KL – Bird Sanctuary and Royal Selangor Club

My final day in KL and I still had a list of things I wanted to do. I wanted to catch up with my Melbourne friend (and model) Natasha Shan

and I also wanted to see Lake Garden along with some of the parks within. Tash wanted me to try some more local food, so we combined both. She and her sister, Tania, picked me up at KLCC after I took the monorail to get there. Along the way you can see inside the old jail. I’m told that it was closed before the monorail was built, which is a good thing, as I can’t imagine how it would feel to actually be able to see the prisoners on your way to work each day.

First stop was a street corner offering with authentic Indian breads, curries and chicken pieces. I stuck with non-spicy stuff (surprising both girls at how sensitive my taste buds are), banana roti (I think) and fried chicken. Lovely. Later we stopped for “tea”, which is apparently an actual meal between lunch and dinner. KL-ians (sounds like something from Battlestar Galactica) eat six small meals a day!

Worrying about rain which eventually stayed away, we navigated to the Bird Park in Lake Garden. This kept me clicking away for quite some time, whilst Tania stalked peacocks with her new Nikon D60 until it decided it had taken enough photos and wouldn’t let her take any more. Of course I told her that a Canon would be far more receptive to her needs.

The day started well when this brat of a Lovebird decided to eat my finger. I had been watching another guy tempt it into sitting on his hand by offering his finger to nibble on. When it came my turn the bird decided my finger was far more tasty than the one he is sampling right now (stunt hand used for photograph) and took a chunk out instead. I hope he gets food poisoning.

I fell in love with Hornbills the moment I saw these two clumsily hopping and flapping their way around their cage. I’ve been looking for them in the wild ever since, and whilst they look awkward on the ground or whilst hopping between branches on trees, they look fantastic when gliding in flight.

I love this stork. I can tell it has a sense of humour by the look in it’s eyes, and I think it’s only putting on a typical stork pose because it knows we expect that and it likes to entertain.

I’ve never seen an orange Ibis and I must have taken about 20 shots of this one. You can see he really wants to scream, “Leave me alone you freak!”.

Dinner was with Tash and Tan’s family and friends at the Royal Selangor Club. This is a rather exclusive cricket club with spectacular night views.

I arrived early to find that I couldn’t enter via the public entrance because I was wearing jeans. I also had to wait in the foyer as I was not a member. Being yet another hot and humid day I was rather thirsty so asked if there was a nearby bar in which I could wait. The answer was no, but a good samaritan named “Henry” was on his way out as I asked the question. He came over to me and asked if I would like to join him in the “Cellar”, much to Tash’s later amusement as she wondered at my seeming ability to pick up anyone. Henry was great company, and it turned out he knew Tash’s Dad. I learnt all about his kids, where they were studying, and how much his 14yo daughter racks up in phone and internet bills (A combined $1000 a month!). I resisted the urge to tell him that it serves him right for having children, as I doubt much of the world feels the way I do about that topic. Henry was quite happy to keep buying me beers, but Tash eventuated to rescue me.

The food was, as expected, very very good, and the company even better. Sorry about me spoiling this one – I look like a well-fed deer caught in headlights. Do you now see why I am usually the photographer?

Ken, this is especially for you…

Leaving for home I noticed a building on which an entire side has become a digital advertising screen. Both video and stills run on this giant screen. I believe this is called City Hall. Blows Melbourne’s meagre efforts at looking modern out of the water.

KL – Batu Caves and Chinatown

Batu Caves is a very sacred and popular spot for Hindus – look it up in Google to save me having to write about it.  I decided to take the 20 minute taxi ride to see it.  The most significant things about the caves are the 272 steps to get to the entrance, and the largest statue of a particular Hindu deity in the world.

Another attraction that everyone told me about was that there were monkeys everywhere and to watch out that you didn’t have things stolen by them.  None to be seen, I’m afraid – except the two sad ones in a cage.  There were, however, a couple of fairly nondescript and tiny “temples” and a man with a big yellow python.  These girls were pretty excited about that.

The view back down to the ground, and overlooking the city wasn’t bad, and some of the architecture was OK too.  I think this place would be more interesting when the special events you can read about in Google are taking place.

An unspoken significant experience to be had at Batu Caves is being torn apart limb by limb by rabid taxi drivers fighting over who is going to take you back to your hotel.  I had to physically restrain one “gentleman” after he started to get a little over-enthusiastic.

Later that evening I decided to walk down to Chinatown.  This is like a little Bangkok, with fake everything for sale and hawkers trying everything to get your attention and business. I probably paid too much for leather Mont Blanc carry-on luggage, but I needed it and it is probably cheaper than I could get at home.  Well, I hope it is.

The food was fantastic however, and it was a lot of fun to watch the tourists go by as I ate.

KL – 24 hour neon

Kuala Lumpur went by in almost a total blur. So much to do, so many people to catch up with (where did they all come from, and why are they all in KL?), and so much food to eat.

There are a few things that really stand out for me in KL. One is that every time I have been at the airport (3 times now, soon to be 4), it has been raining. It’s the only time it has been raining for me in Malaysia. Therefore I still don’t really know what the airport looks like.

KL seems to be a city of contradictions. It is very modern, yet has much old charm, early 1900s British architecture, and Bangkok-style people-chaos. I stayed on Jalan Pudu, between Bukit Bintang and Chinatown, in an area known as the Golden Triangle. (Jalan means “street”). This seemed to be the busiest road in KL, and it didn’t help that it is also the home to the largest and oldest bus terminal in KL. All day, hundreds of buses would constantly crawl down this two lane road on their way to the terminal. At night this would turn into hundreds parked for a kilometre or so as they can’t get into the terminal itself. It seems that everybody wants to travel by bus to Singapore, Penang, Bangkok and more, 24/7. I can only assume it is because the television selections are almost non-existent here.

So to get anywhere I usually walked to the Imbi monorail station and travelled to a better place from which to source a taxi or walk further. Coming back to the hotel, I had to direct the driver to keep him out of traffic jams. A few things I have learned about Malaysians:

• They don’t like to walk – even very short distances. They think I am mad because I walk everywhere.
• They are scared of the rain. They seem to think it is acidic (I think it is refreshing)
• They are not very good at finding their way around their own city
• They don’t know terribly much about their own city.

This may seem like a short list of negatives, but in fact it worked to my benefit. It meant I got to show some of them sights they hadn’t seen, and it made me feel better about knowing where I was going and that I can handle finding my way around strange cities.

KL also uses a massive amount of electricity. I am told that this is because it generates too much, and has to have an outlet (???). All I will say is that they are obsessed with pretty lights and neon. I am not complaining because it makes for a beautiful skyline and attractive street-scapes (assuming you like that sort of thing).

So much of my time in KL was spent lunching and having dinner with friends and acquaintances. People love to entertain and look after you here. A really big thanks goes out to all my new friends who took such good care of me, especially to Natasha and Tania who did everything and more to ensure I enjoyed the local food, treated me at Royal Selangor Club and were better than perfect hosts.  Tania, you are going to love that Nikon (too bad it’s not a Canon).   See you back in Melbourne.

As I spent a lot more time being entertained, and a lot less time being a tourist, I’ve a lot less photos to share from KL.  Here’s a brief selection.

I’ve asked a lot of people, and I still don’t know what “chicks” are in this context.

Bukit Bintang and Chinatown are the closest things I could find to Bangkok. Bukit Bintang is much more accessible, but has some unusual sights.  This kid was supposedly selling bubble guns, but judging by his appearance and demeanor I got the feeling that his job was to attract  and distract tourists whilst his mates surreptitiously lightened the load of said unsuspecting tourist.

Every weekend there is a free concert right in the middle of the very wide Bukit Bintang walkway.  Tonight was some modern Indian pop.  I was watching them set the stage up earlier in the afternoon, and they pull out all stops.  This show was very well lit, with all the effects and a great sound system.  Not bad for free.

Neon nights.  Apparently you avoid the karaoke bars in KL. The brighter the lights, the more dodgy the venue.  This sign was the size of a small building.

Jen and Dee introduced me to Vincenzo and his fantastic Italian restaurant.  This is where I received a taste from home in a magnificent Black Angus steak. It was so tender you could cut it with a spoon.   He’s a great guy and I hope I’ll meet up with him again when he decides to visit Melbourne.

After dinner we tried to find a decent bar with a band. Closest thing to rock apparently was this band at “Backyard”. They played unusual versions of Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix tunes.  This guy could really solo, but like most Asian bands I’ve seen so far, was struggling quite a bit with the English lyrics and phrasing.  It didn’t matter because he was so into the music.

OK, I still have some KL nightlife, Chinatown and Batu Caves shots to post but I’m out of time and have another 5am start tomorrow.  I won’t have internet for a few days as I’m being Tarzan of Borneo right now, so my next post is not likely until at least Friday.  Maybe…

First night in KL

On arrival at KL I was met by a couple of journalist acquaintances. One works locally as a researcher, and the other is a photojournalist working out of Singapore. They were both quite focussed on the Anwar issue amongst other things, so I didn’t really get to spend much time with them, but we did get dinner.

KL is a city of neon and traffic jams. It also has the busiest and most chaotic bus terminal I’ve ever seen. In fact, Jalan Pudu, the road on which my hotel resides, seems to be the one road that all buses and taxis in Asia use.  Therefore if I want to get anywhere in a hurry I walk to another, better flowing road first before calling a cab.  I don’t understand why so many people want to travel to other parts of Asia by bus every night, at all hours, but I guess the TV isn’t good enough to keep them home. The Indians seem to do it more than most.

It’s also an intriguing mix of modern architecture with run-down or old dwellings.  At nights, think Bangkok meets Sydney.

Another Asian city, another Scorpions reference – this time on the busiest road in KL, outside my hotel’s bus stop.

Dinner was at a curbside, open Chinese restaurant. But not the type we have at home.  I couldn’t read the menu, understand the staff, or recognise anything in the pictures, so I left my fate in the hands of my local guide and dinner partner. I did OK with some well-cooked, white fish, some watery soup that seemed to be just there to use up table space, and some fried frog legs that tasted like spicy chicken.  I had no idea that the Chinese ate frogs, but I didn’t care as I was starving and it was the only substantial food on offer.  I ate all of them!

Whilst savoring roasted ribbits, I noticed some fairly significant movement out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to see what I initially thought was a squirrel scurrying from one piece of vegetation to another. It wasn’t a squirrel.  Apparently it’s also quite common in KL and nothing to make a fuss about, even if it is running around the outsides of a restaurant.

A respected photojournalist hard at work in a dark hotel room at 11pm. Our news-bringers never sleep.  I know that first hand now.  All I’ll say about that is that they should.  The results are rarely appreciated as much as the effort that is invested.

Neon neon neon.  Oh, and Canon.  Not a single Nikon sign anywhere so far.  KL is also Coca Cola city, as opposed to Bangkok’s obsession with the sickly sweet and relatively flat beverage that is Pepsi.  I also discovered that the reason Asia serves terrible hot coffee is that they do very good iced coffee.

The highlight of supper was exploring the wine list.  Chilean and Spanish wines are big here. There are some Aussie wines, but surprisingly few. I think the Asian taste bud prefers the more tangy or unusual South American grape varieties.  Shiraz is rare here.

Hello Malaysia

After many ups and downs in Thailand, I was actually quite sad to leave. I had come to understand the place so much better since I arrived, and although I still don’t like certain aspects of it, I can at least be comfortable there now. The people are not like anything we have at home, and if this level of friendliness keeps up whilst I travel, I’ll find it quite difficult to deal with the indifference on Melbourne’s streets when I return.

I landed in KL through quite a turbulent sky, and discovered once we were under the clouds that it was absolutely pouring.  Phuket was only an hour away and was magnificent when we left.

On arriving I found the place to be very modern and clean.  The trains are easy to use, and their paper money is very similar to ours. I took an express to KL Sentral where I met two of my many hosts whilst in KL.  The free internet in Starbucks made up for the bad coffee, which to be fair is the best coffee I’ve had since leaving home.

Exploring the shopping complex in the Petronas Twin Towers (tallest twin towers in the world) led me to a shop I’ll have to return to later. Malaysia’s electronics prices seem to be cheaper than even Bangkok, or from what I am told, Hong Kong.  I am very likely to pick up a pocket-size waterproof camera for those upcoming typhoons once the big Malaysia sale starts next week.

Outside the towers, and over a cold beer (which doesn’t stay cold long in this heat, so I have to drink instead of talk) I noticed a couple of guys that I thought were fishing with nets in the large pond.

They were, in fact, cleaning the pond on their daily schedule.  A few minutes later on went the fountain.

Eventually I jumped on the overnight sleeper train to Butterworth, Penang. I left at 8:45pm and arrived at 6am. I was supposed to share a cabin, but the other passenger didn’t turn up.  I’m thankful for that because there was barely room for my luggage, let alone another person.  It was tough to sleep because this train is not a smooth one.  There were many times when it felt like it was about to rock out of it’s tracks!  I also ripped the two things I bought in Bangkok – shorts and cabin luggage. That will teach me for buying cheap things. The shorts ripped on the cabin ladder as I made one of many trips down to answer a knock on the door.  The staff don’t seem to want you to sleep at all, and the train stops at every station along the way. I was advised that the other passenger could get on at any time, so I really couldn’t fall asleep.