Jackamy - Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Jackamy

Paul & Derry Harper

Sun 28 Nov 2010 00:50

Sunday 28th November

We made plans for Sunday morning whilst having dinner at the yacht club; we'd get the water taxi across to the yacht club at 07:00, make our way to the train station to take the 1 hour journey by train to Kuala Lumpur, ready to collect free tickets handed out to the first 1000 visitors at the Petronas Towers. We failed at the first hurdle - the 24 hour water taxi didn't start until 08:00 so we're blaming Amy for waking us all at half 6 when there was no need! Instead we caught the 9 o'clock train from Port Klang to Kuala Lumpur. Making the decision to go to Kuala Lumpur had been difficult enough as Paul and Amy didn't really want to visit another city so soon after Singapore but they were talked into it and I can safely say they were happy that they were.

The capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, is the nations biggest city with a population of 1.5 million people. The city began as a trading post for the burgeoning tin industry, and was constantly plagued by fires, floods and civil wars. Chinese miners and traders formed a large part of its early population, governed by a Kapitan China, or headman. The most famous of them was Yap Ah Loy who was responsible for the city's early growth. A building boom began when the British took control in the 1880s, and in 1896, Kuala Lumpur was made capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States. It now remains the financial and commercial capital and principle gateway to the country. Some of the country's rich history can be seen in the 19th century colonial architecture, temples and mosques all mixed with the modern skyscrapers and fancy restaurants and bars.

We caught the train with Gavin, Lisa and Shae (Sol Maria) and we were all swiftly moved from our seats as we'd plonked ourselves in the 'Ladies' Coach'. Once in Kuala Lumpur we caught the very clean and efficient LRT (the tube) to the Petronas Towers. Soaring to a height of 1,483 ft, the 88 story Petronas Towers are an international recognised symbol of modern Malaysia. Designed by the famous Argentinean architect Cesar Pelli, who also designed the Canary Wharf Tower in London. The 8 sided star of the floor plan and overall architecture reflect Islamic principles of unity and harmony. The towers house the national petroleum and oil company, Petronas. It is here that issues 1000 free tickets for a view from the sky-bridge on the 41st floor, but unfortunately we were a bit late for that, nonetheless, they were impressive from down below. To fill our time we browsed the shops in the huge shopping centre at the base of the towers, even the men were happy as long as they got to stay in the air conditioning.

Shae and Amy in the 'Ladies Coach'...........Brand new LRT station

The tallest twin structures in the world, until recently

Christmas time in the shopping centre

A few of the skyscrapers

After our retail therapy and a spot of lunch at the food hall in the shopping mall we hopped back onto the LRT to go to Merdeka Square located in the heart of the colonial district. Standing where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet, the site where Kuala Lumpur was founded, Masjid Jamek is the city's oldest mosque. Masjid Jamek, which means Friday Mosque was built in 1909. The red brick, marble building, with three large onion shaped domes, two minarets and arched colonnades was inspired by Mughal architecture. Surrounded by palm groves and with unrivaled views downstream, the mosque forms a tranquil haven in the middle of the city. The main prayer hall is open only to Muslims but we were allowed to enter the surroundings provided we covered up, this involved all of us wearing gowns and the women had to wear head scarves to cover our hair. Our appearance caused much amusement amongst the group and we realised we perhaps shouldn't be laughing and having so much fun in the mosque. So we separated and began to pay attention to what was around us. Considering the mosque is in the centre of the city it was remarkably quiet and peaceful with many men praying on the white marble or lounging and chatting is hushed voices.

Masjid Jamek

Amy and me - don't laugh!

Paul the Pervert/Flasher

A separate praying hall for women................Holy water

What a family photo.............Shae and Amy trying to be serious

Merdeka Square is a vast rectangular grassy field that once hosted cricket matches and parades. It is surrounded by the mock-Tudor Royal Selangor Club, the National History Museum, St Mary's Cathedral and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. A magnificent Moorish edifice presiding over the eastern flank or Merdeka Square, the Samad Abdul Samad Building was built in 1897 to serve as the headquarters of colonial administration and named in honor of the ruler of Selangor at the time. Today it houses the commercial divison of Malaysia's High Court.

The 328 ft high free standing flagpole is believed to be the tallest in the world....Sultan Abdul Samad Building with the skyscrapers in the distance

The Royal Selangor Club..............Old with the new

After lots of walking everyone began to quieten down and get a bit lethargic, we needed perking up so decided to head to Chinatown for a beer. En route we stumbled across the scene of the capital's most famous and lively street market, Jalan Petaling, a partly roofed string of stalls specialising in fake designer goods, watches, clothes, wallets, handbags, cds, dvds, you name it, they had it. What an experience! We made our way through the narrow pathway between stalls and lost one another whilst browsing only to find one another soon after at another stall, it all worked perfectly. They say to be careful of your belongings but we all felt completely safe and weren't sloppy with holding onto our bags or anything like that. For the next couple of hours we all went mad, rushing around looking at this and that and deciding we definitely need things that we definitely don't. After lots of haggling we came away with purses, glasses, wallets, belts, watches, dvds, torches and bags. Our spirits had been picked up, we reached the end on a high and showed our bargains off to one another. It was fantastic and such good fun!

Getting tired

En route to Chinatown...............Chinese tea shop

Jalan Petaling Market

So many to chose between!

One bag!

With our spirits high, and still needing a beer we located a restaurant just around the corner where the night just got better. It was a Chinese restaurant, so in demand that their tables filled three shops and lined the streets in front of the shops. It was delicious and it was only the fear of missing the last train back to Port Klang that we didn't stay drinking and soaking up the great atmosphere later into the night. Our expectations were more than exceeded with Kuala Lumpur!