Kuala Lumpur, Day 2: Colonial KL

(Day 2) 29th June 2015 - all my friends have headed out of Siem Reap, so I now have more of a chance to get some writing done. The three days of drinking are taking their toll, but seeing as I only got out of bed at 3pm, I feel I should achieve something today, aside from a massage. ;)

My first day in KL had been productive. I had wandered the streets of hectic, brilliant Chinatown, and visited perhaps the biggest attraction within the city: the Petronas Towers. To top it all off, I had a great night out with a brilliant guy.

My second day in Kuala Lumpur had a lot to live up to, but it really did. KL will never be my favourite city: it does not have the history and self-assurance of Penang, nor the vibrancy and alienness of Bangkok. But it is a very liveable city, and for the latter days of my week-long stay there, I found myself less travelling in KL than living in it. It is easy, accessible, and a little searching reveals some eccentric and unique areas.

However, my initial days in the city were more frenetic, as I made inroads into my list of what I wanted to see in the city. For my first full day in the city, I wanted to focus on the historic, colonial heart of the city, from where the British once administrated and controlled a patchwork of Malay sultanates and jungle tribes, fringed by the important European trading ports of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. 

My day began with an early start, and I was out of the hostel before nine in the morning. I made a brief stop for breakfast in Chinatown, where I happened upon a local speciality which was simply named 'Chinese Special Noodles'.

Perhaps the best noodle dish ever :D

The dish consisted of white flat noodles sprinkled with sesame seeds, and then on one side of the plate a copious amount of a sweet, perhaps plum-based sauce is added, and on the other a smaller amount of a spicy, savoury sauce, and the sauces can be mixed with the noodles according to taste. It was only made at one stall just off Jalan Petaling, and only in the morning, and it was one of the best dishes I tasted in all of Malaysia. 

Refuelled, and off to a good start, I headed north along Jalan Hang Kasturi, to my first, nearby target of the day: Central Market, or Pasar Seni (in Malay). 

As it proudly proclaims above the entrance, the market is one of the oldest in the city, which was only settled in 1857. Within the market's sky-blue facade there remains little of the original market, as it has been extensively redeveloped and gentrified, and focuses today on souvenirs and trinkets marketed at the increasing numbers of tourists that visit the city. However, the market still made for a pleasant place to stroll about, admiring tourist tat I will never buy, whilst appreciating the air conditioned respite from the tropical heat outside. 

Good for shopping and buying souvenirs, if that is what you are interested in.

Pressing on from Central Market, I headed north, and then crossed a bridge over one of Kuala Lumpur's polluted, dejected-looking rivers towards the colonial centre. Whilst crossing the river, I spotted a local having a shower in a most unusual place. 

At least he is washing I suppose...

Two minutes walk beyond the river the road opened out at a crossroads, and the expansive central Merdeka green was stretched out before me, flanked by old colonial edifices against a skyline pierced by steel-grey skyscrapers. Looming above me stood the ninety-five metre high flagpole where the Malayan (Malaysia formed a few years later) flag was raised for the first time at midnight on the 31st of August 1957, signifying the kingdom's independence from the British Empire.

The green in the middle of the square, which was formerly the cricket pitch for the Royal Selangor Cricket Club (the mock-Tudor building visible in the background of the photo below), was renamed in honour of this occasion to Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), though Merdeka now refers to the whole surrounding area.

The Merdeka green.

Sultan Abdul Samad building, which formerly housed the British colonial administration.

Several more photos of the Sultan Abdul Samad building, and also St. Mary's Anglican cathedral.

After fifteen minutes of walking and photographing the various buildings flanking the Merdeka, I took shelter in one of said buildings: the Muzium Tekstil Negara (National Textile Museum).

The museum was far, far more interesting than I had expected.

It would not have been my first choice of museum to visit, but it was free, air-conditioned, and nearby. However, while I had intended to spend just ten minutes cooling off and giving the galleries a cursory glance, I soon lost track of time browsing the competent and coherent museum displays and exhibits. There was perhaps too much focus given to the minute differences in the production of batik material in the different Malaysian states, but I did find it informative to learn about how the processes behind batik fabric, and the other traditional clothing and textile products of Malaysia. There was also a fairly impressive jewellery gallery upstairs where the amount of gold on display was almost overwhelming. 

Just across from the National Textile Museum was the KL City Gallery, which proudly advertised itself with the huge red sign below. 

There was even a queue system in place for tourists wanting to photograph it. 

Inside on the ground floor there are old maps and photos that show how the city has grown and developed over the last 150 years, which as a historian I found fascinating.

Reaching the end of the the display, there were signs proclaiming 'Discover the City' which pointed with red arrows to the first floor. I was intrigued, and followed them upstairs, and was then directed by a museum worker into a dimly lit room.

Inside, raised on a platform, sprawled an incredibly details model of the city rendered with amazing detail and accuracy. Projected behind it, and sometime over it, was a presentation proudly introducing the city and its vision for the future, and highlighting (at times literally by illuminating different buildings and sections of the city model) the different districts and elements of Kuala Lumpur.

I found it really, really incredible, and it was my highlight of the entire trip to the city. I realise that I sound silly, preferring a model city presentation over the vibrant Chinatown, or impressive Islamic Arts Museum (to be covered tomorrow) but all I can say is that you should go see it. You could just feel how proudly Malaysian people feel about their city, and their ambitions for their capital. 

Yay sweaty selfie!

Eventually I tore myself away from the projectors and miniature skyscrapers, and headed downstairs to peruse the gift shop and cafe. I would not normally do this, but the KL City Gallery, in exchange for paying Rm5 to enter, give all visitors an equally valued voucher to spend in the gallery. I eventually settled on a 'free' cup of tea, and got a piece of cake as a treat.

The cake looked much better than it tasted.

Emerging back into the tropical humidity, I headed north across the Merdeka, and into the area of KL called Little India. Ironically, Little India is no longer the focus of Indian culture in the city (as much of the community moved to Brickfields district just south of KL Sentral station) but it still retains a strong Indian identity, and was a complete contrast to the refined, elegant atmosphere of the Merdeka Square. It was perhaps even more frenetic and chaotic than Chinatown, which is an impressive feat.

Finding very little pavement available to use on the main street, and preferring to not walk in the road and risk death-by-bus, I cut down a side street, and found myself in the midst of a huge sprawling market that blanketed many of the streets for several blocks. I enjoyed the colourful atmosphere, and the food and scents reminded me of Little India in Penang, and more remotely, of my travels in India several years previously.

I wanted to stay longer, but needed to return to Chinatown to move out of my horrendous hostel, so I had to content myself with just a brief walk through the neighborhood, and a promise to return another day. I consulted the map, and found that I was relatively close to a monorail stop (KL has LRT, MRT and monorail services), which via a roundabout route could take me to the far side of Chinatown. 


I thought the raised monorail would also be an easy way to do some sightseeing whilst also travelling home.


I did not realise that many other tourists have the same idea as me, nor that it is also very convenient for many local people, nor that many trains have only two carriages.


This was the result:

It was stifingly hot, and so crowded that I could not even reach a handhold and I consequently fell onto a Malay man's lap several times in my struggle to stay upright amid the jostling and elbow-jousting. 

I have never been more glad to hear my stop announced, and be able to shove myself through the masses into the heat and light of a station platform. 

Blissfully liberated, I returned to my hostel to collect my bags (and Pikachu). The poor cleanliness of my hostel had lead me to the previous night sending out a last-minute Couchsurfing request, and I was incredibly lucky that my host Jonathan replied and offered me a place to stay. 

I ordered an Uber to his apartment, as the taxis in KL are not the best, and grabbed a shower and a cup of tea while he went to the gym, and then we headed out to Bangsar district for an amazing banana-leaf meal followed by coconut ice cream. Sadly I forgot to photograph anything, even though Jonathan suggested I should. My argument is that the food was too delicious that I preferred to eat it than photograph it. 

We headed back fairly early, as my host had work early the following day, and I had a brilliant night's sleep in a comfy bed. Heaven.

I only realised when I was writing this that I never took any photos of Jonathan and I together. There are photos from later days however, which I will slot into future posts. I assure you, he exists :)

DSP

Useful Information:

• The breakfast noodles I ate can only be found at specific stalls in Chinatown. The stall I ate at is located on Jalan Hang Lekir, between Jalan Petaling and Jalan Sultan. From Jalan Petaling, it is on the right hand side about halfway down the road hidden behind the tourist stalls, but has a banner with a picture of the noodles outside on the road. 
• Pasar Seni (Central Market) is located just two minutes from Chinatown, and sits across from a LRT station with the same (Malay) name.
• The Muzium Tekstil Negara (National Textile Museum) is free, and sits on the south-east corner of the Merdeka. The textile gallery downstairs can be a little wearing, but the jewellery and clothing galleries upstairs are more interesting.
• The KL City Gallery costs RM5 to enter, but upon entry, you are given a voucher for the same value which you can spend in the cafe or gift shop, which was a brilliant idea. The gallery is fairly small, but the 'Spectacular City Model Show' upstairs is alone reason to go, as it was absolutely superb. The cafe is cheap if a little lacking in atmosphere, and the gift shop is overpriced like every other gift shop.
• Little India is centred on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, but is fairly spread out and has no discernable centre. It is easily within walking distance of the Merdeka.