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Asia » Malaysia » Wilayah Persekutuan » Kuala Lumpur
July 20th 2007

Published: September 10th 2007

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Loose footed

Petronas Towers

4.43am the night bus from the islands pulls into downtown Kuala Lumpur and bleary eyed we get off to assess the situation. The conclusion: too early to do jacksh*t! So with a Swiss couple we wander around looking for anything that resembles life and find the only thing open is McD's (hey, it was a McEmergency). After Mccoffees and an above average Mcbackpacker conversation (where have you been, where are you going, why do KL hostels lie about being open 24 hours etc), we split and made our way over to the Golden Triangle to suss a place to crash. Had to shell out a bit more than usual (KL ain't known for its cheap accommodation) but got a place pretty central that also had free internet and unlimited strawberry toast thrown in. Sweet!

One of the first things to jump out at you as you hit the pavement in KL is just how ethically diverse the city is. Walking from our hostel to check out the 452m twin Petronas Towers later in the day, we passed Indians, Arabs, Chinese, native Malays as well as tourists all moving along the free flowing, clean streets that make up the city centre.

Blue Mosque, Putrajaya

After being in so many hot, crazy and dirty SE Asian cities it was kinda nice to find a place with good public transport, English everywhere and a far-from chaotic way of doing things.

The Petronas Towers were actually just one of the many architecturally interesting buildings we checked out over the course of the next few days. Islam took centre stage on day two, starting first with a visit to the National Mosque (Masjid Negara) and finishing in the evening with look at the Blue Mosque in Putrajaya (20km south of KL). Masjid Negara was very cool, especially with Kako having to cover herself from head to toe in kawaii (cute) Islamic garb and me getting to hang out with the local mosque students, but it was the four 108m high minarets of the Blue Mosque that really made us think 'This is cool sh*t'. Never seen anything like it! (then again, have never been to the Middle East or India...)

Next day it was time to check out some Hindu flavours, so caught a bus north of the city to the Batu Caves. 272 monkey-laden steps later, we found ourself staring at the colourful decorations that

Entrance to the Batu caves

adorn the roof of the Temple Cave shrine while simultaneously keeping the damn pesky monkeys at bay. Also witnessed some kind of Hindu prayer session, with white bodypainted dudes banging gongs and chanting together in unison as devotees prayed around them. Found out that it gets much crazier than this during Thaipusam, in Jan/Feb, when a million pilgrims come to the caves to see who can out-gore who and pierce their body with the most metal. Saw the pics - blood and guts guaranteed!

It wouldn't be right to do KL but miss out on wontons and pirated 50c CDs, so in the evening we had a look around the markets and temples of Chinatown. Like other Chinatowns of Asia (and the world), it wasn't the cleanest part of the city, but we still enjoyed cheap eats, beers and the '100%!S(MISSING)wiss precision' Tag Heur salesmen shouting at anyone and everyone that went by.

Three days went by real quick! Could've done more, but Vietnam, and that thing unfamiliar concept called 'work', was calling. Trained it to Singapore, jumped on a cheap Jetstar flight bound for Saigon and before we knew it, four amazing months of being