Flashpacking in Malaysia - Chapter 1 - Kuala Lumpur

The meticulous planning of our big trip way back in December and January seemed to be falling round our ears as we made the dash through Schipol airport to try and catch our connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur!  The flight from Cardiff had been delayed and so it was touch and go as to whether we would make the gate in Amsterdam before it closed.  I haven't had to run since Doc Russell called me for that fateful quick single in my heady days as a cricketer which resulted in a ruptured patella tendon so limping badly, I stayed in hot pursuit of the gazelle like Sue, across one of the largest airports in the world.  The result was never in doubt - we made the gate with minutes to spare!

Eleven and a half hours later we arrived in KL - well, sort of.  KL's international airport lies 75km to the south of the city so it was a bit like landing in Brecon and staying in Cardiff.  After an inordinate amount of time spent getting through immigration we were whisked down the motorway at high speed in our budget taxi to our luxie hotel in the Golden Triangle area of KL.  On arrival we were treated like royalty - ushered up to the 20th floor where we checked in in the Club lounge!  It was cocktail and canapes time and so we helped ourselves to mouth watering morsels and copious amounts of gin, tonic and white wine - not all in the same glass, I hasten to add!  Back to the room for a shower and a change of clothes we thought but our bags had not made the journey from the ground floor - what sort of service was this?  Finally, some three hours after our arrival, the luggage did make it up in the lift so it was off out to sample the nightlife !  We lasted about an hour before the jet lag kicked in and the humidity got us!

Cheers!

After a very early start, we headed out into the heat to do a bit of sight seeing and to get our bus tickets for Monday's journey north to Pulau Pangkor via Lumut!  Now I have to admit, I have felt better than I did on Saturday.  I'm not sure whether it was a dodgy canape or lack of sleep or heat stroke but I struggled all day!  Nevertheless, I hadn't come all this way to feel ill so we made our way on the monorail and rail system to find various places of interest as outlined in the guidebooks.  KL is a vast city that's spread out and  is very foreign in some ways and yet very western in others!  Signs and adverts in English, the Royal Selangor Club in Merdeka Square and the vast shopping malls all give the city an western air.  But the hawker stalls of Jalan Petaling Market in Chinatown, selling genuine fake Rolex watches and genuine fake anything you care to mention, and the food stalls of Jalan Alor and the Mosque of Masjid Jamek together with the array of burkhas and jilbabs, all go to tell you that this is the east - just a little further east than Newport!

And then there are the huge towers of KL - the Petronas towers and the Menara tower, which looks like a very large hypodermic needle.  As we weren't prepared to queue to get tickets to walk across the Skybridge of the Petronas towers, we opted for the Menara - not as high but the views were spectacular!  These modern edifices are testament to the country's prosperity made from the world's demand for Malaysia's rubber, tea, tin and palm oil.The vast shopping Malls that are springing up, with designer shops and, in one case, an indoor theme park spread over the 5th, 6th & 7th floors of the 14 floors, go to underline that there's a bit of spare cash out there, somewhere! 

Contrasting this are the beggars who lay passively on the pavement, clutching their Starbucks cups, hoping that the generous can spare them a few Ringgits.  Interestingly I witnessed more local people making donations than tourists!

After another, less indulgent, cocktail and canape hour and feeling better, we headed out to eat in one of the many roadside stalls that operate from mid afternoon until the early hours of the morning in Jalan Alor. Sensory overload would be an understatement to describe the sounds, smells and atmosphere of this culinary experience!  Our satay chicken and veggie noodles were out of this world and all washed down with a Tiger beer and a bottle of  water - the water was for me!  The cost of all this?  30 Ringgits or about £6!!  We're not sure what Sunday has in store for us yet - a little trip to see the Batu caves or the Aquarium.  We have not been disappointed by our friend Malcolm's suggestion to visit Malaysia - the people we've met so far have been very gracious and polite, the service has been outstanding and the food exquisite! 

So, off to the Batu Caves it was on Sunday morning!  A short train journey took us to these massive limestone caves full of Hindu temples and artefacts and 272 steps from top to bottom!  Now this really tested our fitness and as if the steepness of the climb wasn't enough - the monkeys who kept wanting to impede our progress, made life even more difficult.  Oh!  and the 35 degrees of heat and 95% humidity didn't help, but well worth the effort.

Our afternoon was spentllooking at various fish and aquatic animals in the KL Aquarium underneath the  Petronas towers - just as well we were inside  as the we saw the first heavy rain of the rainy season - impressive!  By the time we had indulged again in the cocktail hour  and headed out for supper in Jalan Alor, the rain had stopped and the humidity had returned.   We splashed out with 2 main courses of Thai Chicken and Sweet & sour chicken with some veggie noodles and 2 big bottles of Tiger Beer!!  £12.50!

Mind the gap!