Kuala Lumpur

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Kuala Lumpur, 18th - 22nd April 2010

We arrived into Kuala Lumpur (KL) bus stop at around 6pm and were greeted by Rich and Jenn, or Uncle Rich as I know him as that was his given name at uni 7 years earlier. Yes another one of my friends who I went to uni with and shared a house in my 2nd year had recently moved to KL with his girlfriend Jenn and to whom we were invited to stay with.

We jumped into a taxi and headed across town back to Rich and Jenns place which was a lovely spacious condo with spectacular views of the city including the prominent Petronas Towers and not to forget the swimming pool, squash court, putting green, running track and gym all up on the 8th floor.

We spent the evening having a bite to eat at a local food court and enjoying a glass of wine catching up on lost time before heading to bed.

After sleeping a dream we got up to what was a late start to the day (as often seems to happen when we have air con in our bedroom!) We ate some breakfast and then decided to head to KL city centre to see some of its sights and who better than to act as local guide, no other than new local resident Uncle Rich himself. We caught a cab into downtown KL, approx 15 minutes journey, rolling in at a cost of just 6 Ringitts (1 pound 20p) now these are the prices I like! We walked past some of the local shops and adjusted to our new surroundings before later heading to the KL tower (apparently 4th highest tower in the world) and caught a lift to its observation deck that gave 360 degree views of the city. Although it was a little hazy it was great to see an aerial view of the city and if nothing else it certainly helps in gaining your bearings. Having admired the views we headed back down to participate in the other activities complete with our ticket: a viewing of a zoo type thing showing different animals including a variety of snakes, birds and monkeys, then onto the grand finale, a go on a racing car simulator, a very strange ticket package I must admit, but good all the same.

The next stop was the Petronas Towers, two twin towers that stand as the key landmark of both the city and its business district. We decided to walk the 20 minute journey to the Petronas Towers, dodging the mopeds being signalled by the policeman. After enduring the humidity we decided cold beers were in order. So after a few snapshots in front of the Petronas Towers we headed to Rich’s local bar to escape the heat and enjoy a jug of cold beer. We were soon joined by Jenn where on finishing our drinks we all headed for Malaysian food in a restaurant in the Petronas Towers which was particularly tasty. Then back to Rich and Jenns to relax.

The air conditioning did our sleep wonders once again, but this time we did arise a little earlier as we decided we were going to head to the Indian Embassy to try and sort out visas for India once more. Having reached the embassy we heard slightly better news being they would be able to get us our visa but we would have to wait at least a week which is not ideal as were planning to leave in the next couple of days. We decided to abort the idea for the time being and try our luck once we hit Bangkok.

On arrival back at the apartment Rich was up preparing for our mornings activity. We had planned the day before a trek in a nearby jungle which Rich and Jen had begun to explore a few weeks earlier. With our day packs loaded and our walking boots on we set off first by cab then on to our start point, the jungle entrance. The day was again very humid but the skies looked liked they had rain brewing. We had already had a few spots whilst in the cab on our way down and watched all the mopeds gathering under the bridges to avoid being soaked by the rain they expected. But it held off, the question was for how long?

We set off trekking which began with a set of very steep steps but luckily they didn’t last too long, but still the terrain was pretty heavy going, especially with the humidity. After a stop at a watch tower to take on some much needed water we set off once more through the series of paths that lead through the dense jungle. Whilst trekking down one of the paths we heard noises above which sounded heavier movements than birds moving between branches and realised we’d come across a pack of monkeys chilling out in the branches above. We stopped to watch them going about their monkey business, it’s crackers how human their movements are and how amazingly agile they are too.

Back trekking once more we heard the distant rumbles of thunder and then within minutes the heavens opened and we had one ultimate thunder and lightening storm and with it driving rain. We stood and shaded under a dense bit of vegetation but even that could hold out for so long. Pretty soon we were all soaking wet and decided to push on even though the paths had now become streams of water and we were crossing thin suspension bridges made of wire cables! We all felt it added to the adventure (you can’t knock a bit of team spirit!) 30 minutes later and the worst of the storm had passed and once more replaced with hot sunshine and by the time we reached the end of the trek we were almost dry (shoes still a bit soggy mind). We had a cold refreshing drink at a café then hopped into a cab to take us back to the city.

Having changed out of our soggy boots we relaxed at Rich and Jenns, had a dip in their pool and put our feet up. By mid afternoon we re-energised and back out to explore the city once more. This time to Chinatown and Little India. We fist stopped at a shopping Mall called Lot 10 that Jenn had recommended we eat at. Then once fed and watered set off by foot and wandered around Chinatown whilst trying to be tantilised by persistent stall owners to buy their offerings. Chinatown was a really bustling market, must admit, once you’ve seen one Chinatown the rest are much the same.

Onwards to Little India, another suburb of the city, again with its various market stalls and food offerings, but it definitely didn’t carry the intensity of Chinatown with more time to look at the stalls without the continuous ‘I give you best price!’

Our legs were beginning to tire from what had been a day full of walking so we decided to call it a day and you can probably guess how we slept that night…really well!

Wednesday was to be our last day in KL before we were going to head up further north in Malaysia, so after another lazy start to the day we headed out to KL Sentral to organize our onward bus journey for the next day catching the MRT which oddly didn’t appear to have a driver and you could see right out the front of the train as it zipped through the underground tunnels. Having arrived at KL Sentral we were told the bus station was under refurbishment and we would have to travel up to 30 minutes further out of town to book them which was anything but ideal. But thankfully we were also told that we world be easily be able to book them on the day at the station, so we took the gamble taking their advice.

On our way back we decided to stop off at Little India once more as the day before the markets were just beginning to close as we got there where I purchased an authentic pair of Ray bans at 8 Ringitts (1 pound 60p) beats 200 pound any day. (Can you guess that there’s no pound sign on this keyboard?!)

Back at Rich and Jenns we began to sort out our bags whilst Rich began piecing together his radio show for his weekend slot and Jenn busy making notes of ongoing news fulfilling her job role of KL correspondent for BBC news. Our last eve in KL we all set out to get a true Malaysian dish being satay from a local food court and indulged in what was a great mix of chicken and beef satay. Whilst sat eating our last KL supper we decided that it would be a bit of a laugh to use Jenns correspondent and television skills along with Rich and his radio and audio skills to film a live Doddy and Bowks video blog update off the balcony with their city view.

Tummies full, we set off to begin a very funny few hours of filming to which you can see the finished article on the blog. I can safely say that if it wasn’t for some fantastic editing the whole thing would have been shambolic, as I found keeping a straight face anything but easy, not to mention the constant mix up of lines. What a fantastic eve though and with our completed product everyone headed to bed in what was now the early hours.

Thursday began with an early morning start, waking up after what felt like 2 minutes sleep to head to catch our bus to Cameron Highlands in Malaysia and with farewells to Rich and Jen, off we set. We caught a cab to the bus terminal where we succeeded in purchasing a ticket on the day so loaded our bags into what looked a slightly worn and tired looking bus and set off on a windy road that would take us to the Cameron Highlands.

Uncle Rich it was a belter to catch up with you and Jen it was lovely to meet you. A great big thank you to both of you, from both of us.

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