Kuala Lumpur, Day 3: Lake Gardens

(Day 3) 30th June 2015

Kuala Lumpur, for all of its many attractions and assets, is not easily navigable, especially on foot. It is bisected by multi-lane highways, overground train and metro lines, and several murky-looking rivers. Those same highways are snarled with traffic almost twenty-four hours a day, and queues for MRT and KTM tickets snake out of the stations. Apart from the necessary Uber cab ride into and out of the city from Jonathan’s apartment each morning and afternoon, I avoided as much as possible public transport and running in traffic.

I feel the above needs to be stated in explanation for my eclectic choice of attractions on my second day, when I focused on the area of KL known as the Lake Gardens. Originally the site of a sprawling botanical garden (Taman Tasik Perdana) and park during colonial rule, it has gradually included more and more non-botanical gardens. So while I did plan to visit the Taman Orkid (Orchid Park), I also wanted to visit the Islamic Arts Museum in the south of what was the gardens, and also the KL Bird Park, situated at its centre. It was an eclectic to-do list, but nevertheless an enjoyable day.

After a brilliant night’s sleep thanks to my generous Couchsurfing host, I arranged for an Uber to pick me up and drop me outside my first stop for the day: the Islamic Arts Museum.

For those among you who did not know, I do have a slight interest in Islamic Art, thanks to a paper I took in my final year of university which looked at Islamic Art (and Architecture, which in Islam is one and the same) which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was looking forward to seeing some familiar Arabic scripts, coins and art forms, and to expand my knowledge on the subject.

The museum, whilst relatively expensive, was exceedingly comprehensive and informative. There was a temporary photography and weaponry exhibitions on the first floor, and then upstairs holds the main exhibitions on ceramics, calligraphy, textiles, and architecture. 

The many collections of the Islamic Arts Musuem.

The ceramics were particularly beautiful, as much of the collection came from regions of the Islamic World famous for their pottery, often in shades of blue and turquoise contrasted with white, which are colour combinations I appreciate greatly. 

With much of the ceramic collection, I found myself wondering why it looked so similar to Victorian and Edwardian ceramics from Europe. Eventually, I felt guilty as what had been my Eurocentrism: Europe had copied the exotic styles of Middle Eastern and Asian Islamic pottery. 

Even as a history graduate, I make rookie errors in history at times.

Immaturely posing in the kid's discovery zone.

After several hours, I was growing tired of standing and starting to shiver from the fierce air conditioning, so I quickly skimmed through what I had not yet looked at, and after a quick peruse of the gift shop, I headed out of the museum and deeper into the Botanical Gardens. 

Are we still in a city here?

The Taman Orkid and KL Bird Park were situated opposite to each other across one of the many winding roads within the park. I had intended to do the KL Bird Park first, but I initially baulked at the RM50 entrance cost. After enjoying a few fried snacks in the cafe outside of the park, I resolved to do the (free) Taman Orkid first, and make a decision about the Bird Park whilst enjoying the gardens. 

Orchids are again a slightly unusual interest for a now 23 year old man, but I again have a very good reason for wanting to see them, namely that my grandma (Nana) was an orchid (and plant in general) enthusiast and as I spent much of my holidays when I was young visiting her, it was a hobby that I had picked up. 

The orchid garden was fairly small, but that made little difference to me as I had not paid anything for it. There were however many thousands of orchid plants tightly packed into the small garden. They were growing from the walls and hung down from the ceiling, and grew out of every available spot of dirt. The very abundance of orchids was unusual, coming from somewhere where orchids are (perhaps less so in the last few years) sold as a luxury present.

Of course I stopped to take photos of a few individual blooms that I liked. There was not the greatest variety of orchids in the garden, though that may have been because of the time of year, or because the garden only grew native Malaysian species.

When I had exhausted the adorable, small orchid garden, I walked back to the entrance, and crossed over to the Bird Park entrance, having decided that it was worth the RM50 (£9), which even in Malaysia could have gone a long way. 

What hides in those open-air enclosures??

It started well, as the entrance lead straight into a enclosure containing parakeets.

Cute, but no match for Monty's charms.

Argh....I've been caged!!!

In the next enclosure, there were larger water birds: herons, storks, and (for some unknown reason) hundreds of peacocks.

The bird had even colonised a cafe within their exclosure.


By colonised, I mean that they shit on enough of the tables that no one else wanted to go near them.

My kingdom...stay out!

By far the best aspect of the bird park was the parrot enclosure, where you could feed the birds sugary syrup out of small beakers. After some initial hesitancy, a somewhat orderly queue was soon formed:

This queue soon dissolved into squabbling and bickering for the best spots, but I nevertheless enjoyed spending time with some parakeets, albeit ones that are far bigger and more aggressive than my own parakeet at home. 

After I had spent a little more time with the parrots, and explored the final few enclosures, which contained yet more storks and peacocks, I headed towards the exit. In total, I spent less than two hours in the park, and found it in many ways to not be worth the money. The parrot enclosures were for me brilliant, but then that is more because of my love of small parrots than because of the park. It was overcrowded and poorly maintained, and as a result the health of some of the animals suffered. Several of the parrots had feather conditions which are easily treatable, which made me feel sorry for them. So while I did enjoy my trip, I am far from able to recommend the Bird Park, especially at the price it demands of its guests.


I had afterwards wanted to find a cafe nearby to get on with some blogging, but there was a distinct lack of food and drink options in the area, so instead I walked south towards the main road, and caught a free GO KL bus north to Little India where I enjoyed some a snack and some coffee before organising my Uber ride back to my host's apartment.


This evening, Jonathan decided we should do Bukit Bintang, the main entertainment district of the city. We got out of the taxi at the top of the road photographed below, and had an amazing meal at one of the many restaurants lining the road. The prawns cooked in honey and oats were especially delicious. 

Then we tried to make it to the foot of the Petronas towers for the 22:00pm sound-and-light show at the fountains beneath it, but unfortunately missed it, so I had to just settle for taking a few pictures of the Petronas towers by night instead, before heading back to sleep.

Pretty...

DSP



Useful Information:

• Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia costs RM14.85 (£2.50) to enter (they don't mention the tax online). Be sure to check out the temporary displays on the first floor, and the architectural models tucked away on the second floor.
• Taman Orkid is free on weekdays, and only RM1 on weekends and public holidays. It is fairly small, but the orchids were impressive (though nothing compared to Gardens by the Bay in Singapore).
• KL Bird Park was a pricey RM50, and not really worth it in my opinion, as within the park, EVERYTHING was extra. Furthermore, the health of some of the animals was far from brilliant, and they had too many birds in certain exclosures, which lead to poor health, and wading through bird shit in exposed footwear.

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.