Colorful Kuala Lumpur
Turned out it took me a bit longer to write travel stories. One full year has passed without a single new article. The supposedly 2-day trip to Kuala Lumpur was squeezed into one. I ended up finishing most of the hotspots in this metropolitan, but certainly felt I wasn’t doing KL justice now in retrospect.
I briefly had a banana shake for breakfast in a travel agency/cafe hybrid store. Suddenly it started to pour fiercely as if a typhoon just hit.
The rain didn’t seem to subside any time soon, so I had to venture into it. Thanks to this storm, my backpack was so soaked that it smelled moldy throughout the entire journey (even after when I am literally in a desert!)
My first stop today was the National Mosque of Malaysia (Masji Nagara Malaysia), which turned out to be closed to visitors at that time. So I went to an adjacent unique building: the Islamic Arts Museum instead.
This museum boasted a rich collection of artworks, spanning over the Islamic world. The ongoing special exhibition was about various artistic copies of the Quran.
Although not a Muslim myself, I’ve always felt a special connection with Islam. I sometimes listen to the Quran at late night (such as now) to seek peace in mind.
This seems to be an entire Quran written on a small wooden plate, with a huge “Allah” written on the right.
Left: another temporary exhibition at that time about important Islamic architectures in the world / Middle: Arabic calligraphy with Chinese elements (both scripts and cultures possess profound calligraphic tradition) / Right: a Medieval Islam Map (I saw a similar one on the floor of the church at Madaba, Jordan the following week)
I honestly still have no idea what this illustrated book of horses is for (it’s surprisingly colorful and figurative)
The museum’s restaurant was a bit overpriced, so I grabbed some random street food in front of it after my visit. (Looking back I may be a bit stingy in terms of food on this trip)
I spent the second half of the day walking and people-watching in downtown KL. First the Masjid Jamek, apparently the oldest mosque in KL, with noticeable Indo-Mughal vibe. The interchanging pattern on the minaret has been termed “blood and bandage”, which is inappropriately accurate. The mosque was also not open to visitors at the time.
Right next to the mosque was where Kuala Lumpur began. The city’s name was derived from “confluence of muds” in Malay, which referred to the two rivers here: The Klang and the Gombak. KL began as a tin mining town in early 19th century, originally an unremarkable hamlet settled by some Malay and Chinese tin miners.
The Merdeka (Independence Square). The Sultan Abdul Samad Building was unfortunately under construction. This building housed a number of governmental agencies during the colonial era.
A Cathedral at the Merdeka. Before the visit I often forgot how Islamic Malaysia is, as religion being intricately tied to ethnic identities.
I also would get to realize how ubiquitous this stupid ass “I love XX” statue is, littered all over the world with only the slightest difference (Guatemala changes “I” to “Yo” for example).
Malaysian flags were seen everywhere, along with this cool yellow-and-red flag — the flag of the state of Selangor (KL currently is not a part of the state, but federal territories directly governed by the federal government; however it was the capital of Selangor historically).
I slowly walked my way toward Jalan Petaling (茨場街), the “Chinatown” of KL. But considering that Chinese accounts for over 40% of KL’s population, it’s probably unfair to call it a Chinatown. On my way there the public call to prayer (Adhan) started. It’s the first time in my life seeing all the traffic stop on the road for the prayers.
Jalan Petaling: a huge Chinese night market tinted with a bit of exotic vibe
Got a chance to visit a Hindu temple in the area. Indian Malaysians account for approximately 10% of KL’s population.
Briefly grabbed dinner: I tend to eat too many fried rice during traveling. Again, it’s this surreal feeling that despite exploring numerous exotic sites during the day, the dinner place looked like a typical restaurant next to my house — not only was the menu written in traditional Chinese, the dish it offered and the pop songs it played were all indisguinshable.
After dinner, I walked briefly in the Central Market, before heading to the City Center by metro.
Ending my day chilling, walking and people-watching in the malls. Kuala Lumpur certainly is colorful.
But the journey didn’t stop here. When I got back to the hostel, I realized my booking for the night had been canceled. Since I put all my stuffs inside a locker, the owner thought I had packed up and checked out early. He had already sold my bed space to other fellow travelers. In other words, I was effectively kicked out of the hostel. I had to walk on the empty streets near midnight with a 15kg backpack in search of a new place to stay! Fortunately there were a number of cheap hostels in the area, and I found another one before long.
Sweating and exhausted, I walked into the new hostel, seeing a big room packed with ~40 people, each with only a bunker bed with yellowish sheet (occasionally infested with small unknown insects).
To my surprise, I had quite a nice sleep that night, and didn’t quite care about the living condition (I probably have a slightly higher standard now). I didn’t arrive at KL at ease, and the challenges certainly didn’t end upon my arrival. The journey had just begun.
