Category: Kuala Lumpur

A trip to the aquarium was a woozy.

Our travel day – but our flight is not until 11PM from KLIA main terminal. I guess I could write chronologically in reverse. 11:59PM Sri Lanka time: We are standing in line at Sri Lankan Immigration. Our flight took 3 hours from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Viena and Ezra both fell asleep as soon as we took off from KL. The KLIA main terminal is so much nicer that the LCCT in KL AirAsia. We did not make the same mistake again of going to the wrong airport terminal. Cleverly, I was able to almost perfectly spend all my remaining Malaysian Ringgits at the airport running back and forth to by more peanut butter toast and french fries. The french fries had a strange flavoring. Instead of taking the Metro to the airport we took a taxi for 100 ringgits and paid him 10 ringgits more to drive us through Putrajaya one more time since Ezra was out of it with fever the first time. See the link. I had extra ringgits so I might as well spend them. And spend them I did, on the worst major theme park purchase of our trip thus far – the KLCC Aquarium. Definitely not worth the $60 (180 Ringgits). OK. So seeing sharks and big manta-rays and turtles and colorful fish is always pretty cool, but not that cool when you feel like you are being herded around like cattle. The touch tanks and the fish displays were all too high for Viena and Ezra so I continually had to lift them up to see things. The underwater tunnel was pretty cool, but a bit claustrophobic with all the people visiting the aquarium during the post Ramadan promotion that allows Malaysian residents half off admission. But what else is one supposed todo when you have checked out off the hotel at noon and your flight is not for another 11 hours. We also went to the Book Fair where they were selling many Chinese and English books. I found a Chinese magic water tablet like we lost in Borneo and the guy even translated the symbols. the Book Fair was at the KLCC – Kuala Lumpur Convention Center and cost $1 t for admission. Definitely worth it. Aquarium $60 – not worth it. The hotel allowed us to us the swimming pool after we checked out so we dipped into the refreshing waters and played and ate in shade of their gazebo pool chairs. The mall area of the Petronas Towers was clear of all the Hari Raya people celebrating the end of Ramadan. In the room, before checking out we packed all the bags and I must say that our load is shrinking. I threw away more of the learning aids – the around the world cards. Throwing away stuff that you know you do not have to carry feels good. All of our connections appear to be in order. The breakfast buffet was filling. I have been trying to fill up at breakfast so I do have to eat again during the day. I am happy to finally be moving on from SouthEast Asia and Malaysia. I feel like we were able to see the real Malaysia – from Kuala Lumpur, to Kota Bharu to Kuala Beset to the KEcil Perhentian to the jungle train to jerantut to Taman Negara to Malaca and to Borneo Sabah and Kota Kinabalu. Bye Bye. The mountain, the rivers, the beaches, and the water buffaloes are stuck in my mind The people of the city and the people of the village I will slowly forget. I wonder what Dwana will say when I ask, “Remember Malaysia?”and Ezra? and Viena?

SMALL TOWERS

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I never thought I would open my window shades to let the bright lights of a skyscraper scream through our nighttime window light the shine of a full moon. I have never stayed downtown among the skyscrapers of a big city before. A city with all the city noises … with all the city traffic … and with all the city fears. When we were visiting other cities in Malaysia and mentioned travelling to Kuala Lumpur, the locals looked at us and said, “Keep your pocketbooks close!” So far we have been blessed by not experiencing any petty thievery.We walked past the little temple that Ezra likes to stop by and receive his blessing. Not many offerings have been placed in the temple during this Hari Raya season. The small temple is a Hindu offering place, not Muslim. We continue to hear the daily Mosque chanting, three months now and very familiar.Nothing like the nighttime chimes and bells of Nyuh Kuning – that was truly special. We are almost all packed. Will I forget the Petronas Towers like I have already forgotten many of the other places we have been. What will remain in my mind? What will the photos do to help me remember? Life moves by so quickly and we only hope to keep pace. Flight days always bring an added level of anxiety. The swimming pool has been nice. The breakfast buffet has put on enough insulation if I need to skip a few meals in Sri Lanka. I already have 3000 Sri Lankan Rupiahs in my pocket ($25). One last look at the night time lights of the Petronas Towers.

A VIEW OF THINGS TO COME

Selamat Hari Raya Eid al-Fitr. A day where we did a groundhog day of yesterday. We played in the pool. Ezra and Viena played with a coin and Tupperware to-go plastic container as a boat. Ezra is in he tub right now. Yes, we have a tub – a real bathtub. He is back into playing in the bathtub for hours. Ezra enjoyed showing us his crab walk at the pool. We took a walk to the Petronas Towers. Maybe we should have said at home. Here are some of the quotes I heard. “OK. Get me out of this place!” shortly after seeing the elevator door opened with no room inside. e also witnessed a broken elevator that would fill up with people and then they would wait until finally someone realized it was broken and then everyone would file out but no one would tell the next group of people filing into the non-operational elevator. Quote ” I don’t want to eat anything where I have to sit around all those armpits!”Needless to say, lots of people at the KLCC shopping center today. We were looking for a swimsuit for Vienna, but no luck. We exited as soon as possible – using the escalator – the escapalator. Too many people to just sit and people watch. Lots of traffic in the street as well. We celebrated with chocolate cake because Viena was able to finish her journal. Will bribes always be a part of the educational process. The towers were lit up as always tonight. we usually stay up until midnight and then watch when they pull the power on the tower. No real special decorations up for Hari Raya, just lots of people out enjoying the day. We did not go by the Mosque, but Viena said the other day, “Dad, look a Mosque!” The culture is sinking in.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA
THIS PLAYGROUND GOES ON FOREVER.
WOW. ALOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT HERE YESTERDAY.

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Happy Eid al-Fitr. The day to celebrate the end of Ramadan. A new cycle begins. We walked over to the local mosque today to observe the celebration. Many men in there ceremonial gowns. Not too many women or children. Not too many women or children. No big potluck afterwards at the Mosque, but lots of hugs and photographs pf people with the Twin Petronas Towers in the background. Men were running through the KLCC park towards the Mosque to arrive on time for the sermon. The prayer message lasted about 10 minutes and then people started filing out of the mosque and back into the park. If the whistle-blower of the park was on duty they would have worn our their whistle. No whistle blower today. Not like yesterday. Eid al-Fitr. We found out where all the people go after the Mosque – to the KLCC shopping mall. Thousands of people were all walking around, snapping photos, not shopping, hanging out with friends and family. Many groups of young men just hanging out and enjoying the day. No frisbee. No music. No dancing. People watching. Later when we passed by the Mosque, nothing was going on. The playground was full of kids and people. Probably the one day like this. Thought of a movie where the parents would be following the kids on a crowded playground like this.

A FEW FIREWORKS

I walked to the Brasilian Embassy after breakfast to investigate the possibility of acquiring our Brasilian Visas before we leave KL. Not going to happen. They need at least five days to process, so we need to process or VISA in Rome or Madrid. Oh well. If I would have brought in all the paperwork to the embassy as soon as we arrived in KL we would be set. Nice that the Brasilian Embassy is so close. We walked to the KLCC playground park late in the afternoon and we were poured upon. Everyone was seeking shelter in the park. Everyone, except Viena and Ezra – who took advantage of the rain that turned all the regular slides in the KLCC playground park (about 30) into water slides. Big slides, little slides, covered slides, skinny slides, wide slides, curvy slides, straight slides, steep slides, straight down slides. And they all had collected water at the bottom. Viena and Ezra were planning on swimming in the waterpark area, but that was now closed, so they soaked themselves by going down all the water slides. The downside downslide of things is that water slides slide faster. So a few times Ezra zoomed down the slide and was unable to control his landing and he landed pretty hard on his bum, but that did not stop him from going down down again. Fireworks at night. Nothing showy. Celebrating the last night of Ramadan.

walking in the neighborhood

A great breakfast. We skyped early to see Logan Su Gramma and Baby Iso. When we are waking up, they are preparing to go to sleep – the real definition of half-way around the world. The hotel has a breakfast buffet and we are able to sample in small quantities some of the Malaysian dishes that we have seen on the street but are too scared to try. The buffet is a good way to sample alot of different foods – kinda like a pizza hut all you can eat buffet. We went and play at the playground of KLCC. The day was hot. Viena and Ezra loved all the different playsets. They even had the water fountain pool area open for children. Now, that is a great idea. A water park in Malaysia free for all kids under 12, but there were plenty of others walking around in the 1 foot of water to cool off. The backdrop of the water area is the Petronas Towers. They are doing alot of construction in this area – probably a new skyscraper going up. If you build it they will come. We will probably come back here tomorrow, and the next day. The walk is only 1/2 mile from the Corus Hotel. Ezra was wiped out by the heat and the water park. They have a 15 foot waterfall that you can walk under of behind. I changes some money into Sri Lankan Rupiahs. Preparing for the Indian Ocean.

BIG TOWERS

I found a place to clean our clothes and I did not need to pay the worth of the clothes or run half way across the city. Simple. In the shopping area where I purchased Ezra and Viena’s shoes they have a laundromat. Simple things like clean clothes go a long way … and bathrooms when you need them … and water when you are thirsty … and shade when the sun is glaring, blaring down on you. Finding a place to clean clothes was our big adventure today. We went walking on our quest in the neat of the day around 2PM. The Ramadan Food Bazaars were just beginning to set up. We were able to buy some tofu surprise and a yummy spicy rigatoni noodle dish. So many choices at these Ramadan Food Markets, even more if you are into meat dishes. Picture a table under some shade setup with nothing on the table. Then , out of nowhere, a car with usually a hatchback appears – drives up and a group of people start unloading different dishes – dish after dish – out of the hatchback an onto the table – Like a potluck, all Tupperware covered. Fish, Meat, big noodle, little noodle, spicy,curry, spicy, mostly spicy. A table of eats. A table of sweets. A table of drinks. A table of prepackaged after dinner cookies. As soon as the food starts setting up, the line begins. The queue. Most people take away the dinners to eat after the sun has set which is the custom of Ramadan. We however dig in immediately which is the Weems custom and give our food providers thanks and a thumbs up for the taste. I usually order small portions and then re-order the tasty stuff. The night was spent thinking about why, where, when are we going. Decisions. Decisions.

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We walked the urban center around us.

All showered. All clean. Ready for bed. A difficult task to keep clean in the urban-ness of Kuala Lumpur, especially when you are 4-years-old and your name begins with an “E”. We just returned from Mass at St Johns Catholic Church. The church is David’s stone throw away from where we are staying. The service was in English and well attended. Maybe the people showed up in great numbers because this is the final weekend of Ramadan and the Catholic Church is piggybacking on all the festivities. Our monumental challenge today walking through the part of the city I thought was “Little India”. I am not sure where we really were, except the fact that we were surrounded by 1,000,000,000 people – all walking down a crowded bazaar street. Not to be done again. I thought we were going to Little India, but all the bazaar shops were selling headresses or other wardrobe items for Muslims attire – nothing really India-like – except there were a billion people. I do not know how people could do shopping in all these crowds. We usually try to steer clear of these situations, but I saw the bazaar area and wondered what was going on over there and before you know it we were one of the masses thick in the throng. The trouble was, the street had no end and no way out, so once you were in the chute you sort of had to stay in the chute. After what seemed like a 1/4 mile we found a place to squeeze out. I guess I could make some sort of analogy how Columbus went looking for India and found America and when we set out for Little India we found Malaysia – a very crowded street in Malaysia. This morning we tried to walk to Chinatown but only went as far as Merdeka Square. Time for Storytime.

LONG DAY.

We went to a bird park today. Well, the KL Bird Park was the carrot at the end of a stick. And the carrot was even sweeter tasting after having all the other experiences on our way to the forum, I mean bird park. Fixsheenelajer. Another one of Ezra’s word’s. Our place serves a peanut butter and jelly toast breakfast with tea and coffee. We are always the first one starting the toaster. The majority of the travellers here are backpackers and they tend to be late nighters. Ezra was making us laugh with his plastic triangular sandwich container. Ezra carried this sandwich container practically the entire time we walked through the KL Bird PArk. I am sure this plastic triangular sandwich container could do everything – a boat, a plane, a taxi, a train. The birds knew this of course, that is why they were following Ezra. Ezra had to be protected more than once by Dwana by a large peacock who wanted that plastic packaging. Needless to say, Ezra was pretty attached to this toy but the end of the Bird Park. He was even arguing with the sandwich container late in the day. The final humorous act was as we were walking to the NAtional Mosque he spied HIS sandwich container on the other side of the fence and he immediately accused dear ole DAD of discarding his toy, his friend he had spent the day at the Bird Park with. I calmed him down and was able to hoist him over the fence so he could grab the sandwich container with his feet like some of the monkeys we saw today. We did not understand until later how his triangular transforming sandwich wrapping travelled to the other side of the fence. Dwana was going through her backpack and discovered the real, the original sandwich packaging and so now we has two, and I have been exonerated from my atrocities of secretly discarding a little boy’s toy. What a day walking through the botanical gardens, city streets, and Bird Park. We even found a secret hidden playground that Ezra and Viena loved playing around. Sometimes they remember how to play on playground, sometime they forget. This time they remembered. We were out all day in the KL heat. The heat was not so bad today as the clouds covered the sun and a cool breeze visited us once or twice.

Wonder where in the world we were a year ago?
Click Below.

https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/08/02

Tackle the biggest fish first, and same the rest for last. This morning we awoke and powered down some toast and caught the bus to Batu caves. Batu Caves is a cool cave with a large statue at the entrance, a Hindu temple of sorts, a pilgrimage area protected by many Gods I am sure and many monkeys. I enjoyed being right there up close as Pilgrims took their blessing in this large cave in a mountainside. Ezra and Dwana received their 3rd eye blessing. Ezra and Viena did great climbing and descending the 200 steps into the cave temple. A really big cave.On the way home we caught a subway train. They had a special section for ladies only. Back at home at our place, Ezra chalk colored our door – legal this time and we tried to find some food for everyone. The monkeys did not bother us at the BAtu Cave, but beware if you are carrying up a water bottle. The monkeys made a little girl cry when they stole her water bottle and tore into the water bottle with their sharp teeth. We slept well. No dream of Monkeys. No more bed bugs.
HELLO BATU CAVES KUALA LUMPUR