KUALA LUMPUR

We got the metro back across town from Titiwangsa to Bangsar and met up with Modge. He and his wife Tammie have been living in Kuala Lumpur for the last few years and now have two little boys, Lucas and Finlay, and a large house in a nice part of the city. We spent the evening catching up then the next day sightseeing, KL is a real melting pot of different cultures with Chinese, Malays (Muslims) and Tamils (Hindus) living side by side in relative harmony although the Malays run the country and give preferential treatment to the Muslim population despite the Chinese being in the majority.

We started our tour at Masjid Jamek, the central mosque, which was closed for Friday prayers, then saw Merdeka Square with its British tudor-style building on one side and an ornate Islamic building on the other. We walked into Chinatown and saw a Buddhist temple called Chan See Shu Yuen, followed by a peaceful Hindu temple called Sri Maha Mariamman where we sat on the floor of the cool, open-air building watching the local people pray and meditate. We had lunch at the 'Old China Café', a recommendation from Tammie, one of the few remaining old style restaurants in Chinatown with old antiques, feng shui mirrors and wooden saloon doors.

We walked through Central Market to the Masjid Negara, the National Mosque, a modern building with a blue geometric roof. Unfortunately it was also closed for Friday prayers so instead we visited the Museum of Islamic Art which had exhibits on Islamic Architecture, the Koran and even a temporary photo exhibition sponsored by the British High Commission about the integration of Muslims into British life.
It was getting dark so we decided to get the monorail over to the KL Tower as Duncan, at least, wanted to see the sun set from the top. Despite being one of the tallest buildings in KL, finding the entrance proved a little difficult as we trudged up a steep hill with no signposts or directions. Emma decided against paying for the privilege of getting vertigo so Duncan went alone and saw the city lit up at night. Most impressive was the view of the nearby Petronas Towers, the world's tallest buildings until 2003. Later we met up with Modge and Tammie who took us to a great Indian restaurant where we had delicious curry served on large banana leaves, rather than plates.

Food featured pretty highly during our stay in KL and this was true of Saturday lunchtime when we went to a Chinese restaurant for a big meal of dim sum and other dishes including a first for us, phoenix claws. Emma didn't realise until half way through that the other name for the them is chicken feet! Pretty tasty although not much meat on them. Lucas was more interested in looking at the fish floating around in the tanks waiting to be cooked up in the kitchen.

In the afternoon, Modge drove us to Batu Caves on the outskirts of the city which contain a number of sacred Hindu shrines and temples set into the limestone hills. We had a coconut to provide us with energy before climbing up the 260 steep steps past the enormous gold statue of a Hindu god whilst at the same time dodging the evil-looking monkeys who live in the caves. The caves contain dozens of multi-coloured statues and murals portraying scenes from the Hindu scriptures. The view from the top of Kuala Lumpur in the distance was also pretty impressive. Unfortunately we had just missed the three day Thaipusam Festival when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converge on the caves and some even pierce their skin with steel hooks and skewers as an act of devotion. However, hundreds of brightly coloured market stalls selling all sorts of Indian spices, textiles and sweets were still doing a roaring trade at the foot of the steps and we wandered around them trying to remember which country we were in. With our limited knowledge of Malaysia prior to this trip, we had had no idea it would be such a diverse and interesting country with so many different cultures living side by side.

That evening, we drove out to Kuala Selangor, one and a half hours from KL, and saw one of the most spectacular sights of our whole trip. For only £2 each we were rowed down the Selangor River in a gondola-style boat and saw thousands of fireflies in the bushes beside the water. They flash their arses to attract the attention of the opposite sex and the effect made the bushes look like they were covered in small, bright, white flashing Christmas tree lights. A great way to spend Valentine's Day! Afterwards we went to a nearby seafood restaurant for a delicious dinner of fish, squid and prawns.

In a rare bit of a forward planning for Team West, we had booked our bus ticket from KL to Penang for the Sunday a few days beforehand. Nevertheless, we still very nearly managed to miss the bus due to a combination of reasons. Emma and Tammie had gone to the nearby village to get their eyebrows threaded for the princely sum of £1. They left late because Tammie's car wouldn't start as it was overheated - bit of a design flaw for a hot country like Malaysia! When they returned we had a race across town to get the bus which wasn't helped by the 'Le Tour de Langkawi' cycling race finishing in the city and blocking half the roads in KL. We made it just in time and quickly said our goodbyes before jumping on the bus and settling into our five hour journey north.