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Published: September 3rd 2009
So after much preparation and ado I've finally started my big tour of Europe! In Asia. My five day stop over in Malaysia began at 6.30am KL time after a night of only 15 minutes sleep (thanks in part to a child screaming throughout the flight. I'm amazed his lungs hadn't carked it by the end). Once I arrived though I hit my second wind. The view from the train into central KL was stunning. Very tropical and green (a far cry from the drought I'm used to). The city itself is not exactly beautiful. In fact it's smelly, dirty and falling apart. That said, it has it's own character. It's very busy, lots of motor bikes and not enough pedestrain crossings but the people are keen to help if approached (they'll just watch you staring at your map looking lost for ages otherwise).
Warning: You take your life into your own hands every time you cross the road. Even AT a crossing! After finding my hostel and dumping my stuff in a locker I took off with my camera and a difficult to read map. It took me about 5 minutes to get lost. :D My first stop, once
found, was an early lunch of beef and soft noodles in some kind of soup. Very tasty but I'm sure all the locals were secretly laughing at my attempt to use chopsticks. Once satisfactorily filled I headed to a nearby craft market. There were some of the most stunning fabrics I've ever seen. Yes, I caved and bought myself a headscarf. I needed it though, my fringe was driving me crazy while my hair was tied up (and the prices here are to die for! 100% hand pained silk for the equivalent of $6!!). There were all sorts of lovely hand crafted wooden items too but I resisted (no where to put it!) Plus they were selling the typical touristy things. It's amazing how much they look just like the Aussie equivalents back home. TACKY!
Next was some city wandering, where I again got lost trying to find the Lake Gardens. By the time I finally did I was incredibly sticky, my feet were blistering and I desperately wanted an air conditioned cafe (not something in great supply here). My recommendation is to TAKE THE BUS! But at least I'm getting fit right? I proceeded to the Hibiscus and Orchid Gardens. The orchid one in particular was lovely but not as big as I'd hoped. Beautiful colours though. The highlight of the day was the Butterfly Park. Not just because of the butterflies (we have WAY more in our butterfly enclosure at The Royal Melbourne Zoo) but because it started to rain while I was there and the feeling of the rain after being sticky all day was so nice I wandered through the garden and got myself thoroughly soaked. :D When I found some shelter I also had a grand old time taking photo's of the plants all wet. And I rescued a butterfly! It was on the floor and a big raindrop meant it couldn't seem to lift its wings so I let it climb onto my hand and lifted it high enough for it to fly off and find shelter. Awwww. :D
I ended my day at Petalang market which reminded me very much of Queen Vic market but more cramped and with every single vendor telling you to come check out their wares. If you don't like being harassed I recommend you avoid it.
Interesting side note: you have to pay to use practically every toilet here and they give you about 5 squares of toilet paper with your toilet ticket (some don't give you any paper at all so always have some handy.) And often the toilet doesn't have a seat or is sunk into the floor because you're meant to squat. The major shopping centres have western style loos though. Thank God!
Tip: Girls keep your shoulders covered, even if only with a shawl or something, otherwise you'll attract some unwanted attention. There is a large muslim population here. P.S Sadly the computer I'm on blocks the software that would allow me to upload photo's. I'll try again next time.
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KathyH
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Not so lovely loos
I don't think I warned you about the squat-over-a-smelly-hole loos did I? Ah well. At least you can't catch anything from the seat! Did you see anything unusual in the market? I love the Asian silk. so cheap and so colourful. Get it while you can!