Blogs from Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia, Asia - page 6

Day 3 Today's adventure started at the Batu Caves. A Hindu sacred temple set up some 200 plus steps in the middle of the cave. Too be honest I was dreading it. I'm not the most physically fit person and my sciatica was playing up and well stairs are definately not on my keys gets excited list. The weather was warm and by the end of the climb a shiny wet layer of sweat covered is from head to toe. I was surprised I made it, taking a break every 30 to 40 steps. Kym and Star beat me by like ages. But i did it. So I guess I felt somewhat accomplished. The cave itself was being upgraded/renovated so pictures inside probably weren't at the peak for selfies that they should be. Many Hindu people ... read more

Nine years ago we wrote ‘Kuala Lumpur is Knockout Lovely’. Well, it still is! KL is a vibrant, bustling, noisy, cosmopolitan city and we love it. Getting here was somewhat taxing but that is all part of travelling. We left Hampshire at 17.20 on Sunday and twenty two hours later we arrived at our little hotel in Chinatown in KL, at 22.20 on Monday, which would be 15.20 GMT (seven hour time difference) and 16.20 CET at home in Spain (six hour time difference). Why such a long journey? Well, true to form, we arrived in a major tempest which is how we usually manage to arrive in foreign parts! Last time we flew in to Singapore, for example, lightning struck and moved our bus on route from the airport! This wasn’t quite so dramatic, however ... read more

Kuala Lumpur means monied estuary, and that’s why locals call it KL. When language is an effort, non sequitirs are accepted without a follow up question. Sort of like when we were on a tour through the mansion of a 19th century Chinese big wig and the guide said of the central room open to the sky, “This is an area that we refer to as an area.” I had to write it down. That aside... Our stay in Malaysia is low key as I continue antibiotic recovery and day trips we had planned are set aside for future visits. The big (as in both enormous and compelling) attractions are the Petronas Towers. For a few years, these were the tallest towers in the world, though are sliding on the downward spiral on that score, for ... read more

Enroute from the airport, my driver gave me the shortened history of Kuala Lumpur, while I was taking in an amazing, sprawling, modern city with the Petronas Twin Towers, prominently, in the distance. The British became interested in Malay for East India Company plying the India-China maritime route.They established their first base in 1786. During the British rule, they built roads, schools, buildings and cities. They also brought rubber & palm trees from India along with Indians to plant plantations. They also discovered ore & tin & opened up many mines, hiring Chinese to operate the mines. Malaria was a huge threat to the workers & many perished. In 1957, the British gave Malay it's independence & the country of Malaysia was created. Over the years, Kuala Lumpur, the capital, has grown into a major business ... read more

Cette fois, Kuala Lumpur a été notre oasis ! Nous sommes restés 3 nuits dans un studio dans un hôtel classe, avec piscine sur le toit, salle de sport etc. Nous sommes arrivés à l'hôtel tard le soir et avons dîné dans une pizzeria - j'ai mangé une pizza au bleu et au miel, miam miam ! Le lendemain, nous sommes allés faire du shopping pour remplacer les choses cassées/perdues au cours de ces 3 mois et demi! Shaun avait besoin de nouvelles chaussures de marche. Nous avons dépensé pas mal d'argent dans un nouvel adapteur (vu que ceux qu'on achète moins cher cassent en moins de 2 ou bien ne chargent pas !), de nouveaux câbles USB, et un chargeur portable chacun (Shaun a gentiment laissé son super chargeur portable dans un aéroport pour qui ... read more