Friday - March 18, 2005

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I have to admit that Kuala Lumpur left me distinctly underwhelmed. To be fair, it was a very hot and humid day, and the city does not easily lend itself to sightseeing on foot, as we soon discovered. So we quickly changed our game plan and managed to salvage the day, but I think we did not see the best that Kuala Lumpur has to offer. At least, I hope not.

We had an hour bus ride in from our port and then were dropped in an area they call the Golden Triangle, an area that didn't even exist when Mike visited here about 21 years ago! This is the city center now, where one can find the KL Tower, the Petronas Towers (the world's tallest buildings), and shops galore. We wanted to see old Kl, so we took a taxi over to the Central Market and set off on foot. Big mistake. We walked about a mile in the baking sun through streets that were jammed with traffic, and although I was enjoying the horizon of minarets, domes, skyscrapers and towers, we soon decided we wanted some shade, peace and quiet.

So we grabbed a taxi, negotiated a price with the driver to hire him for a few hours, and headed off to the Lake Gardens area, a park southwest of the city. First we visited a Butterfly farm. It was fascinating to wander through the cools gardens, with gorgeous butterflies circling overhead and carp splashing in the ponds at our feet. I could have spent hours there photographing the flowers and butterflies, but time was marching on. Our driver then took us down the road to the Orchid Garden where we enjoyed the profusion of varieties on display. Orchids are amazing for their diversity of color, size, and growing conditions. But we had one more stop to make, so back to the taxi for a short drive over to the Aviary which housed an incredible number of birds. We saw ibises, parrots, toucans, hornbills, owls, flamingoes, ostriches, peacocks, etc., etc., etc.! It was quite fascinating.

Our short time in the city ended all too soon, and it was time to get back to the meeting point for the bus, so we cut our visit short and roared off. I think I really can't make a judgement on KL, because I just didn't see enough to get a good feel for the city, which is a pity. But it was great to see the Petronas Towers, if only from a distance, because they really are quite something. But now we head out across the Bay of Bengal to Sri Lanka, which we loved it when we visited it about 10 or so years ago.