So here i am,
Flying from Ireland to Kuala Lumpur was a much longer journey than i expected
although then again, my longest journey before that was to spain, so i realise how unprepared i was. Firstly in Shannon airport the flight was about half an hour late in taking off, because well it wouldnt be irish if it went to schedule. once we landed in Heathrow a bus was waiting at the rear of the plane to take us directly to the international exchange centre at terminal 4. I cannot stress how HUGE heathrow is for any of you who havent been, luckily finding my gate and terminal was no problem, however it was only after passing through customs i discovered one major problem, heathrow is a NON SMOKING complex, there is nowhere to smoke and you cannot leave the terminal if your flight is within 2 hours! pure evil. So I got some good 'ol british bangers and mash while waiting around and boarded the Malaysia Airlines flight in good time. Now im not a small person, I clock in at 6'4" so trying to remain comfortable even in my aisle seat was impossible. Thankfully being a B747-400 there is plenty of aisle space for walking around. Although at 4am (Irish time) only halfway through the flight I was in all kinds of pains and aches, walking had lost its appeal, and i do believe i watched every episode of american tv shows available in the in-flight entertainment. I must say the malaysian airlines crew are very nice and genuine people, food and drink was never far away. An elderly couple in front of me were celebrating their 50th anniversary so around mealtime the crew arrived with a bottle of moet champagne and flowers! other than that the flight was uneventful, short fits of sleep interrupted by screaming banshee children or strange cramps.
Landing in Kuala Lumpur i began to get an idea of the surroundings palm trees everywhere and red soil. From the airport the KL express train takes you directly to KL sentral (thats how they spell it) from here a moderately overpriced taxi took me to my destination. The Reggae guest house. AIR CONDITIONING!!! i now understand why everyone keeps going on about it. Thankfully it is standard everywhere so one just needs to step into any shop for some cool air. The hostel is very nice, modern and well furnished. After dropping off my bags and having a shower i guess it was around 9pm, so off i wandered into the markets of chinatown. Everything you could imagine is for sale here, and haggling is standard my first haggle was thrown upon me as a malay man managed to put a watch on my wrist as i pointed at something. "New rolex! very nice i give you good price!!" 300MR! (5/1 exchange rate so 5 euro is 1 ringit)
not a chance, "i dont even need a watch like this" walking away will get you a bargain apparently because as he talked on and on i finally talked him down from 60 euro to 10, and then walked away without buying it in the end. Valuable lesson learned for this evening though!
This morning I teamed up with a fellow resident from the hostel and we made our way to the petronas towers, we arrived at 9.30 and were still surprised to find a huge que waiting and a screen stating tickets were now being issued for 2.20pm...? No! Back out on the streets we found a row of little food stalls and open front cafes. Hygene... not to be dwelt upon here, just drink from a sealed can and eat something that's been cooked within an inch of its life, Banana Pancakes!! from here we wandered into the gigantic shopping complex adjoined to the towers.
I will admit it was quite surpising how western the mall is. Topman, Starbucks, Nandos, even O'Briens sandwich bar!! After a quick coffee we left and decided to split so he could continue north to meet friends while i forayed south to the KL Tower.
The Walk to the tower is an experience in itself, high rise buildings covered in glass and steel surrounded at ground level by tiny one room shops and restaraunts made from tin and dirt, an apple store next to street sellers or a bar that i cant tell if it was painted black or was just that way from age..
Upon reaching the tower I made my way to the top via the elevator 275 metres in 50 seconds! It was definitely a worthwhile experience not just for the view and scenery but also for the audio commentary supplied to each person along with a small iphone sized video player. This starts by telling you the history of the tower and its grounds, it then continues to guide you to each window and tell you what your looking at! excellent for someone on their first day. With the audio tour I learned of each of the buildings of note in the city, what goes on there, how to get there and what they all look like, a fantastic source of inspiration in the case of being overwhelmed by the vast city and its attractions.
Once on ground level again I ventured into the animal centre, first booth...? A 15ft long python followed by every reptile, serpent, arachnid, and rodent found in the local area! Even monkeys, one of which actually managed to swing up a branch, climb the cage push his arm through the bars and grab my iphone. All before i knew what was happening, long story short, I won. But i need a new phone cover!
From here i went for a good 2 hour trek through the forest surrounding the tower. now one might assume that due to being within a city and only covering 10 hectares it wouldnt be that interesting but you would be wrong, it was an incredible place. Deafening in parts with a Caucophony of crickets. all sorts of Flora and Fauna to be found. After this i made my way back to the streets and decided to walk back to the hostel... 2 hours later, i made it to the hostel. I didnt get lost by accident, more by design, the streets just draw you in and chinatown especially is irresistable. So for now I write this sitting in the hostel once more, tired but ready for more.
i will update again in the next few days once i have made a bit more of a mark on the city.
Talk Cha!!
