The big leap - first stop Kuala Lumpur

After years of dreaming of doing it and months of seriously considering it, I finally took the plunge and handed in my notice at work and decided to come travelling.  Is it the right decision, was it the right decision, only time will tell.  Currently 4 days into my travelling it feels like the right decision, and as this can longer be undone I need focus on the future not what might have been.

Wandering around Kuala Lumpur (KL) on my first day of the trip I obviously gave ‘life’ plenty of thought.  It was nice to be in the reasonably familiar surroundings of KL as this was my third visit to the Malaysian capital and the 2^nd in the last 12 months. 

I grabbed a map from reception and set out walking the city.  My walking tour was quite extreme in the heat and humidity and looking back, perhaps a 24.86km walk on my first full day was not the best of ideas, but it give me the precious opportunity of time to think. 

I thought to myself, time, yes time, that is something that I have never not had the luxury of since my working career started.  Whilst at work I’ve been extremely lucky to have some fabulous holidays, but all of those have been done at ultra-speed power ticking my way around countries to quite literally tick them off.  Parts of this trip are time bound, but much of it is flexible and I now have that luxury of time.  Time to think, time to relax, time to do nothing with if I want.



My walk around KL took in the glorious Petronas Towers, it is nice to walk around the surrounding park taking in the magnificent structure of the twin towers connected by a sky-bridge.  I limited myself to taking just a handful of photographs to add to the many I have of the towers from other trips.

The other great landmark of KL is the Minerva Tower, so I headed across town directed by various glimpses of the TV Tower.  Again I didn’t feel it necessary to go to the top of the tower especially as it was around £15, and after all I’m supposed to be on a budget as I don’t know when or where my next pay packet will come from.  My walk was interrupted both to and from the tower by serious rain downpours the second of which lasted an hour or so and was accompanied by flashes of lightening and rumbles of thunder.



With the air cleared I headed to Chinatown and the famous Petaling Street, which as far as I’m concerned is an indoor market with pushy salesman selling fake watches, clothing and general tourist tat.  From here I visited Merdeka square which is essentially a cricket pitch in the centre of the city surrounded by great buildings, museums, clock tower and a cricket pavilion.  A huge Malaysian flag overlooks the square from one end.  What a cracker of a place this would be to play cricket.  The view from the middle allows you to see many of the sights I’d hiked around to see during the day.

The view from the wicket

After a short nap back at the hotel I set out in darkness.  From my hotel you could just see the twin towers poking up above the rest of the buildings and looking beautifully illuminated against the black sky behind.  I’d not been up to the towers at night so headed over and soon got my camera out and took many snaps to add to my collection. 

As I was leaving the area a large crowd had gathered by the lake in front of the towers, as I investigated soon a sound system soon started blasting out classical numbers with the many fountains perfectly choreographed to the beats of the music.  Not only were the fountains dancing they were accompanied with a vast array of colours passing through them, it really was quite spectacular.

On my second day I found out that a Ladies PGA golf tournament was on in the city, tickets were a bargain £4.50 and included plenty of freebies including lunch, cider, and umbrella. It was great to wander around a golf course getting so close to the world’s best female golfers.  A beautiful course with plenty of lakes and bunkers that made for a pleasant day.  It was hot standing out in the sun all-day though.

The final thing for me to mention on my short stay in Malaysia is the food and nightlife.  I purposely stayed by my favourite neighboured of Bukit Bintang.  One street I have always enjoyed is Jalon Alor.  It is a street that stimulates all senses, it has tables and chairs spilling out into the street from restaurants and street stalls selling a variety of Asian foods.  The smells are great (some less so) as you pass from BBQ to BBQ.  The street is lit with red lanterns above and is packed with locals and tourists alike.  I ate on this street every night and also drank here as it is the cheapest and most atmospheric place to drink in the city.  Around the corner is an upmarket version, with many bars and restaurants offering the same food and beer at significantly greater prices.  The clientele on this street is predominantly ex-pats and up-scale tourists.  I kept away from this area on this visit so not to blow my budget in the first few days.

KL provided me with a nice introduction to my trip, but I’m looking forward to bagging a new country in my passport tomorrow when I'm off to Yogyakarta on Java Island in Indonesia.



Plenty of food to choose from on Jalan Alor, KL

A cold beer on the busy street



Minerva Tower KL 

Petaling Street, Chinatown, KL

A day at the LPGA golf at  KLGCC