Kuala Lumpur

We arrived for our third time in Kuala Lumpur feeling almost like locals as we found our way back to the Classic Inn which was where we had stayed previously. It is a small hotel close to the Golden Triangle and the people are friendly. Breakfast of a roti cooked around an egg which you dip into a curry sauce, some fruit cubes—usually pineapple and watermelon, lightly toasted bread with honey and coffee and lukewarm tea is included. I did insist on “very hot” tea and it got a little warmer—not their best thing!!

We had five days in KL as we needed to apply and get our Myanmar visas so were able to explore the city in a leisurely manner.

Our first venture was past the old colonial railway buildings to the Islamic Museum. This was a lovely new building with an impressive collection of clothing, arts and crafts from the Islamic world. Ken was impressed by the various weapons most of which were carved and decorated with amazing complexity.

Next stop was the bird park on 20 acres of land which has been totally netted and the birds all live inside—by the look of the escaped birds which perched on the outside of the nets trying to figure out how to get back in I think they are well fed and happy.

The variety was amazing and it was well done. As we sat in the restaurant we were able to watch the hornbills and egrets close by. They put on a show which they had a variety of trained parrots doing tricks—would be frowned on in North America these days but in Asia is still enjoyed.

This time in KL we seemed to have coincided with the rainy season and like clockwork every day between 4 and 5pm the skies open and torrential rains pour down. We had intended visiting the orchid garden but as the rains came down we changed plans quickly.

The following day we made our way back to the lovely orchid garden where locals were purchasing orchids for a very little money to take home to enjoy. The hibiscus gardens were next—the hibiscus is Malaysia’s national flower and the bright colours are common around all of the houses.
The butterfly garden nearby was yet another large netted area with a lot of colourful flowers where many beautiful butterflies flew around.

We made our way back to the Central Market just as the rain came down—the sewer drains cannot handle the downpour so add to the chaos on the streets. Our umbrellas had been spreading rust all over our clothes after so many years on the boat so we had wisely to buy 2 Yves Laurent umbrellas—at $6 each we suspect they are not originals!!!!!! We were the envy of unwary tourists as we were able to make our way around keeping relatively dry.

Early on Monday morning we made our way to the Myanmar embassy. We had been told to bring copies of air tickets, hotel bookings and itinerary’s which we had laboriously done. We were also warned that we should have an agent booked with a letter from them—we did not want to use one so were hoping with the other documents it would suffice. Upon arrival we joined the long line waiting to apply. They are not organized at all and the first challenge was to get to the wicket window to get an application which you then filled and went back to the end of the line to wait. Luckily with the two of us there we were able to keep our place in the increasing line of hopeful applicants. Once we got to the front of the line we found that tourism is increasing so fast the restrictions’ have been relaxed. All that was required was our passports with a copy of each and two photos. For $35 each they would be ready the next day. After an hour or two in line we were able to leave and would return between 4 and 5pm the next day.

The next day we arrived to find many of the people we had been with the day before were in the line with us again.

Of course the daily rainfall created issues and umbrellas were shared as we stood in line yet again for an hour. It appeared that travel agents who were picking up dozens of passports and were using the same window as the rest of us. As 5pm neared we were worried that they would just close up and tell us to return the next day. Fortunately the threat of creating a mass riot common sense prevailed and they remained open until everyone received their passports back complete with visas.

The rest of our time in KL was spent wandering around the city. The number and sheer size of the shopping malls are overwhelming—Kuala Lumpur has dozens with various pricing levels. One at 9 floors high has a roller coaster, pool hall and a bowling alley—West Edmonton Mall eat your heart out!!

A nearby one was like a rabbit warren which seemed to go off in all directions and was also 7 floors high.

Christmas  decorations are being put up everywhere—the advantage in this country is that you firstly have Hari Raja—the Muslim celebrations after fasting, then Deepavali—the Indian festival of lights, then Christmas and that will be followed by Chinese New Year. All are celebrated with national holidays and it seems that for 2 months there is continual reason for celebration. It was odd watching Muslims complete with headscarves posing in front of the Xmas decorations for photos. Santa was not there—not sure if he is too busy in the North Pole or perhaps the white beard would frighten the children who are used to dark complexions. Perhaps that concept was just a little too much. Somehow I suspect that the prime motivation of the whole thing was to sell more merchandise—how westernized these people have become!!

I will be quite happy not to go into another shopping mall for a long time!!

Food selections are wide and for one dinner at an Italian restaurant we had delicious homemade veal ravioli in a porcini mushroom sauce—yum!! We were able to avoid rice and noodles as we have had so much in the last while and suspect Myanmar will offer lots more.

The following day would be our last full day and we spent it depositing funds into the bank accounts of the company shipping our goods to Canada and the balance for the coffee tables we had bought in Kuching. Once we leave Kuala Lumpur it will be difficult to do it. We had yet one more parcel to send back to Canada and Malaysia is by far the easiest and cheapest place to do this from.

We truly understand why people choose to move here in retirement—for us the heat would be the biggest disincentive but if you are looking for a tropical country where English is understood and is rapidly developing Malaysia is hard to be surpassed.

Finally it was time to leave Malaysia after a wonderful year here. We have loved the country and the warm, generous friendly people. It is one of the easiest countries to travel in and we will have such lovely memories of our time here.