Kris on his travels: All City-ed Out

Our first stop in Malaysia took us to the coastal town of Melaka. With a two hour bus journey from the border required to get us there and still south of KL (Kular Lumpa), it seemed like a good place start our Malaysian experience. It was recommended to us by Kirsten and featured in our brand new Lonely Planet guide that we’d bought for south east Asia. Neither of us were sure of what to expect once we crossed the border from Singapore since neither Maren or I had been to Malaysia before. Nevertheless, having negotiated the bamboozling India I was quietly confident we’d manage. In fact as we changed bus at the border things were almost as organised and straightforward as they were in Singapore, albeit with a little more dirt. Our “express” bus from Johur Bahru was modern, air-conditioned and had huge comfortable seats with a surprising amount of leg room that easily accommodated our long legs. As we have since found the bus services here are well organised, cheap and comfortable. We also quickly found that it was easy to communicate with the locals, with many of them speaking very good English. So far, so good.

Things didn’t get much harder once we got to Melaka, however it wasn’t quite how we’d imagined. We were looking forward come time near the sea and perhaps a day on the beach, but it quickly became apparent that this isn’t a really sea-side town. Melaka one of the largest cities in the Malaysian Peninsular with around three-quarters of a million people living there and tourism is far from the biggest generator of income. It has a long and rich history with it being a major trading port in the past and has been ruled by several different empires in the past, notably Indian, Portuguese and British. As a result there is melting pot of cultures and Melaka has its own unique Eurasian cuisine. Due to its unique past, Melaka has recently been listed as a world heritage site and there were still signs around town advertising the party that was thrown to celebrate its new status. The Lonely Planet recommended that we made our way to the China Town for cheap backpacker friendly accommodation. Once we got there it was easy to find a guest house, with the standard of rooms high and reasonably priced. Whilst it might not be the most charming of places, for £8 a night we had a large clean room with the luxury of air-conditioning which made it good value, even when compared to India. The eating options were as varied and thus as baffling as in Singapore. We struggled to decide on anything, from where to eat and what to eat. Our first breakfast was particularly difficult and unfamiliar. In both Chinese and Malay cooking a rice and meat dish is just as normal for breakfast as it is for dinner and when we were unable to find anywhere serving anything close to eggs and toast, we ended up at a local place eating chopped chicken with plain rice at 10am.

With Maren not feeling 100% we limited ourselves to spending most of the day looking around China Town. It’s definitely the most charming part of Melaka we saw and many of the buildings date back hundreds of years. There are lots of shops selling all sorts of things, from cheap tourist gifts to Chinese antiques, art and curiosities. The Chinese Taoist and Buddhist temples were the most attention-grabbing places though from the colourful paintwork of the building to the holy shrines inside. Interestingly however, even in China Town, there was still a Hindu temple and Mosque as well. Cultures seem to mix well in this part of the world. That even we went out for dinner in the porteguese area of the town to try one local fusion specialities, devil’s curry. On our ride over in a ricksaw it seemed that there wasn’t much anything we want to see that warranted another full day here so we planned to take the bus to KL (Kuala Lumpur) the following morning.

The next day, after another comfortable bus ride we were dropped off at KL’s main bus station in the heart of the city. Again China Town was the place to head to for backpacker accommodation. It was mid afternoon and with our heavy backpacks we walk across town in the humid stifling conditions. Daytime averages at this time of year are rarely below 35 degrees and with it being at the tail of the monsoon humidity was always close to one hundred percent. Fortunately after a somewhat arduous walk we had little trouble in finding a guest house, but unsurprisingly, space was at a premium and the prices a little more expensive.

It wasn’t long before we were out exploring the city. My first impression was that we were no longer in a utopian city like Singapore. There was a little more dirt around for starters, with more rough edges giving the streets a grittier feel. Cafes and restaurants spilled on the pavements where they could get away with it, the traffic was more chaotic and there noise and buzz that was missing in Singapore. I also felt the need to be just a little more alert and wary. This instinct that was later proved correct when a girl sitting at a table next to us had her bag stolen as she ate. That said we felt far from unsafe. This somehow made it seem a bit more familiar and reminded me of London. There are of course huge differences as well. The skyline is unique being home to several unusual and tall buildings which pop in and out of view as you walk around the dense city centre. The two most famous of these are the KL Tower and the twin Petronas Towers, which have both held the world record as the world’s tallest buildings. In fact Malaysia is a country that is obsessed with world records; the weirder the better. You’ll often find a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records on a table in a guest house or hotel. They even have their own version specifically for Malaysian records. However, these aren’t the only interesting building in KL, with an eclectic mix of architecture present around the city centre. The country’s Islamic influence is well represented with the national mosque looming over one side of the city. However, it was the Masjid Jamek mosque close to the centre of the city that was particularly beautiful. Not far away one of the taller skyscrapers in the city seemed to be inspired by Islamic art which we thought looked particularly cool. However, with a sizable Chinese and Indian population there are plenty of other religions and cultures represented. Walking round Little India we soon found a local Hindu temple, cafes full of Indian men drinking Chai and the local bazaar featuring all the usual Indian wares. China Town was a bigger and badder version of one in Melaka and whilst it had plenty of character it didn’t have the quite the same charm. Again there seemed to be a thriving mix of cultures and we liked KL.

That said we were finding it difficult to relax. With alcohol relatively expensive here spending time at a bar was disconcertingly expensive and our guest was not a great place to relax. When we got back to our room, whose only window was into the dark hall, it was positively claustrophobic. This wasn’t the only thing that was bothering us. Having spent over a week in Singapore, a couple of days in Melaka and now KL city living, especially as back packers, was beginning to wear thin. The heat wasn’t helping either with the torrential downpours in the afternoon only seeming to make matters worse. Since we didn’t have AC sleep had been almost impossible. Eating was also becoming a source of stress, especially breakfast. On our final day in KL we found ourselves in McDonald’s (wrong!) getting a coffee to go with the donuts we’d purchased in a supermarket as we were unable to face chicken and rice in the middle of the morning again. We were over being in the city, any city and it was time to do something a little more unusual and perhaps a little more meaningful. Looking at the options on the backpacker circuit one destination immediately stood out. The Cameron Highlands. Promising treks in the jungle to get to panoramic views of its famous tea plantations and average temperatures ten degrees lower than KL it was an easy decision. Despite thinking highly of the city we couldn’t wait to get out of KL and get back to more natural surroundings.