We are in Malaysia – and apologies in advance for the lack of exciting photos but this is the best I can do right now! We stayed a couple of nights in Kuala Lumpur which was basically just a stop over between the 6 hour train ride up from Singapore and before heading off to the beach at the Perhentian Islands.
The train station in Singapore was basic but not without its charm. High vaulted cielings and decorative murals would be more stunning if someone removed the horrible strip lighting. It’s full of hawkers food stalls which is a bit of a pick and mix gamble as none of the food has any description so you just have to try your luck and see what you buy. There’s a huge Indian influence; what I thought was an onion Bahji (for breakfast – the chocies were slim!) was a prawn paste inside and not very appetising but the highly sugared doughnuts went down very well.
The train station is in central Singapore but owned by Malaysia, somewhat confusing. Apparently the Singaporeans are embarrassed by their main railway station and want to invest in a more futuristic building; I didn’t mind the building so much but slightly less shambolic trains, an expanded timetable which doesn’t mean getting up at ungodly hours of the morning and palatable on-board food instead of instant pot noodles, (yes really!) and decent toilets…..would definitely improve the expereince but then we would have nothing to tell you about would we. It’s a 6 hour boneshaker rattling journey to Kuala Lumpur and unfortunately the scenery is pretty monotonous….and pretty difficult to appreciate through scratched smeared windows. Immigration control was an hour after we set off, so we all had to get off the train, file slowly by some very serious immigration checking officers and get our thumb prints taken by infra-red, get sniffed by a sniffy springer spaniel, and file out another door all the way down the platform and back onto the train again.
We checked in to the hotel in Kuala Lumpur and this notice was on the pillar in the lobby near the lifts. Durian is a large spikey green fruit, highyl pungent when cut into; and leaves a residual stink for days – apparently like farts – so the warning seems acceptable. There was a notice in our taxi cab to the hotel saying no kissing…it’s predominantly a Muslim country so they can be pretty strict in Malaysia.
The train station is in central Singapore but owned by Malaysia, somewhat confusing. Apparently the Singaporeans are embarrassed by their main railway station and want to invest in a more futuristic building; I didn’t mind the building so much but slightly less shambolic trains, an expanded timetable which doesn’t mean getting up at ungodly hours of the morning and palatable on-board food instead of instant pot noodles, (yes really!) and decent toilets…..would definitely improve the expereince but then we would have nothing to tell you about would we. It’s a 6 hour boneshaker rattling journey to Kuala Lumpur and unfortunately the scenery is pretty monotonous….and pretty difficult to appreciate through scratched smeared windows. Immigration control was an hour after we set off, so we all had to get off the train, file slowly by some very serious immigration checking officers and get our thumb prints taken by infra-red, get sniffed by a sniffy springer spaniel, and file out another door all the way down the platform and back onto the train again.
We checked in to the hotel in Kuala Lumpur and this notice was on the pillar in the lobby near the lifts. Durian is a large spikey green fruit, highyl pungent when cut into; and leaves a residual stink for days – apparently like farts – so the warning seems acceptable. There was a notice in our taxi cab to the hotel saying no kissing…it’s predominantly a Muslim country so they can be pretty strict in Malaysia.
Pentang Stret market; a great place to get ripped off for a load of knock off tat if you feel that way inclinded.
Petronas Twin Towers, or KLCC, central Kuala Lumpur; were the tallest towers in the world until 2004 – but still remain the tallest TWIN structures in the world.
Petronas Twin Towers, or KLCC, central Kuala Lumpur; were the tallest towers in the world until 2004 – but still remain the tallest TWIN structures in the world.
The mono rail which runs overhead sports some strange advertising on its structural support pillars. Anyone any idea what bum equipment is?
Kuala Lumpur looks much prettier at night.
Can’t take credit for this photo below – it’s from the Wikipedia website.
The Travel Diarist 