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Published: January 31st 2007
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Batu Caves
The statue at the entrance to the caves We always thought KL would be a lot more frantic than Melaka, but didn't really expect it to start on the bus journey up there. The fare was a bargain at RM9.50 and the coach driver was obviously in preparation for the Grand Prix in early April - he ended up having a discussion with the boys in blue about his speed.
The frantic nature of KL started at the bus station - there were so many buses, those dropping off literally can't get inside to the platforms. We had heard a few bad stories about the place, so we weren't that disappointed about missing out on the first hand experience (at least temporarily). After a few fruitless discussions with the local taxi driving population i.e. they were looking at 3 pounds to drive round the what we suspected was the block (which negotiation failed to reduce), we braved the heat and walked up the road to our chosen guesthouse on the end of Jalan Bukit Bintang. Welcome to KL.
We transpired to be in a convenient position, just a few minutes walk up the road to the centre of the Golden Triangle and just far enough away from
the madness of China Town. After a brief scout round the area to get our bearings, we walked up to the centre of the Golden Triangle and across to the Menara KL Tower - the 4th tallest telecommunications tower in the world at 421 metres, which opened in 1996 and gives panoramic views of the city.
China Town was mad! It was a sea of hawker food stalls, restaurants, shops, people and of course the obligatory street vendors selling anything and everything in the latest designer brands.....I give you a good price. Where have we heard that one before? Answers on a postcard from all except Fedders. The favourite sales technique to prove the handbags are of top quality and not plastic is to set them alight with a cigarette lighter! We kept our wallet firmly in our pocket and retreated for some food at a nearby pavement cafe.
We were up bright and early to get in the queue for the limited tickets to go up to the skybridge of the Petronas Towers. They only offer so many free tickets each day, so we were in position a good hour before they were offered. The former tallest
building in the world at 451.9 metres was completed in 1998 and offers a different perspective from the tower climbing the previous day. The base of the Petronas Towers probably has the creme de la creme of the KL shopping centres...the total opposite of the China Town bargaining....real Gucci, Prada, Armani etc at a price. We were generally surprised over the copious number of other westerners wandering around, quite a lot of which appeared to have already been shopping...possibly in Thailand....and they hadn't been buying t-shirts or cameras.
Against our better judgement given the heat, we went on an extended stroll to Merderka Square via the Majid Jamek Mosque (built in 1907). The square was the centre of British colonial operations in the country and comes complete with the cricket pitch and former private club etc to enjoy one's gin and tonic after a hard day in the tropics. It now hosts the tallest flag pole in the world.
We caught a local bus (at least we did once we'd located the bus stop) to the Batu Caves. The Caves are a Hindu shrine about 15 kms from the city, where there are people climbing the 272 steps
Golden Triangle
The Picadilly Circus of KL complete with monorail with an array of hooks piercing their skin as some sort of tribute to the Gods. We were told the next week was one of the busiest weeks in the year, so given the numbers of people around when we visited, we were quite pleased we chose to go when we did....mind the numbers of people were nothing compared to the bus back to the city!
The Malaysians seem quite keen on the old English football and the guesthouse has all the satelite channels under the sun to allow access to the action back home. As a result, we were able to tune into the Trees biting the dust in SW6. We were a bit surprised by the apparent lack of interest in the Malaysian national team, who'd played in the ASEAN Championship semi against Singapore the previous night - the TV was on, but nobody was watching. Unfortunately due to the timings of the two legged semis, it wasn't realy possible to get to either the Kuala Lumpur or Singapore legs.
We left KL for the north west on an early morning express bus to Penang.
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