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Well KL was interesting.... Arrived at Wheelers 'Guest House' in Chinatown after yet again another ridiculously cheap, efficient transfer from the airport.
The entrance itself to the hostel was suspect and resembled a rotten high-rise in the arse end of Edinburgh/Newcastle - even complimented with the urine-soaked lift and the walls covered with graffitti - welcoming.
The rooms were also something else...we checked into a small, hot boxroom with no windows, no air conditioning (only a fan) with bunkbeds (?!) and a few small cockroaches. The walls were splattered with what looked like blood and well, not sure what the other stuff was.
We were about to walk out, but for GBP 3.71 a night p.p bang in the middle of the action and with a free buffet on the rooftop bar that evening....we decided to reluctantly put down our rucksacks and vowed we would never stay in similar accommodation...TBC.
The buffet on the rooftop was excellent and it gave us the chance to meet other travellers - including a top bloke called Joe from Pompey. I think Joe would agree that he is a danger to himself (he even has this tatooed in Chinese on the back
The lift operator at Wheelers 'Guest House'
Although only 2 floors up....enter at your peril, not for the faint hearted. of his neck - watch out people!) and within 24h he had: been ripped off by half the traders on Petaling St Market, lost his mobile, broke his camera, had a close encounter with a ladyboy (by accident, before Darren stepped in to point out the obvious) and finally ended up with a massive Buddha tattoo on his forearm (which looked cool to be fair!). A total character.
During the buffet the scary owner/barman brought his white, pet monkey 'Jo-Jo' to the rooftop. He seemed happy enough in his little Nike shorts. A random introduction to the party....
With a slight hangover on the Saturday (thanks to Joe's tequilas) we headed for the Petronas Twin Towers. V impressive although Gina was not impressed with the very first building that we saw...RBS..again?!
Standing at 452m high, costing $1.6bn to build and 88 floors - The Petronas Towers were an amazing sight. A 20 min walk away is the KL Tower. We took the lift up the 421m (only took 45 seconds!) and the views of KL were fantastic. There were telescopes on the deck to focus in on whatever part of the city you wished - Darren preferred
Heading up the welcoming staircase to Wheelers,
A load of graffiti/'pearls of wisdom' were displayed on these walls. Deep words from some European backpackers....whatever. zooming in on the city's rooftop pools, looking for 'babes'.......
That night we were in luck - we had not realised that the 'Colours of Malaysia Festival' was taking place that evening at the Merdeka Square (where the Union Jack was lowered and the Malaysian flag raised in 1957 when the country gained independence). It is an annual, cultural celebration of the all the states of Malaysia. About 5000 people took part. With procession after procession; the noise, the outfits, the colours and the atmosphere were incredible! It is such an event that the King & Queen of Malaysia were actually in attendance! The kids who were taking part were so happy and proud of their country, we felt v lucky to have experienced this event.
Next day was a short bus trip to the Batu Caves. One of the largest, most popular Hindu Caves outside India. The 132ft gold monument itself to the Lord Muruga is at the foot of the 272 steps the caves themselves. The walk up the stairs was not bad apart from the thieving monkeys who made yet another appearance. Total streetwise, feral bad boys. Up to no good. Stealing fruit, being a
nuisance to our fellow climbers and nearly swiping my camera out of my hand - b******s. The Caves were interesting and we learned a bit about the Hindu religion - a reasonable day out.
The Chinese Markets/Petaling St were a joke. Complete harrassment based on our skin colour and perceived wealth....if we hear again the following it will be too soon: "' DVD's Sir? Leather bags Lady? You want nice watch Sir? Perfume Lady?" EVERY stall sold the SAME things, however there were some decent trainers/leather bags etc, but we just could not be bothered to haggle. Too hot and too much effort required.
KL is a great city, loads to do, lots of hustle and bustle, once again we were not disappointed with the street food, eating some delicious, ridiculously cheap, local dishes by the kerbside with our cans of Carlsberg. Brilliant.
Goodbye Malaysia....next stop..Cambodia!
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Elaine G/C
non-member comment
wow KL sounds fab :o) maybe joe is not the best person to follow around onthe trail though? hope you meet some nice other trailers ;o) XX