Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1 of 5

Today we docked at Port Kelang in Malaysia and we took a 1.5 hour coach ride with a guide into the capital, Kuala Lumpur. We were not scheduled to dock here but because of the recent bombings in Colombo our original destination was cancelled and Kuala Lumpur was offered as an alternative venue. We'd visited Colombo and had a wonderful guided tour of that city last year and we had been planning on doing a self-guide walk , visiting both the very mosque and church which were bombed. We feel sorry for the people of Colombo who rely so heavily on tourism for an income. It is a beautiful city with so much history and culture which we found fascinating. Hopefully peace will return to this friendly country and tourists will once again visit Colombo.

Kuala Lumpur is on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, about 40km from the Strait of Malacca where two rivers converge. It has a tropical climate which means it is hot, humid and rainy throughout the year with temperatures ranging from 31⁰C in the day and about 26⁰C at night. The city has a population of about 1.7 million which are a multicultural mix of Malays, Arabs, Chinese, Eurasians and Europeans. Whilst English is widely spoken Bahasa Malay is also a well used language by many residents of KL.

Kuala Lumpur began as a little rural village surrounded by lush jungle and swamplands. In 1857 Chinese miners discovered a major tin deposit near the village and the area boomed into a large and prosperous town. The British who ruled Malaysia at the time needed to established law and order during the resulting "tin rush days" when warring gangs caused havoc in the town. When the British appointed Sir Frank Swettenham to 'keep the peace" he also drew up the first city plan, laying the groundwork for some of the stately colonial buildings which are still standing today. In 1957 Malaysia gained independence from the British and since then it has progressed into a modern, prominent and sophisticated city which attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Port Kelang the very large and busy port area from where our coach trip began is dotted with massive cranes and towers of stacked containers awaiting import or export by cargo ships. The shoreline is a mixture of wharves, reclaimed land areas used as storage-areas and mangrove swamplands. It is easy to imagine that this peninsula was once covered in thick tropical jungle for as we drove towards KL large pockets of tropical forests, and open grasslands were interspersed between housing estates, high rise apartment buildings and shopping malls. It was pleasing to see so much greenery in what is a major Asian city where many areas are beautified by colourful trees and shrubs.

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The coach trip into KL (as Kuala Lumpur is referred to by residents & most travellers) took an hour but our guide talked about KL's and she gave us each a map and guided us through it, pointing out sites of interest, modes of travel etc so we planned a rough route of a walking tour of the city together on the journey towards KL central. The coach was air-conditioned and the drive pleasant but outside the air was misty due to high humidity even at 9am in the morning. We were driving in the early morning peak-hour period so the highways were jammed but that was all part for the course. We observed a great range of car brands from Mercedes, Audi, Toyota, VW and several Asian brands not see in Australia. Other vehicles included trucks. And vans of various sizes and many motor bikes which wove in and out of the crowded rows of traffic which was heading into KL too. Being a Monday we were told to expect some delays but the delays gave us time to see across the landscape and spot things we may have missed. The closer we came to the city the more high rise buildings we saw but pleasingly trees were always par t of the vista. Being a Muslim country we past several mosques with their pretty blue domes and tall minaret towers and at one point a mischievous monkey was seen swinging from a mini-jungle outcrop near one of the suburbs of KL. I wonder if monkeys visited the homes nearby like our possums do at home!

As we neared the city clusters of row-upon-row of high-rise apartments emerged. They looked fairly new and between each cluster there were parkland recreation areas, indicating that town planning designs in KL are modern and well designed for to cater for the needs of this modern city. KL also appeared to be a little like Singapore in that in general the city is very clean and tidy.

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Our coach dropped us near a huge shopping mall and it was at this point we had our first glimpse of the famous Petronas Twin towers standing majestically behind tall hotel and office buildings. The Petronas Twin towers complex was built on a former horseracing track. The towers have 88 floors and it took 6 years of 24-hour construction days to complete the buildings at a cost of $1.8 billion US dollars!

These towers were once the world's tallest buildings at a height of 452 metres but the tower in Dubai is much higher today- and they are constructing an even higher one in Dubai even as we write. For what purpose I wonder? 'The Tower of Babel' competition? Umph! However Petronas Twin towers can claim to be the world's tallest twin towers as both towers in Dubai though higher, are only single tower constructions.

Unfortunately the only day of the week that the towers are not open is on a Monday so all we could do was crane our necks and look in awe up at the sky and marvel at the twin towers which have been constructed in concrete and then covered in a steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic architecture. There are 32,000 windows with UV and solar radiation steel in both Towers and it takes two months to clean them all. The towers are joined by a Skybridge at the 41^st and 42^nd floors and this bridge is the highest 2 storey bridge in the world. We had hoped to have crossed over it today and look down over KL city. We'd have been able to look down upon a 100 acres of parkland which surrounds the Twin tower area with its' Symphony Lake Garden and a massive tropical garden with over 1900 trees and palms. This will have to wait 'til our next visit on any day but a Monday.

The first thing we had to do before our walking tour was to visit the Shopping Mall to change some money into Malaysian Ringgit so that we could ride the underground train system when exploring KL and also purchase some spicy Malaysian food for lunch.

The multi-storey mall was a little overwhelming when compared with Figtree Grove or even Wollongong City Mall but it was cool inside and provided us with free bathroom facilities after our long trip.

We headed out into the humid heat of the day and took a leisurely stroll through the streets. All around us were big city buildings and lots of traffic like in any big city.

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Firstly we caught the underground train to Merdeka Square which is the place where Malaysia's independence was proclaimed on August 31, 1957. This wide open rectangular-grassed area was originally the cricket field for the Royal Selangor Cricket Club which was founded in 1884 for members of the British community. The original Tudor-style club house building with its signature British colonial black and white half-timber stands as a reminder of past days and even today the Long Bar only admits men –some customs never die! The massive 100 metre flagpole rising from Merdeka Square is one of the tallest in the world. It displays the Malaysian Flag which can be seen from many parts of the city.

Leaving the Square we took a peaceful walk along the riverside. The water in the river doesn't look inviting but the river has been channelled through canals across the city and the tree-lined walk was cool and interesting. On this walk we passed some beautiful high-rise buildings with Islamic arches and the sparkling-white Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad Mosque which stands at the junction of two canals.

This mosque was built in 1909 and is one of Kuala Lumpur's most significant buildings of Monhul influence architecture and heritage. It has three Monhul domes, a courtyard, minarets positioned symmetrically to the mosque. Beautiful arched corridors (chhatris) surround the mosque' exterior and it looked resplendent in the morning sunlight.

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Leaving the riverside walk we headed across town to Chinatown area with its Chinese pagoda-style architectural designed buildings with Chinese lanterns, candles and brightly coloured signs in large Chinese characters. Many of these buildings have been here since the 1800's. There is an excellent selection of restaurants, food stalls and markets in this area but it was a little early for lunch so we continued on our self-guide walk and passed by rows of shophouses built in a mixture of Dutch and Roman style architecture. There is also an area named "little India" where the influence of India food, goods and cultural are seen in the buildings, temple and colourful sari robes of the vendors. We came across the Central Markets and wander through them for the next hour and a half as they were interesting to survey and as they were covered it was also much cooler than on the street. Ken bought a pair of slip on Puma sandals for the mighty price of $8 Australian. What a bargain! They retail for $25 back home. I bought a costume jewellery necklace as I needed something bright to wear with my white tops and dress and it will also be a memento of our day spent in KL.

As it was nearing 1pm we caught a train back to the Mall where we were to meet our guide at 2pm to travel back to the ship. We found a Malaysian restaurant and ordered a noodle curry for lunch. It was hot but very delicious and we enjoyed watching the locals eating in the restaurant. We sat on the opposite side of the coach on the trip back to Port Kelang to see what we'd missed on the trip to KL. Arriving back at the port we admired the beautifully manicured gardens of the grounds adjacent to the Sea Princess. Boarding the ship we chatted with our fellow guests about what a great visit we'd had to KL and how impressed we were at the tidiness and friendly interaction we enjoyed with the locals.