You Can’t Get There From Here

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I think my marathon transit time getting to Malaysia may have set me up for the difficulty I had getting around Kuala Lumpur. Actually, “marathon” is a poor descriptor; even I could have strolled 26.2 miles in 32 hours.

But I digress. Give me a working compass and an accurate map I can usually find my way around just about anywhere, with the exception of shopping malls in Singapore. And Kuala Lumpur isn’t that big, and there is a pretty good, very inexpensive public transit system. The issue seems to be the rush to modernize.

The current prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, has decreed that by 2020 Malaysia will have moved from being a developing country to a developed country. That’s not a lot of time in which to make that happen, and while you may not be able to change a people’s actions and perceptions that quickly, you can build things, lots of things.

Consequently, the entire city is under construction. New transit lines, new buildings, new streets and new infrastructure. That means there are construction barriers everywhere. Add to that a paucity of street signs, horrendous traffic, a crappy tourist map, and a lack of crosswalks, and I ended up walking in circles a lot more often than I would have liked.

Crossing the street here takes supreme confidence or an unshakeable belief in the afterlife. I spoke with a Japanese lady who had been in Kuala Lumpur for two years teaching at the university. She told me that she had been afraid to cross the street the first two months she was here. If you do find a crosswalk with a working light, the little stick figure that lights up to tell you it’s safe to cross is an animated running figure. No leisurely stroll here.

Case in point: Berjaya Times Square, the big mall, is close to where I stayed. One day I decided to walk to it. I could see it, it wasn’t far. I got about halfway there when I realized it was on the other side of a busy six lane road, and there was no way to cross the street. The only way was through the monorail station, and you cannot cross at the monorail station unless you pay the fare. So I ended up walking back to the closest monorail station and taking the train to Berjaya Times Square. I’m not proud of taking the train to a place to which I could have walked, but I couldn’t figure out any other way to get there in one piece.

Another day I decided to go to the Malaysian Craft Complex. It’s a big tourist attraction, shouldn’t be too hard to find, right? Um, no. I followed the signs to the parking area for the complex, figuring that were there was parking for a venue, the venue should be close by. Nope, not even close. I asked the concierge in a hotel, a security guard, and a parking attendant. All three of them very helpfully told me how to get there; unfortunately all three of them pointed me in different directions. Hot and frustrated. I gave up and went to Starbucks.

I did finally find the Craft Center by sneaking up on it from a different direction. There was no sign for the complex as such, but I saw something that looked like it might refer to crafts and the building looked kind of touristy. Determined to figure out why I couldn’t find it in the first place, I followed the suggested route backwards. What I thought was a drive that went into a construction site was actually the street going to the craft center, with construction projects on both sides of the road. The street sign was hidden by a construction barrier.

But perhaps the most frustrating was at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal as I was leaving Kuala Lumpur for Penang. It was early morning and I had not had breakfast. I had my boarding pass, I wasn’t checking luggage. I checked the monitor, which showed my flight leaving from Gate R52. There is no Gate R52. I walk from one end of the airport to the other. I check the monitor again. I finally find someone who looks official and ask him where Gate R52 is. Turns out R52 is a check-in counter – which I didn’t need – and I needed to go to Gate P9.

I’m in Penang now, which is much easier to navigate, except for the motorcycles parked on the sidewalks and in the five foot ways. But at least I can get to the other side of the street.

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Photos

Berjaya Times Square
I could see it..

another wall
There's a Starbucks on the other side, I think.

headquarters Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation
Ibu pejabat translates literally as "mother office."

Penang motorcycles
It is illegal to park on the sidewalk.

Comments

[Kali]

Ever tried getting out of the Botanical Lakes gardens?
We were in Kuala Lumpur recently and the traffic is horrendous... and as you say it is challenging to reach anywhere on foot (unless you use the overhead walkways that connect the shopping malls!). We had a beautiful afternoon in the Botanical lake gardens but we couldn't get back to our hotel... we could see it, but tried several different exits and kept coming across the six lane main roads. We gave up eventually when it got dark and flagged down a taxi.

[Kuan Yin]

Didn't try that..
No, I didn't make it to the Botanical Gardens, but I can fully appreciate your comment.