Monday, September 22, 2003
So to continue - the following day (17th sept fact fans)
As i write its pissing it down outside - thats the tropics for you i guess...
Right this morning Ronnie was on the radio - as a guest DJ - reading out the weather phone numbers that sort of thing - bizarre i know but one of the radio stations allows listeners to do this every wednesday
whats that? more about ME you say? you're right of course - you dont even know this Ronnie guy!
I went to the Lake Gardens again because there was loads there that I wanted to do but didnt have chance the previous day due to sweat overload
First stop was the Islamic Arts Museum which I had been told was very good.
There were obviously some good exhibits there but unfortunatley i found it hard to get excited by jewlery, fabric and models of Mosques
Oh well they had some nice swords
Next though is possibly my highlight so far - KL Bird Park
The biggest undercover Bird Park in south east asia
Of course - in Malaysia everything has to be the biggest - either the tallest building or tallest tower or biggest mosque (the Blue one) or cable car or largest shopping centre - they had started the "longest building in the world!" but ran out of funding - either that or someone had the presence of mind to ask the question Why? and noone had an answer - if you can think of any good reason why anyone would want to build the longest building in the world then let me know (answers on a postcard)
So anyway - The biggest undercover Bird Park in south east asia
Absolutley great - loads of strange and fantastic birds - some fying around others in cages but its a phenomenal place (pictures - check) best moment was when i was crouching to get a shot of some birds by a lake from a walkway only to turn around and be face to face with a rather large black bird (as opposed to blackbird) with a big red face - it was literally 2 metres away from me if that.
I dont know who was more suprised but he seemed pretty nonchalant as he turned around and wandered off
Good shot of a peacock as well and a crazy owl who did that rotating head 360 degrees thing i thought was only in cartoons
Flamingoes:
Weird (and nervy) Blue bird:
A Hornbill - lots in Malaysia:
following that i went to the Orchid garden and the Hibiscous garden (knackered sweaty etc)
quite good if you like flowers though
From there the LRT (Light Rail Transit actually) to KLCC (Petronas Towers) where i was due to meet Ronnie
I was waiting - without a watch which i had forgotten so just sitting by the fountain leafing through the Lonely Planet where from nowhere a voice from the ether
"Are you lost?"
Difficult to reply to that one - not lost in space but lost in time (if you get the drift good if not carry on i reckon itll get easier)
"No im waiting for a friend"
The traveller caught reading the Lonely Planet in public is never able to feel truly comfortable with the catchee until the catchee displays knowledge of the book thus making the (hang on this was supposed to get easier - now im confusing myself)
"Ive got that book as well"
Phew!
So a new friend - Amy from Australia her parents live in KL and she has been here some weeks - I think she was motivated to talk to me through boredom but luckily we hit it off and waited together - she was also meeting someone but not for a few hours.
Eventually Ronnie arrived with Megat and then we all went for a drink - Mariam also arrived to join us for a meal
Amy had to go to meet her friend so the four of us went to the same roadside place i mentioned before and had another feast of Malay food
Tom Yam soup, Fish, green beans, Prawns in batter etc etc
Full up
Post & Publish
As i write its pissing it down outside - thats the tropics for you i guess...
Right this morning Ronnie was on the radio - as a guest DJ - reading out the weather phone numbers that sort of thing - bizarre i know but one of the radio stations allows listeners to do this every wednesday
whats that? more about ME you say? you're right of course - you dont even know this Ronnie guy!
I went to the Lake Gardens again because there was loads there that I wanted to do but didnt have chance the previous day due to sweat overload
First stop was the Islamic Arts Museum which I had been told was very good.
There were obviously some good exhibits there but unfortunatley i found it hard to get excited by jewlery, fabric and models of Mosques
Oh well they had some nice swords
Next though is possibly my highlight so far - KL Bird Park
The biggest undercover Bird Park in south east asia
Of course - in Malaysia everything has to be the biggest - either the tallest building or tallest tower or biggest mosque (the Blue one) or cable car or largest shopping centre - they had started the "longest building in the world!" but ran out of funding - either that or someone had the presence of mind to ask the question Why? and noone had an answer - if you can think of any good reason why anyone would want to build the longest building in the world then let me know (answers on a postcard)
So anyway - The biggest undercover Bird Park in south east asia
Absolutley great - loads of strange and fantastic birds - some fying around others in cages but its a phenomenal place (pictures - check) best moment was when i was crouching to get a shot of some birds by a lake from a walkway only to turn around and be face to face with a rather large black bird (as opposed to blackbird) with a big red face - it was literally 2 metres away from me if that.
I dont know who was more suprised but he seemed pretty nonchalant as he turned around and wandered off
Good shot of a peacock as well and a crazy owl who did that rotating head 360 degrees thing i thought was only in cartoons
Flamingoes:
Weird (and nervy) Blue bird:
A Hornbill - lots in Malaysia:
following that i went to the Orchid garden and the Hibiscous garden (knackered sweaty etc)
quite good if you like flowers though
From there the LRT (Light Rail Transit actually) to KLCC (Petronas Towers) where i was due to meet Ronnie
I was waiting - without a watch which i had forgotten so just sitting by the fountain leafing through the Lonely Planet where from nowhere a voice from the ether
"Are you lost?"
Difficult to reply to that one - not lost in space but lost in time (if you get the drift good if not carry on i reckon itll get easier)
"No im waiting for a friend"
The traveller caught reading the Lonely Planet in public is never able to feel truly comfortable with the catchee until the catchee displays knowledge of the book thus making the (hang on this was supposed to get easier - now im confusing myself)
"Ive got that book as well"
Phew!
So a new friend - Amy from Australia her parents live in KL and she has been here some weeks - I think she was motivated to talk to me through boredom but luckily we hit it off and waited together - she was also meeting someone but not for a few hours.
Eventually Ronnie arrived with Megat and then we all went for a drink - Mariam also arrived to join us for a meal
Amy had to go to meet her friend so the four of us went to the same roadside place i mentioned before and had another feast of Malay food
Tom Yam soup, Fish, green beans, Prawns in batter etc etc
Full up
Post & Publish
Okay
quite annoying cos i had written a load and the internet cafe crashed - boo!
im actually on Langkawi now which is beautiful but the internet access is not as good :(
anyway ill try and get back to where i was - which was KL
So the 16th - which I believe was a Tuesday (its a good job I take notes)
and the first day totally to my own devices - will i survive? avoid sunstroke? not get lost? and be happy without an air conditioned car to drive me around?
Well i got the bus into town and headed for Merdeka square which is where independence was anounced and the Malaysian flag raised for the first time and the Union Jack taken down.
A lovely day and a very nice piece of grass it is too
Just next to the square is the Natural History Museum which has exhibits that are showing their age but was actually fascinating to me because I knew very little about the place before i arrived. Its free as well which I always approve of but I cant help thinking that the commonwealth section needs updating as Maggie Thatcher is still down as the Prime Minister of Britain...
I wont go into the history of Malaysia because
a) It was a week ago and my notes arent that good
b) I cant be bothered
and
c) You are on the internet anyway if you're that interested do a search on Google :)
Next up was KL Station which remains a Commuter Hub but has been replaced by KL Sentral for most other purposes. The station is pretty impressive though with lots of Colonial style architecture - minarets and all that sort of gubbins
Pictures taken
So then its a short walk to the beautiful Lake Gardens - They are probably my favourite part of KL but make for an extremely sweaty day. They are not the best to walk around due to the signposting which makes you think you know where you are going but never actually seems to lead you to your destination. and its hot - did i mention?
So I stumbled across the Planet arium and decided that since it had air con it would be worth a look round.
Glad i did cos they had some interesting exhibits - particularly the anti grav room where the whole thing was on a slant and very confusing (bad description but tough) and also the virtual black hole (woo) which was truly very very odd (look you'll just have to go ok?)
I met an English couple who were waiting for the "Show" as well and we took refuge from the busload of schoolkids before watching and finding out about the power of the sun.
(Yes thats right ruining lives with malicious tabloid gossip - arf)
i left them and went for a bit more of a walk in the park and to take some more photos
Eventually i got back to the bus stop and headed home where Ronnie had just got back from work and we watched some american sitcoms and the Premiership coverage - annoyingly although I stayed up till the end the Leicester match wasnt on - Rats - and ive heard the goals were pretty special
anyway save before computer crashes...
quite annoying cos i had written a load and the internet cafe crashed - boo!
im actually on Langkawi now which is beautiful but the internet access is not as good :(
anyway ill try and get back to where i was - which was KL
So the 16th - which I believe was a Tuesday (its a good job I take notes)
and the first day totally to my own devices - will i survive? avoid sunstroke? not get lost? and be happy without an air conditioned car to drive me around?
Well i got the bus into town and headed for Merdeka square which is where independence was anounced and the Malaysian flag raised for the first time and the Union Jack taken down.
A lovely day and a very nice piece of grass it is too
Just next to the square is the Natural History Museum which has exhibits that are showing their age but was actually fascinating to me because I knew very little about the place before i arrived. Its free as well which I always approve of but I cant help thinking that the commonwealth section needs updating as Maggie Thatcher is still down as the Prime Minister of Britain...
I wont go into the history of Malaysia because
a) It was a week ago and my notes arent that good
b) I cant be bothered
and
c) You are on the internet anyway if you're that interested do a search on Google :)
Next up was KL Station which remains a Commuter Hub but has been replaced by KL Sentral for most other purposes. The station is pretty impressive though with lots of Colonial style architecture - minarets and all that sort of gubbins
Pictures taken
So then its a short walk to the beautiful Lake Gardens - They are probably my favourite part of KL but make for an extremely sweaty day. They are not the best to walk around due to the signposting which makes you think you know where you are going but never actually seems to lead you to your destination. and its hot - did i mention?
So I stumbled across the Planet arium and decided that since it had air con it would be worth a look round.
Glad i did cos they had some interesting exhibits - particularly the anti grav room where the whole thing was on a slant and very confusing (bad description but tough) and also the virtual black hole (woo) which was truly very very odd (look you'll just have to go ok?)
I met an English couple who were waiting for the "Show" as well and we took refuge from the busload of schoolkids before watching and finding out about the power of the sun.
(Yes thats right ruining lives with malicious tabloid gossip - arf)
i left them and went for a bit more of a walk in the park and to take some more photos
Eventually i got back to the bus stop and headed home where Ronnie had just got back from work and we watched some american sitcoms and the Premiership coverage - annoyingly although I stayed up till the end the Leicester match wasnt on - Rats - and ive heard the goals were pretty special
anyway save before computer crashes...
