was more interested in the living creatures. I saw a tarantula in person for the first time, and I was fascinated like a child by giant millipede-like creatures, giant centipedes, yellow-green snakes, and so on.

I finished looking around and left the Butterfly Park. I entered almost at the opening time, so there were only about three other groups of tourists besides me, and I could view it quietly. It's basically outdoors, so maybe it's the heat, or maybe tourists don't come here much in the first place. However, I thought it was worth going out of the way.

It's about a 10-minute walk from the Butterfly Park to the Bird Park. When I arrived just after 10 am, many tourists were already flocking to the ticket booth.

Once inside, nature spreads out again, but this time, the difference is in its vastness. It's hard to tell from the entrance, but it extends quite far back.

Although the whole area is covered with nets, birds are flying freely within, allowing you to see rare birds at an extremely close distance.

Sure, here's the translation of the provided Japanese text into English:

Right upon entering, a peacock was spreading its feathers. It was close enough to touch, which felt a bit scary. I think you could get hurt if a relatively large bird attacked with its beak or claws.

It was really interesting to see various birds, but walking around the spacious park in nearly 30-degree heat, I was indeed tired.

I caught a taxi at the Bird Park parking lot and returned to Bukit Bintang. What struck me was that the driver immediately asked if I was Chinese as soon as I got in. According to him, my English sounded the same as a Chinese person's. He also mentioned that Japanese people can't speak English.

With mixed feelings, we talked about Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo for about 20-30 minutes until I arrived at Pavilion. Maybe because we got along well, he rounded down the fare.

It was a bit early for lunch, so I walked a bit from Pavilion and went to a well-reviewed massage place called "The Tropical Spa." I took a 90-minute course of body scrub + aromatherapy. I think it was about 4000 yen in Japanese currency. When I come overseas, I tend to try types of massages I usually don't get.

By the time the massage ended, it was already around 2 PM. I was hungry so I returned to Pavilion for lunchtime. Since the lunch peak had passed, I aimed for restaurants that usually have a queue.

First, I had chicken rice (with soup), a familiar delicacy in Southeast Asia. The juicy chicken and rice cooked in chicken broth are delicious wherever you eat them. I was a little surprised that the chicken came with bones.

The second dish was "Laksa," a kind of Malaysian-style ramen? It had a unique spice, a taste I had never experienced in Japan. There seem to be various types of noodles, but this Laksa had smooth, vermicelli-like noodles. It was mild and easy to eat. The juice was a fresh juice I bought nearby. I think it was a banana mix.

Having eaten both rice and noodles, I was full, but I had a croissant taiyaki for dessert. I had noticed this shop in Kuala Lumpur and was curious. I often saw it in a set with Gindaco. I chose simple red bean paste for the filling. It was as delicious as I imagined.

After eating, I went to "Berjaya Times Square," a shopping mall a bit far from Pavilion, for some exercise. Just walking around the huge mall was tiring. Compared to other malls in Bukit Bintang, it seemed like there were more people of Indian descent.

On the way back to the bustling zone from Times Square, I bought fresh juice at a shop called "BOOST juice bars." The mango mix juice was refreshing for my tired and thirsty body, but the quantity was large. Compared to Japan, the sizes are generally larger in other countries.

There was still time until dinner, and I wasn't in the mood to go far, so I entered Pavilion again. This time, I shopped for a wallet to use as a sub, which was the only thing I forgot to bring on this trip. I walked around looking for a wallet as small as possible, that could hold 1 or 2 cards, and cost a few hundred yen. Even on sale, brand wallets were all over 1000 yen, so I was about to give up thinking there wouldn't be any in the shopping mall when I saw a big sign saying "Tokyo Street" and headed towards it.

It wasn't very wide, but it was an area where Japanese products and Japanese food shops gathered. Especially, Japanese food shops were bustling. Eventually, I bought a leather wallet in DAISO in this area. I think it was a little over 100 yen in Japanese currency.

I walked around looking for shops, and it was around 8 PM by the time I was done. I ate a lot for lunch, so I decided to just have sweets for this day.

First, I bought the fresh juice I liked after lunch.

While drinking the juice, I bought soft ice cream and croissant taiyaki (with purple sweet potato paste).

On the way back, I also ate a double ice cream at Häagen-Dazs.

With all that, I ended up being full again.

When I returned to the guesthouse, there was a sign saying "MASSAGE WORKSHOP" displayed. Actually, this sign was one of the art pieces created by the owner of the guesthouse. The owner creates such works as a hobby? Side job? During my stay, he finished several pieces at a surprising speed.

I was surprised by the artwork itself, but there was also a meaning to the words "Massage Workshop." One of the staff at the guesthouse was skilled in massage, and under the name of a workshop, they were going to hold an event to provide free massages to guests the next day.

While talking about the workshop, suddenly, he grabbed my arm and gave me a massage. The owner advised him to be "very gentle" since I was Japanese.

There were various points to comment on, but for now, I felt a danger to my body, and when I asked where he learned massage, he answered, "self-taught." In the end, it felt good, I think, but the treatment was vigorous and hurriedly moved from one part to another, which was mentally tiring due to fear.

There were many surprises, but coincidentally, there was a man from Hungary who does something like chiropractic for work among the guests, and the staff learned the basics of massage from this man.

The owner of the guesthouse, who was watching the situation, said, "It's a good experience, isn't it?" and laughed. It was a day full of surprises.

I went to bed early to prepare for the next day.