Meeting up in Kuala Lumpur

Destinations: Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Ipoh, Cameron Highlands (not shown on this map -- east of Ipoh), and the island of Penang (capital city = George Town).

After much anticipation (and many hours of travel!) I met up with Erin and the train station in Kuala Lumpur and we've been catching up on life for the past few days. Erin has been in Malaysia for the past 6 weeks on a work study internship through the University of Lethbridge, so months ago we decided we would celebrate the completion of our university qualifications with some sightseeing in Asia. We're traveling with a skeletal itinerary in mind, but have big dreams about seeing this part of the world.


Erin and I, checking out the infamous Petronas Towers from the viewing window at the top of KL Tower. Erin and I took the elevator up the KL Tower to check out the panoramic views of the city. KL extends as far as the eye can see...skyscrapers, mosques, temples, playing fields, busy streets, schools -- the city is constantly moving. The weather is hot and humid, and the mid-afternoon is punctuated with thunderstorms. Flash floods are common, and Erin and I saw this first hand when we tried to leave the KL Tower.

A little bit about KL

Kuala Lumpur represents the heartbeat of Malaysia, serving as its cultural, commercial and transportation centre. It all began in the middle of the 19th century when a group of tin prospectors came to settle around the convergence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. It is a booming metropolitan centre with more than 1.3 million people from a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds. The ethnic majorities include Malays, Chinese, and Indians, and this diversity is clearly seen in the various cultural customs, religious beliefs, languages, cuisine, and architecture. The local currency is a ringgit (RM) and approx. 3 ringgits = 1 Canadian dollar. Food is cheap...a delicious meal costs about RM5, an LRT ticket costs anywhere from RM1 to RM3, and knock-off merchandise is cheap (if you're a confident barterer!)

While we were waiting for the afternoon downpour to stop we had our hands painted green and added our Canadian imprint to the local environmental awareness campaign.

We have been staying in Chinatown -- a beaming example of sensory overload. I flavourful taste of spicy Malaysian food - curries, chilies, spiced meats, etc. and there evidence of people as far as the eyes can see -- buildings, cars, motor bikes, garbage, and just people out and about. The sounds of car horns, fast trains, humming air conditioners, pouring rain, and people trying to barter fill the air. The humidity in the air clothes stick to bare skin, and the smells are almost too abundant and diverse to mention...varies from tantalising spices to down-right awful -- like rotting garbage, fish food, and wet dog. I've seen a few rats...eek! and a LOT of stray cats.


Keeping up with current events.


Yesterday Angus (another KL intern's visiting brother) and I checked out the Central Market and then hopped on the RapidKL (LRT) and got lost in the 6 floors of shopping madness at the KLCC shopping centre. Attached to the KLCC are the infamous Petronas Twin Towers -- architectural masterpieces that make KL's cityscape easy to identify. It's free to go across the observation bridge, however, they only let 1000 people visit each day, and the lineup for tickets in the morning is absolutely diabolical. Angus and I just took a view from the park space outside the towers, and Erin and I will try to get tickets on Monday.





More to come from Malaysia...

L.