No, I did not get lost in KL, nor did anything bad happen. I just didn't find the time or place to write, while I was staying in hostels on the road. And when I got home, the "business-as-usual" got the better of me.
But here I am now, to write down what I saw, experienced and learned.
On my first day in KL I left the hostel very early. According to the weather forecast there should have been rain showers throughout the day and I just wanted to catch a glimpse of the city from above - the KL TV Tower. You may wonder, why I didn't go up the Petronas Twin Towers ... after all, probably the most prominent landmark. Well, according to many reviews I read on Tripadvisor, it was much more worthwhile to go up the TV tower, to see the Twins from above. Moreover, to get to the Petronas Skybridge you have to queue for tickets early in the morning as places are limited. And I didn't want to queue and then find out there would be no ticket for me.
When I got to KL Menara (the TV tower) the visitor's deck was still closed! I thought this was hilarious, since I usually have a problem getting up before 8 AM, but while traveling, it seemed so easy to get up at dawn.
From above I saw a modern city with lots of highrises scattered around, green areas and hills in the background. It could have been any modern city anywhere. Most impressive, of course, were the Petronas Twins. I have to admit, I have a soft spot for tall buildings. Maybe, because I'm tall myself? :-)
However, tall buildings are even more impressive from the ground, standing beneath them. And so was I, standing at the foot of the Twins, admiring the architecture. As my luck would have it, the sun came out and the skies were without a single cloud. As the Germans say "Postkartenwetter" - weather to make postcards. I walked around a bit, through a little park that's on the back side of the towers, but then I felt I had enough of "modern stuff" and went looking for some "more real" KL.
It wasn't very difficult to find. It's funny, how new highrises are in the next street to some old run-down houses, where people hang their clothes out of their windows for drying. And about drying ... I wonder how anything can actually dry in more than 90% air humidity!
So there I was, walking around the empty backstreets of KL. I guess people in those hot and humid climates avoid walking as much as possible, but then again, I have to "walk a city" to get a feeling for it.
My first lunch in KL was my first true local experience. I walked past a few local restaurants, but it wasn't easy to pluck up the courage and just walk in, sit down and order food. Most of the places I saw only had male guests and I wasn't sure I wouldn't be offending someone or breaking some etiquette if I just came in.
And then I spotted a blonde girl, sitting alone in a restaurant full with men wearing turbans. Nobody paid any attention to her, but for me, she was a life-saver. I finally plucked up the courage and went in.
I wasn't really sure what I ordered, all those exotic names ... but it was good and of course spicy as hell!
I continued walking in the afternoon, down Jalan Bukit Bintang and I finished walking in the Masjid Jamek - a mosque. So after all these Buddhist temples I visited in Thailand, this was the first mosque I ever saw in real life and of course I had to go in. I was wearing long pants and had a shawl to cover my head, but that was not enough to satisfy the mosque guard. I had to borrow one of the over-robes they give out to toursits who need to be dressed appropriately to enter a mosque. The guard also told me that I'm not allowed to enter the praying area, but I wouldn't have wanted to disturb the people in there anyway. There were no other tourists except a Chinese-looking guy, who asked me to take his photo and for the third and last time on my 44-day trip I asked someone to take a photo of me. Being in a mosque, all covered to respect Muslim rules, seemed worthwhile to break my rule of never posing in front of sights. (my other two photos were taken, because people offered to take them and I didn't want to offend).
It was the eve of the first day of the Chinese New Year and since the hostel was located close to China Town, it was impossible to get any local food! A Chinese girl I met at the hostel suggested we try a Chinese place in the street where our hostel was, however after initially suggesting that we pay double the usual price, because of CNY, the waiter quickly changed her mind and said, we can't get any food, because of CNY! Lesson learned: when you're in areas inhabited by Chinese, expect all businesses to be closed and the streets deserted around CNY.
We had to eat at McDonald's of all places!
So that was day one of Kuala Lumpur.
But here I am now, to write down what I saw, experienced and learned.
On my first day in KL I left the hostel very early. According to the weather forecast there should have been rain showers throughout the day and I just wanted to catch a glimpse of the city from above - the KL TV Tower. You may wonder, why I didn't go up the Petronas Twin Towers ... after all, probably the most prominent landmark. Well, according to many reviews I read on Tripadvisor, it was much more worthwhile to go up the TV tower, to see the Twins from above. Moreover, to get to the Petronas Skybridge you have to queue for tickets early in the morning as places are limited. And I didn't want to queue and then find out there would be no ticket for me.
When I got to KL Menara (the TV tower) the visitor's deck was still closed! I thought this was hilarious, since I usually have a problem getting up before 8 AM, but while traveling, it seemed so easy to get up at dawn.
From above I saw a modern city with lots of highrises scattered around, green areas and hills in the background. It could have been any modern city anywhere. Most impressive, of course, were the Petronas Twins. I have to admit, I have a soft spot for tall buildings. Maybe, because I'm tall myself? :-)
However, tall buildings are even more impressive from the ground, standing beneath them. And so was I, standing at the foot of the Twins, admiring the architecture. As my luck would have it, the sun came out and the skies were without a single cloud. As the Germans say "Postkartenwetter" - weather to make postcards. I walked around a bit, through a little park that's on the back side of the towers, but then I felt I had enough of "modern stuff" and went looking for some "more real" KL.
It wasn't very difficult to find. It's funny, how new highrises are in the next street to some old run-down houses, where people hang their clothes out of their windows for drying. And about drying ... I wonder how anything can actually dry in more than 90% air humidity!
So there I was, walking around the empty backstreets of KL. I guess people in those hot and humid climates avoid walking as much as possible, but then again, I have to "walk a city" to get a feeling for it.
My first lunch in KL was my first true local experience. I walked past a few local restaurants, but it wasn't easy to pluck up the courage and just walk in, sit down and order food. Most of the places I saw only had male guests and I wasn't sure I wouldn't be offending someone or breaking some etiquette if I just came in.
And then I spotted a blonde girl, sitting alone in a restaurant full with men wearing turbans. Nobody paid any attention to her, but for me, she was a life-saver. I finally plucked up the courage and went in.
I wasn't really sure what I ordered, all those exotic names ... but it was good and of course spicy as hell!
I continued walking in the afternoon, down Jalan Bukit Bintang and I finished walking in the Masjid Jamek - a mosque. So after all these Buddhist temples I visited in Thailand, this was the first mosque I ever saw in real life and of course I had to go in. I was wearing long pants and had a shawl to cover my head, but that was not enough to satisfy the mosque guard. I had to borrow one of the over-robes they give out to toursits who need to be dressed appropriately to enter a mosque. The guard also told me that I'm not allowed to enter the praying area, but I wouldn't have wanted to disturb the people in there anyway. There were no other tourists except a Chinese-looking guy, who asked me to take his photo and for the third and last time on my 44-day trip I asked someone to take a photo of me. Being in a mosque, all covered to respect Muslim rules, seemed worthwhile to break my rule of never posing in front of sights. (my other two photos were taken, because people offered to take them and I didn't want to offend).
It was the eve of the first day of the Chinese New Year and since the hostel was located close to China Town, it was impossible to get any local food! A Chinese girl I met at the hostel suggested we try a Chinese place in the street where our hostel was, however after initially suggesting that we pay double the usual price, because of CNY, the waiter quickly changed her mind and said, we can't get any food, because of CNY! Lesson learned: when you're in areas inhabited by Chinese, expect all businesses to be closed and the streets deserted around CNY.
We had to eat at McDonald's of all places!
So that was day one of Kuala Lumpur.
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