Kuala Lumpur

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20/12/08
As of 5pm on the 19th December I was on my Christmas holidays!!
So, my first ever 'hot Christmas' began with a flight to Kuala Lumpur thanks to a good deal from Air Asia who now fly there from Hong Kong. It was slightly stressful racing through the airport after check in took so long, and one of the down sides to travelling alone was no one could look after my bag in line while I was busting for the toilet so I expect they were wondering why I was jumping up and down waiting to check in!

Once in Malaysia, through immigration and onto the 'skybus' (the Air Asia airpiort is 1 hour out of town), I took a ride on the monorail to Bukit Bintang and my hostel was easy to find. The paradiso bed and breakfast was an excellent lodging, with free internet, breakfast included and a comfy lounge area.

I took myself out for dinner and was interested in an Iranian restaurant because I'd never had Iranian before; I was keen until he looked at me and said "we do burger too"......ruined! So, I went for Lebanese/Moroccan instead. KL is such a mix of cultures, there is a diverse food range. There is also such diverse architecture; I passed a Chinese temple, then a mosque in the space of a minute on the monorail. Later that evening I went with 2 of the girls from my dormitory to the KL menara (tower) and got a view of KL city by night. Having come from HK it didn't overly impress me and it was a little overpriced (20RM) but it was good to get a picture of the city and see the Petronas towers at night. We then walked back to the Paradiso together.

21/12/08
Up early to get in line for Petronas tower tickets. They are handed out free, but there is a limited number so you have to queue up on the day. I arrived by 8am and the tickets I was supposed to get issued were for 1.15pm, but because I was on my own they could give me an 11am ticket. I strolled around the KLCC park before heading in for a promotional video, and then up to the 42nd floor. Then we had ten minutes to spend walking across the skybridge between the two towers, enjoying the view - not bad for free. Once back down I wandered the mall and got excited about seeing the first topshop in a while! After lunch in the food court of vegetable dosai, and a nice view of the park I attempted to find the LRT station to catch a train - I should have known it would be hidden in a shopping mall!

I got off the train at Masjid Jamek and followed the Lonely Planet walking tour of Chinatown taking in a lot of culture as I went! I liked KL's oldest taoist temple which was half temple half restaurant it seemed, a gorgeous little temple squeezed into the street apparently for fung shui. The central market was lovely. I came across another street market but after 1 minute of "yes missy wallet handbag" I got right out! I stopped for a refreshing drink in the Old China cafe, a little chinese saloon, and then walked back along Petling market to Merderka square, suddenly very different from China town with beautiful Islamic architecture, and a mosque and then a lovely little cathedral on the other side of the road. Malaysia quickly comes across as very diverse.

It made me chuckle when I walked past a girl on her own carrying the Lonely planet guide book - clearly doing exactly the same thing as me! We shared a comical smile! After the culture of Chinatown, I entered another cultural district; that of India. Little India was busy and bustling, full of silk stores and juice sellers. The great thing about strolling around this part of KL was how everything changed all the time; the atmosphere, the architecture, the people, the restaurants, the music playing...it's so varied.

Finally after a long day and a lot of walking I took the monorail back to the hostel and later went for dinner with two South Africans staying in my dormitory....when I heard "my dan" at the end of my meal, it just topped off my day of culture - "my dan" is Cantonese for "the bill please" so I hear it all the time in HK!

After a trip to Malaka (see next entry) I stayed at the same hostel in Butik Bintang and had a nice morning strolling around some posh malls. Then, a highlight for me was a fantastic curry, all for 6 Ringit....It was recomended in the lonely planet, and it deserved to be. I had a banana leaf placed in front of me and then two waiters came along and put spoonfuls of various vegetarian dishes on the leaf including dried banana, raitha, some sort of soup, then came along a pile of rice, and when I thought it had stopped, 2 popadums came along as well, and it was all fantastic - best curry I've had in a long time, and best value for money that's for sure. I liked how authentic it was as well, cooked by locals and eaten by locals. I'd never eaten from a banana leaf before so that was unique too - certainly saves a lot of washing up!

So KL....I had a good time, interesting mix of culture, good food, nice hostel. I don't think you need a lot of time there, but it's good to see the Petronas towers, and a great transport hub for the rest of the country.

J x

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Photos

42 floors high
On the skybridge of the Petronas Towers

Little India
This captures a small amount of the diversity in Malaysia

European influences
A very old cathedral.

Taoist temple crammed in
This temple got squeezed into this tiny space due to feng shui