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Published: August 27th 2010
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After 5 days in Singapore we jumped on the 'Super Nice Bus' overland to Kuala Lumpur. Dropped off in the centre it was then a short journey on the monorail to our hotel 'The Grand Central' in Chow Kit. The hotel proved neither 'grand' nor 'central' but was adequate and close to both the monorail and the LRT, two excellent ways of getting about KL.
The traffic in KL is something else. Mopeds buzzing everywhere and if the road is choca bloc (it always is) then they take to the pavements and speed down there instead. The traffic lights make no accommodation for the pedestrian and neither does any of the traffic! But hey, just hang onto the coat tails of a local and you'll get across the road somehow.
Settled into the hotel we went into KL to get some cheap eats in China Town. We caught the LRT to Majid Jamek and headed towards Petaling street. There we sat down to a very satisying noodles and dumplings, sweet and sour this, chilli fried that amongst the market stalls and throngs of people shopping for bags, wallets, caps, trainers; All the top names, indiscernable from the real thing,
at a glance at least.
The next day we took in Little India, grabbing snacks along the way, Arabic sweets, meat on a stick. Following the little streets through outdoor markets and indoor markets we happened upon 'The Fish Doctor'! For 5 ringgits you could buy 10 minutes with the little fellas and have them munch the hard skin off your feet. My toes curl just thinking of them now!
A jacuzzi pool with bar stools around, I took my shoes and socks off and rolled up my jeans. The fish we're straining out of the water to get at me. Lowering my feet into the pool I was set upon by hundreds, many abandoning their existing clients for me, wayhey! Incredibly intense at first, part tickly, part scratchy, it was a bit overwhelming until it slowly settled into a rather pleasurable experience. Thinking of it I fancy one right now! The effect wasn't quite the miracle I was hoping for, nothing more than could be achieved in 10 minutes with a good pummice stone, but it was far less strenuous and enjoyable.
On the third day we headed to the Golden Triangle. Home to the KL
Tower and the Petronas Towers, once the tallest building(s) in the world. As we alighted at the nearest monorail stop a very smiley man in a turban stopped me and said 'Very good things for you in this life my friend, very good', 'Thank you very much' I said and kept walking. Realising we'd gone the wrong way we had to turn back and pass him again. Smiling broader still as we approached "very good things' he quipped as we slid by looking embarassed.
We booked brunch at the KL tower for our last day which would be our first anniversary and then sought sanctuary from the heat of the day in Lot 10, a very modern shopping mall in Bukit Bintang, hubub central! There Louise suggested a Taiwanese Steam Boat buffet for lunch. A new one on us you get a hot plate with two kinds of steamy hot soup and a raw buffet from which to pick and choose an unlimited amount to cook in the soup. Sea food frenzy transpired with fantastic tiger prawns, and I've never had a bigger choice of noodles. We ate slow, in there for almost 2 hours under the air con,
before heading out the door and straight into the middle of a street festival sponsored by one of Malaysia's leading soft drinks with live music and breakdancing, graffiti walls and gladiator style fighting games.
We grabbed some free ice cream sodas and watched the music for a while before we slipped down a side street to avoid the crowds and wound up in a building with the floor size of several football pitches over 5 floors full of all the shopping known to man! With no meaningful way of navigation we just dived in and several hours later emerged having finally found our way out again. KL is eat and shop till you drop. It's like Singapore but with added disorder and chaos.
Lunch at the KL tower was a treat and a fitting way to celebrate our first anniversary, with great views over KL in the revolving restaurant. Louise had the pianist play us a song. After asking for something modern (a fan of the rat pack this bloke) he offered up the Beatles 'Yesterday', as in 'all my troubles seemed so far away', a dubious choice for our first anniversary celebrations!
We liked KL. It's
alot like Singapore but more edgy and more of a challenge. Rough around the edges in parts, super modern in others, it's full of life and energy everywhere.
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