C & C globetrotting around the world…

After our short trip to Melacca and the experience of Thaipusam, we came back to KL to pick up our visa for Myanmar and do more sightseeing. One day we followed the “walking tour” from the Lonely Planet through Chinatown, which was interesting. It didn’t really feel like being in Chinatown, but when there are so many Chinese throughout the city, it’s hard to have a definite Chinatown. We passed the Old China Cafe which is an old guild hall before reaching the Chan See Shu Yuen Temple, an ornate and ancestral Chinese temple. We re-traced our steps and passed through Jalan Sang Guna, a small and stinky covered alley with fresh market produce. We then arrived at the 22-m high and very colourful gate tower of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. This South-Indian Hindu shrine houses a famous chariot used for Thaipusam and was the origin of the pilgrimage to the Batu Caves a day earlier. The chariot was to be brought back that day, so all the streets where it will pass were lined with banana trees. Close-by was the Guan Di Temple, a Taoist temple for the God of War Guan Di. We then wondered the streets passing many Art-Deco buildings from the 1930’s before reaching the “Central Market”, previously the city’s fresh produce market. It is now a centre for handicrafts, antiques, art sales and cafes, where we stopped here for a coffee and cake break, which was very much needed. With renewed energy we admired the many shophouses in the area built at the turn of the century. Despite the modern city, many of the shophouses need a coat of paint, but the architecture is nice. We also passed Medan Pasar (“Market Square”), the city’s original market with a clock tower built in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George IV.

The next day we spent down-town around Surya KLCC and the Petronas Towers. On the way we passed the Convention Centre that was then hosting the World Press Photo 2011 Exhibition, so we dropped by to take a look. The photos are really amazing. Some are disturbing too, but very interesting. With the mid-day heat and humidity outside, we decided to stay indoors and went to the cinema to watch “Man on a Ledge”. It was a very good movie (and popcorn) and it’s fun to do things “like at home”, once in a while. While in KL, we also watched a few other movies at Vern’s place, amongst other “Lost in Translation”. Now that we’ve been to countries where the language barrier is enormous, it was really funny to watch. We also watched “The Beach”, since we haven’t been to Thailand’s beaches. Vern, our CS host was really interesting to talk to, so we spent the evening chatting about economics, politics and cultures. Very insightful!