2 March Kuala Lumpur
Although I had to get up at a very early 3 a.m. for
my flight to Kuala Lumpur, it was worth doing to get me to my destination at a
convenient time even though I would be ‘losing’ 2½ hours in time zones. I
finished packing, then set out on foot in the cool of the morning to the
Nandanam Metro, where I had to wait about 20 minutes for the ticket booth to
open. At 10 minutes before 5 a.m. I got the Rs. 30 ticket, then was directed
through two gates and an X-ray machine before I could descend the steps to the
platform. Here I had to be careful not to wait at the doors for the women-only
carriages. The train came on time, then I had a smooth ride to the airport stop
at the end of the line. The Metro stations and train are bright and clean, far
nicer than bumping my way by taxi. A longish walk in a covered passageway
brought me to the international terminal and the Air Asia check-in line.
Everything went smoothly and by 6 a.m. I was checked in. Security and
immigration went OK, though boarding began only a little before the scheduled
8:05 a.m. departure time. A helpful cabin crewmember helped secure my seat,
which had been taken by another passenger. (I had paid extra for the window
seat, checked bag, and a meal.) Air Asia Flight AK 10 took off into the hazy sky
on an Airbus A320, then turned east over the coast and Bay of Bengal. Soon my
vegetable biryani and bottle of water arrived, and I paid extra for a hot teh
tarik, the Malaysian milk tea. Air Asia flights lack frills such as
entertainment screens, but I could track the flight progress on my phone’s gps
and got to see several of the very remote and zero-touristed Nicobar Islands,
inhabited by hostile tribes. I couldn’t see any signs of towns or roads on the
low-lying and thickly-forested islands, ringed by white beaches. Pretty clouds
of different types and altitudes appeared along the flight path. Clouds hung
over Malaysia, but I got views of a mining area and the vast oil palm
plantations before landing after a flight of about 3½ hours.
Malaysian
immigration was overwhelmed and I had to wait a long time in a long line before
getting my free 90-day entry permit. Customs put all baggage through an X-ray
machine, probably part of the country’s anti-drug abuse policy. I had landed at
KLIA 2, the huge section of airport used by Air Asia and other low-cost
carriers, though it seemed far less busy than my last time here in 2018. I
didn’t feel a pressing need to have a sim card for my phone with just eight days
in Malaysia, but the cards were so cheap that I got one from Celcom. To reach
the city center I bought a KL TravelPass to cover the train both ways and plus
local transportation. Although a bus would be cheaper, the train is much faster
and smoother with a non-stop service direct to KL Sentral in the middle of Kuala
Lumpur. On arrival I could have walked the 1.5 kilometers to my Airbnb room, but
I had already had a long day and opted for a taxi. The taxis waiting outside KL
Sentral asked a high price for the short ride, so I tried the Grab taxi app on
my phone and got a much better deal. Heavy rain started, so I was glad not to be
walking! My room was on the 11th floor of the high-rise Dua Sentral by Five
Senses, and I simple checked in at the front desk. I had paid $239.80
($30/night) for eight nights including cleaning, service, and taxes. It’s an
apartment and one of the nicest places I’ve every stayed with a bedroom, sitting
room, kitchen area, and a bath with separate shower and tub, plus there’s a good
view of the Hindu temples and shops of Brickfield, a predominantly Indian area.
3 March Kuala Lumpur
Gray skies persisted all day and the air felt
pleasantly cool. I took it easy, then headed out to Brickfields for a late South
Indian lunch of idly and tomato uttapam along with a sweet lassi, masala tea,
and a banana split at TAAL Authentic Cuisine. While dining a thunderstorm rolled
by and dropped a lot of rain, but storm had passed by the time I finished.
Southern Malaysia has been having floods and there’s hardly any sunshine for
Kuala Lumpur in the week ahead. That’s not a major problem for me as I plan to
mostly be visiting art and other museums here.
4 March Kuala Lumpur
Again clouds filled the sky all day, though I didn’t see any rain. I stayed in
my room and tackled the updating my website with pages for the Trang Islands
kayak trip of January and this current India-Kuala Lumpur-Philippines backpack
journey.
5 March Kuala Lumpur
The sun broke through with partly
cloudy skies this Sunday. I got together with long-time Indian friend, Tanvinder
Singh, whom I had met back in 1995 when he was a student living in Kathgodam, a
town tucked in a valley below the Himalayan foothills of India’s Uttarakhand
state. I was riding old Bessie the Bicycle on my second India bicycle ride, from
Kathmandu to New Delhi, part of a round-the-world trip that would reach
completion with visits to four of the Arab Gulf states, then the long haul from
Damascus in Syria to the European continent’s westernmost point at Cabo da Roca
in Portugal. I had come through Kathgodam to visit the mountain town of
Nainital, set beside a lake high in the hills. Years later Tanvinder found me on
the internet, then we got together a few times when he was living in Gurgaon
(Gurugram), southwest of New Delhi. He works in IT and has been living with his
wife and daughter in Kuala Lumpur since 2019. Tan picked me up and we drove
northeast to the green hills in the area where he lives, then we had a fine
lunch at Namaste India Hartamas—which Tan describes as New Delhi-style—of kedai
paneer and dal makani with appetizers of panipuri and samosas. It was great to
connect again with him and catch up on life!
6 March Kuala Lumpur
The
weather forecasts for the week turned out to be wrong. Sunshine ruled much of
the day with increasing clouds during the late afternoon. I took a Grab taxi for
the short but convoluted drive northwest to one of the city’s most delightful
sights, KL Bird Park
https://www.klbirdpark.com/home with what’s said to feature the world’s
largest walk-through aviaries. There’s enough space for even large birds to fly
freely, and because the birds have become accustomed to human visitors they let
us get very close. It’s a paradise for photographers. Two lakes provide hangouts
for water-loving birds such as flamingos, pelicans, storks, and geese. Peacocks
roam freely and the colorful males often spread their feathers in hopes of
getting the attention of a female, though the ladies seemingly paid no
attention. Crowned pigeons—the largest pigeon species—also wander about.
Yellow-billed storks, doves, egrets and ibises fly or hop about in large
numbers. Smaller aviaries house parrots of many kinds, bulbuls (a popular song
bird pet bird in this part of the world), brahminy kites, hornbills, and love
birds. Flightless birds—ostriches, emus, and cassowaries—are confined to fields
with sturdy fences. I sat down for the Bird Show of colorful parrots who can
talk or do clever tricks. Foreigner admission is 75 ringgits ($16.75) and well
worth it for the chance to get close to so many different kinds of birds.
I walked back to my hotel, passing the very pretty National Mosque of Malaysia
with its contemporary architecture and star-shaped roof covered in tiles of deep
blue and turquoise. I also went past the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station,
lavishly decorated with Mughal-style domes and towers. In the distance I enjoyed
a view of Merdeka 118, a striking new glass skyscraper with fluted sides and an
offset spire. I continued to Brickfields and TAAL Authentic Cuisine, where I
went with a North Indian malai kofta, but had to pick out the excessive amount
of chili peppers, onions, and coriander from the sauce. An Indian sweet
purchased here had a bad taste, perhaps from improper storage near mothballs.
7 March Kuala Lumpur
Sunshine radiated from blue skies most of the day.
In the morning I worked on writing and photo projects, then filled out an online
eTravel form required for the upcoming visit to the Philippines. After the
computer stuff I walked to the National Mosque of Malaysia via a section of the
Klang River. The mosque wasn’t open at the time, so I continued to the very
pretty Islamic Art Museum, a large white contemporary building with domes,
courtyards, and glass walls. I started with two temporary shows, “Keris: Power
and Identity” about the ceremonial knife—typically with a wavy blade—that has
long been prized by people of Malaysia and Indonesia. Next I wandered among the
large photos about Uzbekistan’s people, architecture, and crafts. The main
exhibit halls show exceptionally beautiful and diverse decorative arts from the
Islamic world along with sacred texts, secular texts, astrolabes, and
architectural models of notable mosques. In the India section I especially liked
the finely detailed Mughal miniature paintings. Colorful ceramics come from
Turkey, Iran, and Uzbekistan. Jewels and gold glitter in their showcases.
Clothing and carpets show great intricacy.
When closing time neared I
walked back to the National Mosque of Malaysia, now open, to admire the vast
interior and its stained glass, then stroll along the breezy walkways past blue
pools.
Over in Brickfields I tried the Vege Chat, a vegetarian Punjabi
restaurant where the ‘mutton’ and ‘chicken’ dishes are made with texture
vegetable protein. I went with a paneer pakora, palak paneer, butter nan, sweet
lassi, and a lime soda—all with good flavors. Brickfields’ South Indian temples
had attracted a good crowd and tables offered free food.
8 March Kuala
Lumpur
Again the day dawned sunny, then clouds moved in during late
afternoon. I got to work on writing the journal, sorting photos, and updating
website pages. All that took a lot of time and the day slipped away as I slowly
progressed through the projects. In the evening I returned to Vege Chat and
tried the butter chicken—veggie bits in a rich sauce—along with a samosa chat
(samosa in a bed of chick peas and sauce), jeera rice, sweet lassi, and lime
soda.
9 March Kuala Lumpur
The usual weather repeated with lots of
sunshine until clouds rolled over in late afternoon. Tonight at 1:35 a.m. I
would be flying to the Philippines, so after fixing a little breakfast, I packed
up, checked out, and stored my bags behind reception. A short walk across
Brickfields brought me to Tun Sambanthan station, where I got on Kuala Lumpur’s
only monorail line for the ride to Titiwangsa station in the northeast of the
city. The ride is more leisurely than on light rail lines, but the track is
elevated and all the seats face out the side windows so everyone can enjoy the
urban scenery. On arrival I got a taxi for a quick ride east to the
pyramid-shaped National Art Gallery, where admission is free but I had to sign
in with a QR code. I enjoyed wandering the galleries to see the many intriguing
paintings and sculptures. Just inside the entrance a Chinese woman artist had
erected “Once Upon a Longtang,” a high tunnel-like frame of bamboo with large
paintings and hanging laundry, predominantly in red as that’s her favorite
color. This art installation is her attempt to replicate the old crowded and
messy neighborhood of her grand aunties and uncles where she had stayed as a
student studying architecture. Her elderly relatives had died during Covid
times—from old age, not from Covid—and the neighborhood had been demolished for
new developments, so the artist wished to keep the memory of the place alive.
She created the large paintings by burning red calligraphy paper onto cloth,
which left a bright red trace.
Galleries on three floors held an
incredibly diverse display of art—wooden tribal sculptures, watercolors and
drawings of Malaysia by 19th and early 20th-century British artists, modern art,
and contemporary art. One gallery illustrated the 16th-century history of
Enrique de Malacca, a man who may have been the first person to circumnavigate
the world. When the Portuguese—including Ferdinand Magellan—conquered Malacca in
present-day Malaysia, he was taken prisoner then became a valuable assistant to
Magellan because of his linguistic and other skills. He spent time in Portugal,
then Spain, before joining Magellan and the Spanish Armada in an attempt to
reach the Spice Islands by heading west across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
After Magellan’s death in the Philippines, Enrique de Malacca continued with the
remaining ships and got off when he reached Malacca, completing an amazing yet
little documented journey.
After the museum closed, taxis didn’t seem an
easy option, so I walked back to Titiwangsa station, catching a bit of rain on
the way. Heavy rain fell as the monorail slowly made its way south, and I got
off just beyond the rain storm. A drizzle sprung up as I walked to Vege Chat,
where I had a chicken palak, butter nan, and lime soda as rain fell. Luckily I
had dry weather for the short walk back to my hotel, where I picked up my bags
from reception. I then sat down to catch up on journal writing.
My
phone’s sim card had expired, but the hotel security guard secured a Grab taxi
for me to KL Sentral, where I got on a KLIA Espres train back to the airport’s
Terminal 2. Check-in for Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 502 at Counter Z went smoothly.
The agent requested to see my onward ticket from the Philippines and the QR code
for the Philippines eTravel. Again, customs had everyone send their carry-on
bags through an x-ray machine. And very unlike my arrival in Malaysia, the
departure immigration had no line at all. Nor did I have to wait at security. I
enjoyed this short visit to Kuala Lumpur, taking it easy with four days of going
out and four days of staying in. And I look forward to the next visit, hopefully
a longer one.