Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Rats, everywhere rats!!!
We decided to leave the sleepy fishing town of Mersing and pay 35 ringgit each (7pounds) to get to the famous city of Kuala LumpUR as everyone kept putting an emphasis on the UR!!! It was a VIP executive suite bus that was fitted with wide leather seats that reclined nearly into a bed! It was backpacker heaven and for 6 hours we were in luxury :) After a great 6 hours of reading, talking and reclining we made it to the hussling bus stop that was 20KM out of the city. Our lonely planet (LP) is 2 years old so it wasn't up to date with the fact that the bus stop we were supposed to be getting dropped off at was closed for refurbishment! So as a cab driver approached us asking us if we needed a lift, he laughed when we replied boldly that we were walking. After the blunder had been rectified we once again was on the road to KL!
At 8pm Kuala Lumpur was glittering with bright lights and lots of people, not unlike London, but once again cities don't change much. We walked straight to China Town as our LP told us that was the place to get a bargain. Tired, hungry, smelly and dazed we trudged to every backpacker we could find, and the hunt for the cheapest sleep began. We eventually found ourselves in a downpoor of rain and got ushered into a hostel from a guy with an umbrella! Luckily it was in our LP, called Le Village. It was a place of bohemian worship, reminded me of a well kept squat. All the furniture was old but artistic and the rooms were clean but basic. Great homely feel of a travellers den, a hide out from the bustling city. Because of its oldness it was the cheapest too with a double bed room for 32 ringgit a night (it was 35 but Dan pulled out his haggling card). So for just over 6pound a night we slept well in the city! We were only in KL for 2 days so we had to make the most of it.
The next morning we jumped on an incredibly complicated train system and made our way to the 'Petronas Towers'. We arrived at the station and was led into a humungous shopping mall. Frustrated that a Petronas sign could not be seen we asked a girl in a shop and she pointed us towards the exit. We were hoping to walk out and see the Petronas towers in front of us or around us, but when we 'exited' they were no where to be seen. Angry and somewhat belated we carried on walking and as we both stopped and smiled at each other, the Petronas Towers was behind us. It was the building we were just in! Happy and smiling we hopped up to the desk and asked for a ticket to get to the 41st floor (the bridge) to see the fantastic views. We were turned away and told that it was not open on Mondays! Sad and miserable we trudged away, heads bowed. We were typical tourists taking pictures of the ginormous towers! It looks very out of place as the rest of KL looks like its falling down.
We took a visit to chinatown , this was to be where we would eat for the next 2 days. Cheap meals all around and also husslers. The meat looked a bit dodgy with plenty of bones and grissle, so we stuck to vegetarian which Dan really liked! It wasnt until the evening that we realised the hygiene wasn't as good as England. I've never seen rats that big in my entire life, and cockroaches climbing on everything, you could say they were the night shift cleaning up crew.
On the second part of our KL adventure we went to a Hindu temple called the 'Batu Caves'. Its tallest golden lady statue in the world was humungous and was placed at the mouth of the cave. Unfortunately, due to arriving in the rainy season we were caught in a torrential down pour. We braved the 286 steps up the steep staircase. We were SOAKED! But it was worth it, it was free entry - YAY, and the cave was visually stunning. The rain actually made it more interesting, as it cascaded down the pinnacles of rocks. As a rememberence emblem I bought a hindu material bracelet from the pokey stall, unfortunately due to its cheapness and the rain, the colour orange started to drip down my hand. The colour of orange stayed on my hands for days - it looked like i had really embraced the culture of their toilet training but had not washed my hands after! On the way to the Batu Caves we were complaining that the aircon was not on enough. However on the way back, soaked through to our undies, we were freezing as the aircon was on max, and in the middle of rush hour at 6pm it took us 2 hours to get back. I was an ice cube, both teeth chattering and blue skin!
- comments
Nanny wow, another really interesting time. Fay, if it's you doing the blog and I think it usually is, you should put a book together on your return, your wording is so good and very visual, you remember even the smallest thing and thats what makes it all so interesting. xx