City Central for far too long...!

Well rolled up into town on the overnight train with Rowan (pictured above) and Joe. We met on the island and were old aquaintances from my birthday at the river in Vang Vieng, Laos. Soon after arrival and the coffee we went for a wonder and soon found ourselves in Times Square, possibly the largest shopping centre i have ever been in.

To say large is an understatement, we spent the first 10 minutes working out how were going to see this place best. Sure enough we spent a few hours there, enough time to see and ride the theme park rides on the 5th floor which must rise to about the 13th, impresive for a shopping centre. We also got to see the international food floor with its own seperate wings for different groups of countries.Oh and the IMAX cinema with the largest cinema screen in SE Asia. Then in the evening we watched the F.A Cup final at a rooftop hostel bar in Chinatown with a full view of the city skyscape. Next day i returned to the Golden Triangle area to realise that there were in fact a good 6 or 7 of these immense plazas! With the help of my brother i have picture evidence and a new camera until i get home!

Well the guys left and i have spent most of my time either wondering the streets or on the internet taking advantage of extremely cheap prices. Did manage to meet another couple of English folk who knew a guy who replaced me in Nice when i left Amadeus. So Rhys and Jessica also with the aid of new cameras joined me on a trip around the city one night and on another we grabbed some food and chilled out together around Chinatown. Jessica actually lives about 20 miutes from my house too. And on the same night i also met a guy who i played rugby with while a first year. We only got to realise this after finding that we were born with in a week or so of each other at the same hospital in Aldershot.

Chinatown is where i am staying and it is one of the worst places i have stayed while travelling. The streets around Chinatown are infested with rats and cockroaches, two market stalls have burnt down while i have been here and no-one has done anything about them. They are not little stalls either and they sit near buildings much larger! The street sellers are also the most aggresive i have known and a poor reflection of the great Malay people i have met. I don't appreciate being physically man handled into being sold something, especially after repeating 'tidak' (No) several times already, just let me walk!

The last two days have been good though because the government officials are out to catch counterfeit goods sellers, hence there are nearly no stalls operating on the streets of Chinatown! The stuff they sell is not as good as elsewhere anyway in the knock off gear table standings. The food is also disappointing but never mind. At least there is a 7-Eleven and a decent net cafe! Here is someone getting a wash by the local authority becaue he spent too much time trying to clean a rotten sewer! And the other picture is of a film being made outside the net cafe i use.

I have managed to go up the Petronas towers though and must admit that they are pretty fantastic. Also seen a fleet of a hundred or so policeman, maybe more, riding for fun around town on their motorbikes! And seen quite a few folk from the island days passing through. Oh and watched arsenal so painfully lose with two extremely passionate and then crazy Catalan guys who spent the whole night in the net cafe after ringing just about everyone they knew back home to celebrate, who can blame them! Below is my prison, aka Backpackers travellers Lodge, no really the wardens are really good though! ;)

Well i am going to be hanging around here for a few more days before moving on to Singapore, a friend is around who lives here so will be going to see him. Until then just one final bad point about KL, why compared to absolutely everywhere i have been do the mosquitos bite so much and with so much distaste. Serious the itching they cause here, the little invisible buggers is immense an dmuch worse than even an island! So there i am waiting were i shouldn't be, pretty much sums it up really...

...but the good news and really it is! I got an exact replacement for my mp3 player at a very very good price! KL is actually a really nice city i just do not like Chinatown.

written by

50watts on May 18, 2006 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

from the travel blog: Ending 2005 and Starting 2006

Send a Compliment

OK! 50w I am sure we can wait and I am possitive it will be worth while waiting for. Your diary has been brilliant and we have been able to follow your travels these last six months. Perhaps some hair raising moments but you took the bull by the horn and sorted. Great Son! IL-Mama xx c u soon.

written by Jo Hallas on May 16, 2006

Keep it coming, we're loving it!

written by

Benjamin Satterfield on May 24, 2006

comment on this...