The starkly clean and sterile air conditioned bubble of Kuala Lumpur with its unnerving orderliness and calm adds a few drops of culture shock to spice up The Grand Asian Tour. Our visit is brief but sufficient to observe the peaceful people, the interesting blend of three cultures and sample their cuisine – Indian, Chinese and Malay. Warmly hosted by a lovely couple through Couchsurfing.
Tubular sky trains bullet on stone stilted runways, weaving through a forest of high rise sparkling glass buildings, reminiscent of a 1980s child's comic vision of the future, carrying ageless young Malaysians to work with staggered rush hours syncing working hours with Europe and the USA (locals who service American companies with their outsourced accounts department need to work night shifts). Below the looming tower blocks white businessmen in beige chinos and fit blonde women join them jogging on the relaxed commute to the corporate office blocks of multinational financial firms.
All the tourist leaflets we acquire dictate to visit the city's fantastic shopping malls and obediently we comply, anxious about the potential cost of our mushrooming shopping wish list* after 3 and a half months on the road. Happy to escape the creeping thick heat, we wander dazed the sharply cold malls, condemned men, paying painful prices for iced cappuccinos and tuna sandwiches – an uncanny delicious slice of an easy urban life we have known and will surely live again! The globally generic malls are shiny and depressing with European stores selling clothes at inflated prices (more expensive than London!) so we go local and back to the familiar bartering with the hardcore Chinese street vendors.
Tubular sky trains bullet on stone stilted runways, weaving through a forest of high rise sparkling glass buildings, reminiscent of a 1980s child's comic vision of the future, carrying ageless young Malaysians to work with staggered rush hours syncing working hours with Europe and the USA (locals who service American companies with their outsourced accounts department need to work night shifts). Below the looming tower blocks white businessmen in beige chinos and fit blonde women join them jogging on the relaxed commute to the corporate office blocks of multinational financial firms.
We phlitter a frenetic Monday in the bland conglomeration of KL starting with an early morning visit to the Myanmar Embassy, a disorderly courtyard crowded with the farcical drama of young Burmese applying to visit their own country.
All the tourist leaflets we acquire dictate to visit the city's fantastic shopping malls and obediently we comply, anxious about the potential cost of our mushrooming shopping wish list* after 3 and a half months on the road. Happy to escape the creeping thick heat, we wander dazed the sharply cold malls, condemned men, paying painful prices for iced cappuccinos and tuna sandwiches – an uncanny delicious slice of an easy urban life we have known and will surely live again! The globally generic malls are shiny and depressing with European stores selling clothes at inflated prices (more expensive than London!) so we go local and back to the familiar bartering with the hardcore Chinese street vendors.
After the tedious shopping trip we have chance to see one of the more interesting sights and dine on duck in the street at Chinatown and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere. Then onto an extortionately expensive Irish pub which could be anywhere in the world.
With more time and more money it would be interesting to explore Malaysia further and importantly eat more delicious Malaysian food. For this trip it is too expensive and modern and the monsoon is still drenching the easterly beaches so swiftly onto Myanmar and back to basics.
After letting our guard down on departing India we were scammed by an Indian taxi driver on the way to KL Airport.....you can escape India but.....
*Shopping List
- Underpants (priority item due to pant disintegration)
- Trainers
- Big backpack (the cunning plan to bring a small “lighter” backpack backfired because one can't fit enough bloody stuff in it – travellers take note)
- Vests
- Flip flops
- MP3 Player (uncheck, not achieved, still stuck with ancient sporadically working ipod)
- Camera (uncheck, we can't afford it, stuck with shit Indian camera we bought after losing good one)
- Gel ear plugs (also disappointingly not achieved, the additional supplies we had brought to India at Christmas already black, again travellers take note to bring plenty – in the top 5 essential travel items – with head torch, washing line, mosquito repellent and small laptop)
= Luis Vuitton wallet (fake) & gold watch & DVD laptop attachment (spontaneous buys)
Stocks of gifts to distribute to poor isolated schools and families in Myanmar (random selection bought in a frantic last minute dash to the bargain store of books, pens, toys, multicoloured hairbands)
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