Malaysia Part V: Kuala Lumpur

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur (KL for short) late on Thursday night. Not wanting to repeat my late night search for a guesthouse, I borrowed my taxi driver's phone to call a few places to see if rooms were still available. On the drive into town I had a very interesting conversation with the cab driver who, like almost everyone else I met, spoke very good English. We talked a lot about corruption and how it manifests itself in Malaysia, the typical tourist and tourist season, and the Hari Raya holiday. He was an incredibly nice guy and very sharp; part of me wondered why he was a cab driver. The guesthouse I stayed at, Le Village, wasn't nice, exactly, but it was cheap, well-located, and had a lot of character.

I woke up and set out early on Friday, heading for Masjid Jamek, a beautiful nearby mosque. It didn't open until 9:30, however, so I wandered somewhat aimlessly for the next hour. I went up through Little India - which really did feel like being in India - and popped into a bustling restaurant for breakfast. I had no idea what to get, so I just told the waiter to bring me whatever he recommended - some delicious dahl wrapped in naan and with four different sauces. As I ate, women in brightly colored saris gossiped and men smoked cigarettes and talked politics (not too long ago there were serious protests by the Malaysian Indian community who felt shortchanged by the government at the expense of ethnic Malays).

After breakfast, I continued my wandering around, passing beautiful Chinese temples and an intricately decorated Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple. Continuing on my tour of religious establishments, I made my way back to Masjid Jamek. The Moghul-influenced architecture was beautiful and the setting, at the confluence of two rivers dotted with palm trees, was equally impressive. Though unable to actually enter the mosque, I wandered around the premises and enjoyed this oasis of peaceful quiet within KL. The friendly Filipino imam even chatted with me for a few minutes.

From Masjid Jamek I walked over to Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), where Malaysia declared independence just over fifty years ago. The huge area of green was flanked by a beautiful mix of colonial and contemporary buildings, some housing government offices and others museums. Unfortunately, because of Raya, most of the museums were closed. Instead of learning about history, I opted for current events, grabbing a copy of The Straits Times, Malaysia's English-language newspaper and just sat in the park relaxing.

Back on the tourist trail, I made my way to the old train station, an absolutely gorgeous amalgamation of European and Malay architecture. Across the street was the almost as impressive offices of KTM, the Malaysian railway authority. From there, I walked over to the Masjid Negara (National Mosque), a modern mosque with a two-hundred foot minaret and a really interesting classically Islamic eight-sided star design covering the entire complex, from the marble walkways to the grass surrounding the palm trees. I made a quick, but worthwhile stop in the Lake Gardens, a huge park area, and the butterfly park contained there within.

Touristed out for the day, I took the impressively efficient and cheap commuter rail to the Petronas Towers, at over 1500 feet, recently the tallest building(s) in the world. Before admiring them, however, I went to enjoy an English-language movie, a comfort Phnom Penh does not have on offer. Though the movie I saw was terrible, it was really nice to plop down in an air conditioned and munch on popcorn and sip on a Coke. After the movie, I wandered around the mall, in sheer awe of the consumerism around me, a consumerism Cambodians can only dream of. While I didn't have any desire to shop, I did take advantage of the culinary delights on offer, like Dunkin' Donuts and Auntie Anne's Pretzels.

I left the mall to enjoy the view of the Petronas Towers, which were indeed quite beautiful, as well as the people watching, which was fantastic. There were stylishly dressed teenagers (I did find it a bit ironic that it was acceptable for teenage girls to wear tight jeans and a tight shirt along with their headscarf), lots of cute kids, and I think a pretty good taste of every day life for people living in KL. I sat and enjoyed for a couple of hours, waiting for the sun to set and the towers to be lit up. Now exhausted, I headed back to Le Village and called it a night.

I was up early on Saturday and walked over to Chinatown for breakfast - a couple of donuts and a curry puff. After a bit more wandering, I got my stuff and headed for the bus station to catch a bus to Melaka.

While I don't typically like big cities when I'm traveling, Kuala Lumpur (or KL) really grew on me. I was intrigued by KL's ethnic diversity and history and its effects on the current city - a thriving Chinatown and Little India, fantastic cuisine, and beautiful architecture. If I had a choice of where to spend my time in Malaysia, KL wouldn't be anywhere near the top, but it turned out to be a wonderful place to spend a day and a half.