Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
December 06, 2013
I decided to hang around KL for one more day and then go straight up to the Sanctuary at Langkawi on Friday and skip going to Melaka which was an idea I toyed with for a while.
I hung out with Gary all day and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a cracking little place up the road that gets packed with locals every lunch time. The day before I didn’t get a chance to go to the butterfly park as it was shut after we left the bird park so we walked up that way via the park and gardens. The park is really nice, again it’s a one of these places that is nice and quiet in the middle of a bustling city and allows you to get away from it all and grab a little peace. As well as some really nice flowers they also have a few animals in there.
Notably a collection of Mouse deer….mouse deer? I hadn’t even heard of them. But true to their name they are indeed a cross between a mouse and a deer. Tiny little things about 8 inches tall, with little miniature deer legs, the markings of a deer, then believe it or not what looks like the head of a mouse. Crazy looking little dudes.
The butterfly park is right next to the main park and it’s quite a decent size. There were plenty of the colourful little fellas to see despite intermittent rain and some seriously close thunder and lightning going off. We spent a good few hours looking round but then started to feel pretty floaty and sleepy. I think the humidity was that high and the plants in the butterfly park were pumping out some serious oxygen action. Almost like a natural high.
On the way out they have a few glass tanks housing some crazy insects. The biggest locusts I have ever seen, a good 6 inches in length and a couple of inches wide. A tank housing a good two dozen scorpions and frogs and insects that look like leaves and are really hard to spot.
From there we grabbed the monorail for a couple of stops to an area that is renowned for good Malaysian food. The heavens opened as we got off and we killed 10 minutes sat on the station steps until it finally eased off and we could go in search of some good food. There was plenty around and the place we stopped at had a great choice and was pretty busy with locals as well as being good value. £4 got us 4 plates between us and a couple of coffees. It was quite an interesting little area. Within sight of the Petronas towers and both the business district and expensive shopping district. There is a huge wall and road between what seems like a fairly poor local area on one side and the rich folks who shop and work a couple of hundred yards across the road on the other side. It took a good while walking up against the wall before we finally hit a road that let us cross over and head towards the towers. Once over there was a distinct change in the people. Non of the ethnic groups we had seen by the food streets but a much sharper dressed Chinese/European crowd and you have to wonder if the tall wall and road was designed to keep the lesser folk away from the posh end of town. Sad if that is true.
The towers look pretty decent lit up on a night and are tall enough to have the tops shrouded in cloud from time to time. We took a wander in and it’s all the usual suspects in the six storey shopping mall at the base. Calvin Klien, Gucci, Armani, if it’s a big designer brand then it’s in there. There were people everywhere spending some serious amounts of money in this mall, especially with Christmas around the corner and the place all decorated up. We didn’t hang around long and then grabbed the monorail back to the hostel for a couple of beers and a bit craic on.
That’s my time here in KL over now and I head up to Langkawi for the next 7/8 weeks which should be really good. Gary is has headed off up to Thailand now. He’s been great company and it’s been nice crossing paths with each other at various points throughout China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
