Thursday, September 18, 2003
A hot and sweaty morning...
so where did I leave off last then?
oh yeah i went to bed - just a bit more about the place I am staying to give you an idea of the ex-colonial style of the place - they have a clock in the corner that chimes like Big Ben, and they have an umbrella stand made of a real elephant's foot. (from the zoo apparently) FAB
So anyway we are now on to last friday (the 12th) - hey im not a week behind yet!
I had most of the day to myself since Ronnie was at work - it was also his birthday though so I had arranged to meet him and go for some food with his friends in the evening.
I didnt get up particularly early but was greeted with a cooked breakfast courtesy of Ronnie's aunt - fantastic stuff (I have had something different every morning from sausages to boiled eggs, from omlettes to this mornings interesting concoction which was basically the leftovers from last nights beef dinner (with a carrot and potatoes...) so a little odd but basically im being spoiled) On the friday morning though i was feeling a little ropey after the flight and the breakfast was not going down too easily.
I managed enough to be polite and then caught the bus into town.
I wandered around the chinatown area getting offered DVD's right left and centre and generally taking in the sights.
They have apparently just done up Chinatown providing a large covered area but it still seems pretty grotty - there are lots of bizarre fruits (at the risk of sounding like an M People album) and crazy smelling food on sticks.
ANyway later on I met Ronnie underneath the Petronas Towers - which are pretty spectacular close up (and from a distance at night when they are lit) but ill come back to them.
I was taken to a place called Kajang on the outskirts of KL which is apparently where Satay was invented and they have a special peanut sauce.
Ronnie and I were joined by his friends Geoffrey, Maya and Aiee.
This first meal has turned out to be an indicator of how meals have gone since - Ronnie and friends chatter in Malay for a few minutes at the waiter and he eventually comes back with a load of great food - I very rarely have a clue what is going on but it all seems to work out ok
Im going with the theory that its a fun ride so I might as well go with the flow...
So we went to a Satay place obviously and had a load of Chicken, beef, deer and what was eventually translated as cows intestine (i declined the last on my first attempt and no one else ate it either so i didnt feel too pathetic)
The sauce wasnt up to scratch though i was told - not as good as the last time - im not a huge peanut fan at the best of times anyway but the meat and chilli was good
I also had a large hollowed out coconut as a drink which was a new one for me
The talk was of the budget which had been announced that day - there was a 30% rise in the price of cigarettes Geoffrey was saying - they would now cost over 5 Ringgit a pack.
(For those of you not up to date on the exchange rate there are about 6 Ringgits to the pound...)
On the way home we had to go to Ronnie's parents to exchange cars (long and uninteresting story behind that) I met his Dad and Mum who were very friendly - they live in a house unlike anything ive seen at home - very narrow streets and smallish houses all cramped together - the people all seemed friendly and it was like a very lively community
I also met Ronnies sister - a Coldplay fan - discovered as we were watching the MTV VMA ceremony. I thought i would drop in the story about being a close personal friend of the drummer (well I have met him...) but it seemed the only interest was in Chris Martin - so its not just Gwynnie - I dont get the appeal - he's not exactly rock 'n' roll is he?
while im on the subject of music I have listened to a lot of the local radio while driving around - its very western in terms of the stuff they play on the main stations - Rick Astley was on the other day but generally its pretty up to date with your Justins, Beyonces and Christinas getting a lot of play - and that Black Eyed Peas song is boring a small hole into my brain
Ill keep you up to date on my listening habits because im sure thats what you're really interested in..
So then Saturday the 13th
They only get every other Saturday off here - or at least Ronnie does in the bank - although they only work a half day
so I had the morning to myself but had arranged to meet him in the afternoon as we were taking high tea with some friends in the Menara KL (KL Tower)
Apparently this isnt that easy to book but his aunt works in the booking office so we had no trouble.
In the morning though i had an hour or so to kill so i wandered around the central market where there is a lot of arts and crafts type places. all very nice but i wasnt going to start buying stuff.
SO
I met Ronnie and we went to pick up his friend Mariam - it looked like rain so instead of taking a long walk to the tower we parked and had a drink with some other friends of his before meeting Maya and Aiee at the tower
There was a van from a radio station giving out freebies at the base of the tower if you could answer various questions - it was a Malay radio station so yet again I had not a clue what was going on but Mariam prompted me to answer "Dark Chocolate" and as a result I won a Chocolate cake mix to great applause
Anyway, up the tower was pretty spectacular - its I think 280 feet high in the restaurant (slightly higher than the normal observation floor) and the view (revolving as you eat) shows the different parts of the city from the business district made up of high rise towers but with a background of mountains and jungle
Im afraid it makes the London Eye seem pretty tame - and you get a great buffet of food - rice, roti, soup, noodles and meat followed by cakes, jellys and other delicious stuff - i cant really do justice to it but it was nice.
Here's Me with Mariam on my right, Maya on my left and Ronnie and Aiee in front
After checking out the far more busy and far less civilised observation deck for more photos we went downstairs and posed more outside the fountains.
Then a problem struck as our car wouldnt start
we waited around for an hour or so knowing Ronnies dad was on the way but wouldnt be there for some time and eventually just before he turned up we tried it again and bizarley it started.
anyway we had to get back cos we needed a shower before going out again in the evening
We met up with Ronnies friend Steve - an extremely camp gay guy who turned up in a cowboy hat and who was totally entertaining all evening and also Mariam
we went to a few bars in an area called Bukit Bintang.
I will write more about this later but im dying here so i need to take a break
hopefully get the chance to catch up more tomorrow but this blogging lark is more tiring than i thought - and i have a feeling the writing is less than inspired
anyway back later
so where did I leave off last then?
oh yeah i went to bed - just a bit more about the place I am staying to give you an idea of the ex-colonial style of the place - they have a clock in the corner that chimes like Big Ben, and they have an umbrella stand made of a real elephant's foot. (from the zoo apparently) FAB
So anyway we are now on to last friday (the 12th) - hey im not a week behind yet!
I had most of the day to myself since Ronnie was at work - it was also his birthday though so I had arranged to meet him and go for some food with his friends in the evening.
I didnt get up particularly early but was greeted with a cooked breakfast courtesy of Ronnie's aunt - fantastic stuff (I have had something different every morning from sausages to boiled eggs, from omlettes to this mornings interesting concoction which was basically the leftovers from last nights beef dinner (with a carrot and potatoes...) so a little odd but basically im being spoiled) On the friday morning though i was feeling a little ropey after the flight and the breakfast was not going down too easily.
I managed enough to be polite and then caught the bus into town.
I wandered around the chinatown area getting offered DVD's right left and centre and generally taking in the sights.
They have apparently just done up Chinatown providing a large covered area but it still seems pretty grotty - there are lots of bizarre fruits (at the risk of sounding like an M People album) and crazy smelling food on sticks.
ANyway later on I met Ronnie underneath the Petronas Towers - which are pretty spectacular close up (and from a distance at night when they are lit) but ill come back to them.
I was taken to a place called Kajang on the outskirts of KL which is apparently where Satay was invented and they have a special peanut sauce.
Ronnie and I were joined by his friends Geoffrey, Maya and Aiee.
This first meal has turned out to be an indicator of how meals have gone since - Ronnie and friends chatter in Malay for a few minutes at the waiter and he eventually comes back with a load of great food - I very rarely have a clue what is going on but it all seems to work out ok
Im going with the theory that its a fun ride so I might as well go with the flow...
So we went to a Satay place obviously and had a load of Chicken, beef, deer and what was eventually translated as cows intestine (i declined the last on my first attempt and no one else ate it either so i didnt feel too pathetic)
The sauce wasnt up to scratch though i was told - not as good as the last time - im not a huge peanut fan at the best of times anyway but the meat and chilli was good
I also had a large hollowed out coconut as a drink which was a new one for me
The talk was of the budget which had been announced that day - there was a 30% rise in the price of cigarettes Geoffrey was saying - they would now cost over 5 Ringgit a pack.
(For those of you not up to date on the exchange rate there are about 6 Ringgits to the pound...)
On the way home we had to go to Ronnie's parents to exchange cars (long and uninteresting story behind that) I met his Dad and Mum who were very friendly - they live in a house unlike anything ive seen at home - very narrow streets and smallish houses all cramped together - the people all seemed friendly and it was like a very lively community
I also met Ronnies sister - a Coldplay fan - discovered as we were watching the MTV VMA ceremony. I thought i would drop in the story about being a close personal friend of the drummer (well I have met him...) but it seemed the only interest was in Chris Martin - so its not just Gwynnie - I dont get the appeal - he's not exactly rock 'n' roll is he?
while im on the subject of music I have listened to a lot of the local radio while driving around - its very western in terms of the stuff they play on the main stations - Rick Astley was on the other day but generally its pretty up to date with your Justins, Beyonces and Christinas getting a lot of play - and that Black Eyed Peas song is boring a small hole into my brain
Ill keep you up to date on my listening habits because im sure thats what you're really interested in..
So then Saturday the 13th
They only get every other Saturday off here - or at least Ronnie does in the bank - although they only work a half day
so I had the morning to myself but had arranged to meet him in the afternoon as we were taking high tea with some friends in the Menara KL (KL Tower)
Apparently this isnt that easy to book but his aunt works in the booking office so we had no trouble.
In the morning though i had an hour or so to kill so i wandered around the central market where there is a lot of arts and crafts type places. all very nice but i wasnt going to start buying stuff.
SO
I met Ronnie and we went to pick up his friend Mariam - it looked like rain so instead of taking a long walk to the tower we parked and had a drink with some other friends of his before meeting Maya and Aiee at the tower
There was a van from a radio station giving out freebies at the base of the tower if you could answer various questions - it was a Malay radio station so yet again I had not a clue what was going on but Mariam prompted me to answer "Dark Chocolate" and as a result I won a Chocolate cake mix to great applause
Anyway, up the tower was pretty spectacular - its I think 280 feet high in the restaurant (slightly higher than the normal observation floor) and the view (revolving as you eat) shows the different parts of the city from the business district made up of high rise towers but with a background of mountains and jungle
Im afraid it makes the London Eye seem pretty tame - and you get a great buffet of food - rice, roti, soup, noodles and meat followed by cakes, jellys and other delicious stuff - i cant really do justice to it but it was nice.
Here's Me with Mariam on my right, Maya on my left and Ronnie and Aiee in front
After checking out the far more busy and far less civilised observation deck for more photos we went downstairs and posed more outside the fountains.
Then a problem struck as our car wouldnt start
we waited around for an hour or so knowing Ronnies dad was on the way but wouldnt be there for some time and eventually just before he turned up we tried it again and bizarley it started.
anyway we had to get back cos we needed a shower before going out again in the evening
We met up with Ronnies friend Steve - an extremely camp gay guy who turned up in a cowboy hat and who was totally entertaining all evening and also Mariam
we went to a few bars in an area called Bukit Bintang.
I will write more about this later but im dying here so i need to take a break
hopefully get the chance to catch up more tomorrow but this blogging lark is more tiring than i thought - and i have a feeling the writing is less than inspired
anyway back later
