Two Sore Backs

Carrying on with a theme from the previous post, Kuala Lumpur is a large modern metropolis with some old ‘bits’.

We spend a day focussing on the old bits.

National Museum of Malaysia

Daily tour in English at 10am. Perfect. Our guide is terrific and the 1 hour tour takes 90 minutes.

History

Here is a museum display of the trade routes from Persia, India, Burma and China to Malaysia going back to the 10th century. Migration meant that indigenous groups became the minority.

Malacca (our next stop) is the first Malay capital in 1400. Islam is the main religion. Malacca is an important trade center (situated between east and west Asia). Built into the museum wing is an ornate Malay front door.

There is an exhibit of a model ship. Newcomers arrive by sea.

In the 1500s, the Penankan Chinese also settle in Malacca (and Penang) and blend their Chinese identity with Malay culture. How? There is intermarriage, they speak Malay and adopt other Malay habits (clothing as an example) but keep their religion.

In the 16th century the Portuguese arrive.

In the 18th century the Dutch are briefly in Malaysia along with the British. The British swap their interests in Indonesia with the Dutch in order to take control here.

The WW2 period is covered. Malaysia is invaded by Japan on December 8, 1941 (the same day as Pearl Harbour is attacked). We keep hearing that Japan invaded from the North on bicycles. Japan outsmart the British, Aussie, Indian and Malay troops and Malaya falls quickly.

The post war period is covered. Malaysia becomes independent of Britain in 1957. It is a rough decade. My grandparents move to Canada in 1952 in part due to the unrest. My grandfather’s responsibility is the safety of the rail lines and there are acts of violence from time to time.

After 4 years under Japanese rule, Malaysians are further empowered to achieve their freedom from Britain but it takes a decade.

The final exhibit explains how modern Malaysia functions as a democracy today. There are 13 states as well as KL and Putrajaya (both federated territories-possibly similar to Washington DC in USA). It is a bit complicated and some of the states have their own monarchies. Plus Malaysia is a Commonwealth country.

We have only travelled on the Malaya peninsula and know little of the Eastern Malaysia – Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo. The exhibits of both Sarawak and Sabah peak our interest in Eastern Malaysia – next time! Borneo is full of amazing natural wonders.

Today, Malaysia is a melting pot and most everyone is accepting.

KL Bird Park

To rest our brains we take a walk through nearby Lake Gardens Park.

The Hornbill Restaurant at KL Bird Park is our next destination. We are entertained over lunch.

KL Railway Station and Headquarters

Although my grandparents lived here, it was so long ago there are no places to look up except the main train station and the train offices across the street.

Here are a few photos from our walk by.

Old KL Railway Station

Fun fact – the contractor for the railway building structure was a young JA Russell. JA (Archie) Russell also had interests in mining and rubber. Later on he started planting tea which became the Boh Tea plantation in Cameron Highlands. Today the plantation is run by his granddaughter.

We visited the Boh Plantation.

Railway Headquarters

Across the street from the Railway Station, the offices are nearly as impressive.

We get caught in a short afternoon rainstorm and take refuge on the vestibule. My grandfather worked in this building – so spending a bit of time here is terrific.

And a mention of the Merdeka 118 building. This building is the tallest in Malaysia (and second tallest in the world). It is inescapable – and in so many of our KL photos. It was completed in November 2023.

Chow Kit Night Market

Manjeet sent a self walking tour of Chow Kit Market. We’ll wander with a purpose. We are early for the evening market and the weather looks threatening.

Low Chow Kit was a larger than life figure in early KL. He was a miner, politician and first local owner of a department store. So a few landmarks carry his name. Digging a bit further into history, Chow Kit Street was the original red light district. Miners had money and liked to enjoy themselves. There was a similar theme in Ipoh. (Hmmm – I know a few miners and they are a fun bunch. I’ll leave it at that.)

We start at the daily wet market that is just winding down. It is the largest fish and seafood market in KL.

Further along the night market is setting up. No street food stalls but the veggie market is happening. I observe a nice Mercedes pulling up to a stall and mom pops out to get the groceries. The rest of the family stays in the car – it is running – presumably with the air con keeping everyone cool.

There is every conceivable vegetable and fruit for sale.

Pat is asked to take photographs.

Timing! The weather forecast isn’t great- rain is likely. So we won’t get the full experience of sampling street food.

We can see the clouds darken but press on. The Petronas Towers are in sight (the end point of the tour).

Maybe we will get there before any heavy rain begins. Wishful thinking! We see lightening and hear BOOMING thunder. Within a minute it is pelting down rain and windy. Fortunately, we just passed by a hotel and double back to take refuge.

The recovery plan is to figure out a restaurant for dinner and call a Grab to get us there. The rain does subside. Traffic is messy. Dinner is wonderful!

Next morning we are greeted with sunshine. While walking to the metro, Pat chats with a fellow coming out of a non-high rise enclave near our hotel. We had wondered about this area as we passed by. Turns out many long term residents call this home.

Petronas Towers

We are going modern – touring The Petronas Towers. These are still the tallest twin towers in the world and until 2004 were the tallest tower in the world.

Considering we easily could have missed out on tickets, we are looking forward to the tour. (At the moment the mornings are sunny so that is working in our favour as well.)

First take in the view from the ground zero.

First stop is the 42nd floor – one of two floors that connect both towers. (The 43rd floor is used by occupants of the towers to cross.)

We continue up to the 86th floor for viewing and I bang out 4 postcards (stamps and postal drop provided!). There are two more floors above. These are the mechanical rooms.

Food and beverage are the focus of our final few hours in KL.

Morning coffee at BACHA is a treat. BACHA has an incredible coffee menu – at least 10 pages long with coffee and blends from around the world.

And their presentation is amazing. From the room itself to the tableware to the service.

BACHA coffee started in the Medina in Marrakech. From their website:

‘Built in 1910, the spectacular Dar el Bacha palace, which means “house of the Pasha”, united the greatest cultural and political minds of the century over glittering pots of “coffee of Arabia” or Arabica, as it is known today.’

Today there are locations in SE Asia, Middle East, France and Morocco.

We hate to leave such a perfectly relaxing coffee experience.

It is back to the hotel to check out then over to the food court for lunch. YUM! We have been in SE Asia 10 weeks and some days we just want a quinoa salad for lunch.

Next destination- Malacca.