We have arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 3rd November and it was a huge difference from Langkawi. With bed bugs, mosquitos in the parks, with heat but no sun, busy streets, incredibly tall block of flats etc. During the first stay in KL we could see the poorer part of the city. Between skyscrapers and block of flats were small dirty buildings and corner shops.
Tourism seemed to be a big part of the life near the city centre with a huge competition & rivalry. We have visited various streets and attractions, but the best were National Mosque where we had to wear some sort of robe with a hoody that covered me and Lucas from top to toe; Merdeka Square with one of the tallest flag pole in the world; and Batu Caves, where monkeys steal from people and you can eat an Indian meal from a banana leaf (nowadays you can get there by KLM train for only RM1).
On 6th Nov we said goodbye to KL for a few days and head off to Taman Negara (we used Han Travel which picked us directly from hostel, RM75 one way; if you want to stay in fan hostel only, their free&easy package is cheaper and costs only RM160 for transport and two nights with breakfast). The journey was great. Just after KL highlands appears and lots of palm plantations. The bus took us only to Kuala Tembling and then we had to take a boat to Kuala Tahan which is one of the entrance to the park. The boat ride took 3 hours as it was upstream. Taman Negara is beautiful piece of nature.
It is the oldest forest in the world as no ice aged managed to destroy it. We have managed to have a night walk through the jungle where we could see illuminated caterpillar and bats. It was a bit scary I have to say. The next day we went for a day trip. I have planned a trip for 20km, which is less than we can do in a day normally. However, after three hours we have realised that we have walked only about three kilometres and that our jungle speed is about 1/3 of our normal one. True, we were sweating like hell ( Lukas commented it that he had “peed into his T-shirt” :-) ), we had to check our legs for leeches every 15 mins, and in the remaining time we tried to see some animals and plants. So we had to change our plans and head back earlier and via different route. And of course we have visited the longest Canopy Walkway in the world that is 530m long and about 40 meters high. The following day we had to return to KL as the journey back takes almost the whole day.
The last night in KL we have spent in Renaissance hotel. We have managed to get yet another upgrade, this time into LifeStyle room with access to a lounge. It was a very posh stay with even some free alcoholic drinks etc, however, with a dress code and everything I felt that it is really not suitable for backpackers when I was running around, ironing stuff and making sure that Lukas has a long trousers :-). But the pool and shower room were great so we enjoyed it a lot. On 9th, our last day in Malaysia we went to see the richer part of KL. You could see it on every step. We have visited Petronas Towers (unfortunately the bridge was closed for maintainance) with the KLCC mall and also KL Tower with the adjacent city forest. Well, and that was it. The only thing remaining from Malaysia for us to see was the airport…
No comments:
Post a Comment