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Published: February 13th 2010
Leaving India was hard after all the great experiences but we were excited by the start of a new adventure; Malaysia.
Our first Air Asia experience was a good one. The flight went smoothly and the plane looked new, not the rusty piece of tin imagined when booking the journey for a measly £20.
We arrived into a sleak, shiney Kuala Lumpur International Airport, our dusty Indian feet were in shock. We effortlessly made our way to the bus stand, with no taxi touts to fend off, where an air conditioned coach awaited us. An hour later we were in Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station, just like that. Things actually seemed to work!
The impressive KL metro system then took us to Chinatown where we hoped to stay. As we got off the platform and walked down to the street we had a rough idea of where we wanted to go but nowhere booked. Maybe 'Wheelers Guesthouse' as we had seen in the book. We were met on the street by a rather meek looking man, wearing an old Man United training top, who came at us with a card saying 'Wheelers Guesthouse'. Usually in India I would be
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classic cityscapesceptical of someone like this but the coincidence wasn't lost on us. We didn't know how to get to Wheelers anyway so let's follow him.
Dong or Wong (I heard Dong and Han heard Wong) was a kind, smiley person a perfect introduction to the welcoming nature of Malaysia and it's people. As we crossed the busy Chinatown roads he seemed very concerned for our safety. "Careful crossing the road...look...wait" he hurriedly intimated, "we've just come from India" I said "don't worry". We had just arrived in Malaysia but felt safe and more trusting of people unlike our arrival in India.
We got to Wheelers where the only room they had was shabby and overpriced, a bit like the ladyboy who showed us. A hasty exit was made.
"Dong we need cheaper" and with no qualms he took us to another place. "Cheaper and new beds" he said. Good news as we'd heard of bed bugs being rife in the area. Travellers Home Guesthouse was much better and cheaper and finally we could lay our bags down.
The street stall food of Chinatown was a wonderful mix of Malaysian, Indian and Chinese food and it was
easy to hop from stall to stall trying everything from noodles to clay pot cooked rice. The main difference from India was they put meat in almost every dish, which Han nimbly passed on to me. It was a refreshing change and the street buzz was intoxicating. The price of beer however meant that there was little intoxication of that kind. We were still comparing the prices to Goa.
Breakfast was another noodle feast served with prawns and followed by ice tea in a bag or crack in a bag as I came to know it...very more'ish!
Kuala Lumpur is a Mall Makers Mecca. If you want anything there is a mall made for it, from designer clothes to techno gadgets. These aren't just any old malls either, each one has five floors or more with the king being Suria Mall inside the base of the awesome Petronas Towers.
Suria is a mall of the grandest scale. We were handed a map as we went in and we needed it. Walking around wide eyed it was exciting and grotesque at the same time. The disparity between the huge wealth on show and the poverty we had come
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guesthouse rooftop view from only days before was hard to accept. As we wandered around the perfectly air conditioned mall it was hard to believe we were backpackers. However, you can always count on a trip to the loo to bring you back. A clean public toilet is a new concept for us and the sight of a wet floor and toilet seat can be puzzling. Was it due to willful abluting or just aimless shooting? I didn't ponder too long, stuffed some toilet roll in my pocket (we had run out) and made a speedy exit from the suspiciously clean cubicle...Yep we're still backpackers.
Money goes quick here though and that day we ended up buying a tent for a bargain price. Not in Suria Mall, of course, as nothing is a bargain there. We scaled eight different malls trying to find a tent along with fixing Han's camera in one of the many gadget shops.
KL, as the locals affectionately call it, is an easy place to walk around. Sights are not too far apart and if you get lost you know there is a metro to save you. On a steamy hot afternoon we walked to the Lake
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Purple robes at the national mosque Gardens where pedalos and giant monitor lizards make you forget you are in a big city. Like London and other major capitals the presence of a park is a great addition.
Next to the entrance to the Lake Gardens is Malaysia's biggest mosque, Masjid Negara. Due to our inappropriate clothing (shorts & t-shirt) we were dressed in full length bright purple gowns before we were allowed in. I confess to not knowing a great deal about the Islamic faith but a free guide who met us at the entrance shed some light on his religion. We discussed Islam, prayer, mosques, Kuala Lumpur and his former home London. He was an intelligent, informative man and we debated issues such as the recent extremist muslims push for the use of the word 'Allah' to be made illegal to non muslims. Although rejected by government, the newspapers had been full of whether this was right. He believed, if you have faith in a higher being the name you use does not matter. Using the same name could result in a better understanding between religions. We learnt a lot in the hour we spent there and even found that the government capital has
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clay pot rice, munching in chinatown moved to the outskirts where new buildings have been made including a newer, bigger mosque (with escalators).
That evening we had booked to see a 'jazz jam session' at the Philharmonik Concert Hall inside the Petronas Base. There was a strict dress code of shirt, trousers and shoes which I had to borrow from the foyer. They cater for flip-flopping travellers like us. Hannah looked stunning in her dress and it felt good to be smart for a night. The performance in the beautiful hall was superb with Marques Young, in particular, excellent on the trombone. Coming out from the theatre we gaped at the almost space-like mega structure of the Petronas Towers sparkling with all it's lights, but not everybody is so impressed.
A Malaysian born Indian, Raja, who we met on our rooftop spoke of the towers being built on wet, muddy land which had to be reinforced with a lot of cement. Kuala Lumpur, he told us, means Mud of the River and the towers will eventually sink. A waste of money from a power crazy government he suggested. It was interesting to get a Malaysian perspective on life here. We had seen wealth, effective
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Mall Crazy transport and happy people but underneath this gleeming facade lies government corruption and among other discrepancies tough housing policies for immigrant citizens in a hugely multicultural society.
It was however a city where jobs are available and begging is low. The way of life seemed good even if there were some deep rooted problems. We enjoyed the flow of the city and our cultural stay was completed with a trip to see Avatar 3D at the cinema. It's funny watching a film in English, with no sub-titles, in a foreign country but the packed crowd enjoyed what was a great film.
My love for the city was compounded one evening when walking around the Chinatown Market. Wearing my yellow and green best I was stopped by a Malaysian man who pointed and said Norwich City. I think he was more surprised at how happy that made me than I was that he knew my club. Kuala Lumpur - I Love This City!
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Dad Backhouse
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Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying reading about and seeing your trip! Photos and descriptions are excellent. I always look forward to the next instalment. Keep it up!