Adjusting to S.E. Asia in Kuala Lumpur
Getting to Asia from the Western World can be a culture shock; some people arrive and feel at home but for me it takes a few days to adjust from the way we do things in the UK to life in a bustling Asian street with hawkers selling local grub from their stalls and taxi drivers with scant regard to traffic laws. This is why it was a good thing that our fist stop was the clean metropolis of Singapore, a sort of halfway house. By the time we had got to KL on Monday we were in the swing of things and I instantly fell in love when I saw the Petronas Towers through the haze as we made our way from the airport.
KL is probably worth a couple of posts so I’ll limit this one to a bit of waffle about KL itself and our impressions and then another one in a day or so with a few specifics on what we did. This is my new self-imposed rule to keep blog posts to under 750 words (that’s 22 wasted on this sentence alone!)
Singapore did us many favours in helping us acclimatise to this part of the world and the hostel experience: our hostel in Singapore was the Footprints, as recommended by just about every print and online guide going. We were aware that Singapore was expensive as far as accommodation in S.E. Asia goes and we got ourselves a double room for around £36 a night. It was just a room too, the bathrooms were shared and there was nothing in the way of extras at all (no towels, toiletries etc). This was fully expected and no problem for us but it helped us when we arrived in KL and found the beautiful Red Palm Guesthouse. This is definitely the kind of thing we’ll be experiencing more as we plough through Asia: paper thin walls, questionable electrics and the only hot water coming from the electric shower – again, not exactly installed by a Corgi registered plumber. We were able to look through all of that and able to see the relaxed atmosphere of the other guests (capacity here was 13) and the welcoming, friendly natured staff who would remember your name without needing to ask twice and help you with anything. This one was just over £12 a night for our double room.
As is the norm it was (1) check in, (2) nap, (3) explore. Just as we got ready to go out the daily thunderstorm arrived – a brilliant show put on by Mother Nature with lightning and thunder every five or six seconds. Once that had cleared we made a beeline for the Petronas Towers. I love stuff like this and couldn’t wait to see if they are as stunning in real life as they seem on the pictures. They are now down to ninth in the list of world’s tallest buildings but of all I have seen they are the most spectacular I have laid eyes on.
Around the Towers you can find all of the modern areas of KL with huge shopping centres, arenas and a top-end “Rodeo Drive, Oxford Street, Orchard Road” kind of place; and yet just twenty minutes walk away are the communities such as Chinatown with the markets, the sights and the smells you associate so much with this part of the world. We like to base ourselves in and around these places as there’s little point hopping from place to place if you’re going to spend your entire time looking in the window of Louis Vuitton and eating at McDonald’s. Once you’ve adjusted to S.E. Asian life you’re comfortable eating noodles prepared in a cart by the side of the road with Chinatown life buzzing around you – I genuinely felt uncomfortable in days 1 and 2 in Singapore but now I love picking the bones off a roasted duck and watching the world go by.
We are now on our way to Bangkok for two nights before going to Vietnam. I’m writing on the plane and will upload it when we get to our lodgings, hopefully the follow-up post of what we got up to shouldn’t be too long in coming. We’ve been told to expect much more from Bangkok in terms of facilities in the hostels, £15 a night should get us a charming room with all the perks of a travel lodge in the UK.
For all my KL Photos, click here.
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Andy
Fantastic picture of the towers in a city (and country) of contrasts.
Cheers Anil, the investment in a better camera was really worth it.
This picture was taken from the Skybar in the Traders Hotel. I couln’t take my eyes off them!
Andy
[...] you don’t have itchy feet yet, then this post from Gone Further will do it: Adjusting to Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur. I think the picture just sums it up [...]
I agree with you – the Petronas Towers are amazing. I first saw them when watching the Amazing Race and thought how beautiful they looked and when I finally got to see them in person they didn’t disappoint.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Thanks Kim.
I just couldn’t take my eyes off them. Quite possibly my favourite building.
Hello from Russia)
[...] you don’t have itchy feet yet, then this post from Gone Further will do it: Adjusting to Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur. I think the picture just sums it up [...]