Travel is more than visiting new places—it is about discovering cultures, meeting people, tasting new flavors, and collecting stories from around the world.
"Every journey leaves a footprint, and every footprint tells a story."
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
For me, it was a job.
In 2007, I took my first step onto foreign soil and arrived in Malaysia as a chef. It was my first international work experience, and it was the beginning of a completely new chapter in my life.
I was not in Malaysia as a tourist. I was there to work in a restaurant, to learn, to experience a different professional environment and to build my career.
I spent part of that period in Kuala Lumpur, working in Bukit Bintang, while another part of my Malaysia journey took me to Genting Highlands. Genting has its own story, and I will share that separately.
But Kuala Lumpur will always remain special to me.
Because this was where my first foreign working life truly began.
My Kuala Lumpur days were centred around Bukit Bintang, one of the busiest and most vibrant parts of the city.
My life there revolved around the restaurant and the kitchen.
Long working hours, preparation, service, teamwork and the everyday pressure of restaurant life became my routine. But outside the kitchen, there was an entirely new city waiting to be discovered.
Kuala Lumpur was a fascinating mix of cultures.
Malay, Chinese, Indian and many other communities lived and worked side by side. The food scene reflected this diversity, and as a chef, I found that particularly interesting.
It was a new culinary environment.
A new way of working.
A new way of understanding people and food.
And for the first time, I was experiencing all of this outside India.
The Morning We Went to the Petronas Twin Towers
One of my strongest memories of Kuala Lumpur is my visit to the PETRONAS Twin Towers.
We wanted to go inside the towers, and this was not a casual late-morning visit.
We reached there very early in the morning, around 3–4 AM, so that we could stand in line and get our turn.
Standing at the bottom of those enormous towers was already an experience in itself.
But going up inside them was something completely different
Each tower is 88 storeys high and rises approximately 452 metres into the sky. The famous Skybridge connects the two towers at Levels 41 and 42, while the observation deck is located much higher, on Level 86.
The elevator ride was one of the things that fascinated me the most.
The speed at which the lift moved upwards was incredible. You could actually feel that you were travelling rapidly into the sky.
Then the doors opened at the Skybridge.
We were standing high above Kuala Lumpur, between two massive towers.
And what made the experience even more interesting was the way the visit was arranged — you go up through one tower, cross over at the Skybridge and continue the experience before eventually coming back through the other side.
For someone visiting such a building for the first time, it was an unforgettable experience.
A Morning Under the Twin Towers
But strangely, one of my favourite memories is not even from inside the towers.
It was from outside.
After spending time around the towers, we would sit and relax on the large open green area around KLCC Park, right in the shadow of the Twin Towers.
Sometimes we would simply lie down on the grass.
After the excitement of the morning, just sitting there, looking up at those enormous towers and watching the city around us felt incredibly peaceful.
There was something special about being so close to one of the world's most recognisable buildings and yet simply lying on the grass like an ordinary day.
Not because it was a major tourist attraction.
But because of how it felt at that particular moment in life.
Kuala Lumpur Beyond the Kitchen
Although my primary reason for being in Malaysia was work, living and working there naturally gave me opportunities to see parts of Kuala Lumpur beyond the restaurant.
I experienced the city as someone who was actually living and working there — not just passing through for a few days.
There were busy streets, shopping areas, restaurants, different neighbourhoods and the incredible mix of cultures that made Kuala Lumpur what it was.
I also got to visit places such as Batu Caves and Merdeka Square, but what I remember most is not simply visiting landmarks.
It was the everyday experience of living in another country.
Going to work.
Meeting people from different backgrounds.
Trying different food.
And slowly becoming comfortable in a place that had initially felt completely unfamiliar.
One of the most memorable parts of my Malaysia experience happened because of my work as a chef.
A film crew from Mumbai came to Malaysia for a shoot, and their catering was handled through our restaurant.
Because we were responsible for their food, I got the opportunity to be around the film crew during their shooting schedule.
This meant that my work took me beyond the restaurant.
Wherever the shooting was happening, we sometimes travelled along with the crew.
There were locations near the sea and different outdoor locations where the film was being shot.
Our responsibility was to prepare their breakfast, lunch and dinner — not only for the crew members but also for the actors.
For me, this was a completely different experience.
I was still doing what I knew best — cooking and taking care of food — but suddenly the kitchen had moved from the restaurant to a film set.
We were cooking in different locations, working according to the shooting schedule and making sure that everyone was fed on time.
It gave me a glimpse into another world that I had only seen from the outside before.
The combination of restaurant work, international experience and being part of a film production environment in Malaysia made that period particularly memorable.
When I look back at Kuala Lumpur today, I don't remember it simply as a city I visited.
I remember it as the place where I learned what it meant to work outside India.
I experienced a different restaurant environment.
I worked with people from different backgrounds.
I discovered new food cultures.
I saw places I had only known through pictures.
And I gained the confidence that comes from knowing that you can build a life and a career far away from home.
There were no endless photographs and videos of every experience.
So many of those memories exist only in my mind.
And perhaps that is why they feel even more personal.
I have travelled to many places since those days, but Kuala Lumpur will always hold a special position in my journey.
Because this was where it started.
Not with a sightseeing trip.
But with work.
With a chef's uniform.
With a new country outside my window.
With early mornings at the Petronas Twin Towers.
With new people, new food and new experiences.
And unexpectedly, with a film crew from Mumbai whose shoot took me to places I might never have seen otherwise.
Kuala Lumpur was my first footprint on foreign soil.
And that is why, whenever I look back at my Global Footprints, this city will always be where the story begins.
Genting Highlands, Malaysia
Some places are beautiful because you visit them.
Some places become special because you live there.
For me, Genting Highlands was both beautiful and challenging.
During my time in Malaysia in 2007–08, I spent a few months working there in a restaurant. After experiencing the heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur, arriving in Genting Highlands felt like entering a completely different world.
Genting was the complete opposite.
It was cold, misty and often covered in clouds.
And for someone coming from a warm climate and working long hours in a restaurant, adjusting to that environment was not easy.
A City on the Mountain
Genting Highlands is unlike most cities.
It is a resort city built high in the mountains, about an hour or so away from Kuala Lumpur by road, depending on traffic and weather.
As you climb higher, the temperature changes completely.
The busy, hot atmosphere of Kuala Lumpur slowly disappears and is replaced by mountain air, clouds, mist and much cooler weather.
It almost feels like you are leaving one country and entering another.
The place has its own hotels, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, casinos and accommodation — almost like a private world sitting high above the surrounding mountains.
That was one of the things I found most fascinating about Genting.
It was not simply a hill station.
It was a complete resort city in the mountains.
Beautiful for a Holiday — Tough for a Job
Genting Highlands is a wonderful place to visit.
In fact, for a holiday or honeymoon, I would say it is a beautiful destination.
But living there for work was a completely different experience.
I came from a warm environment, and suddenly I was living and working in a place where it was cold almost all the time.
The temperature, the clouds and the lack of sunlight took some time to get used to.
I remember one period of almost three months when we barely saw the sun properly.
Then, one day, the sun finally appeared.
It sounds like a small thing, but after weeks and weeks of clouds and cold weather, seeing proper sunlight felt like a major event.
I remember thinking that the body really needs sunlight.
After living in that environment for some time, I started feeling that I needed to return to the warmer surroundings of Kuala Lumpur.
Eventually, I came back down.
That experience taught me something simple:
A place can be beautiful to visit and still be difficult to live in.
One of the most memorable experiences of Genting Highlands is the journey up the mountain by cable car.
The Genting SkyWay is one of the famous attractions associated with Genting Highlands.
The cable cars travel high above the forested mountains, and the journey itself becomes part of the experience.
Looking down from the cable car, you can see the thick green forest far below.
Sometimes the mist moves through the mountains and the clouds almost surround the cable car.
And when the weather is clear, the views are spectacular.
But there was another side to the experience.
When the cable car was moving above the forest, you could sometimes hear sounds coming from deep below.
You could hear birds and, at times, the sounds of animals somewhere far beneath you.
For me, that combination of height, forest, clouds and the long cable-car journey made it one of the most memorable parts of Genting.
It was an experience in itself.
Life in the Only Indian Restaurant
One of the most interesting parts of my Genting experience was my work.
At that time, the restaurant where I worked was the only Indian restaurant in the area, which meant we had a very diverse range of guests.
And Genting also attracted many well-known personalities and celebrities.
Because of our restaurant, I had opportunities to meet some of them.
For a young chef working abroad, these moments were exciting.
You are working in the kitchen, doing your regular job, and suddenly someone you recognise from the world of entertainment is sitting in the restaurant.
It was another reminder that working in the hospitality industry can take you into places and situations you never expected
The Training That Stayed With Me
One of the most valuable things I received from my time in Genting was not a sightseeing memory.
It was training.
The training was organised professionally, and the classes were very good.
At that time, I may not have realised how important that training would become.
But as my career progressed, I understood its value.
Working in professional kitchens means dealing with heat, gas, electrical equipment, oil and fire every day.
Understanding fire safety and knowing how to react during an emergency is not just another certificate or training session.
It is an essential part of working in a professional kitchen.
The training I received in Genting stayed with me and helped me throughout my later career.
What I loved about Genting was the people.
People from many different backgrounds lived and worked there.
You could meet people from different countries, different cultures and different professions.
Everyone had come there for their own reason.
Some were working in hotels.
Some were involved in entertainment.
Others were there simply because Genting had become their home.
Living among such a diverse group of people was an education in itself.
You learn to adjust.
You learn to respect different cultures.
And you become comfortable working with people who may have completely different backgrounds from your own.
A Completely Different Lifestyle
Genting also had a lifestyle that was very different from Kuala Lumpur.
The casinos, hotels, restaurants, entertainment and constant flow of visitors created an atmosphere that felt almost separate from normal city life.
Everything was concentrated on the mountain.
You could work, eat, shop, relax and spend your free time without really needing to leave the resort area.
A city above the clouds.
A place where the weather could change within minutes.
A place where you could wake up surrounded by mist.
And a place where, after working in the heat of Malaysia, you could suddenly find yourself looking for a jacket.
What Genting Taught Me
The cold was difficult.
The lack of sunlight was difficult.
Living and working at such a high altitude required adjustment.
But sometimes the difficult experiences become the ones that teach us the most.
Genting taught me how to adapt.
It is also about discipline, safety, teamwork, communication and understanding people.
The professional training I received there became useful much later in my career.
And the people I met there became part of my memories of my first working experience abroad.
A Different Chapter of Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur — warm, busy, multicultural and full of city life.
And then Genting Highlands — cold, misty, mountainous and completely different from everything below.
Both were part of the same journey.
Both gave me different experiences.
But Genting gave me something that Kuala Lumpur could not.
It showed me how different life could feel only a short distance away from a major city.
My Memories Above the Clouds
The cold mornings.
The mist.
The mountains.
The cable car.
The restaurant.
The guests from different parts of the world.
The celebrities who walked through the restaurant.
The training classes.
And most importantly, the lessons that stayed with me throughout my career.
Genting Highlands was beautiful.
It was challenging.
It was sometimes uncomfortable.
But it was also an important part of my first international working experience.
I left with much more than that.
Genting Highlands — a city above the clouds, and a chapter that taught me how to adapt.
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