With Abi along for 4 weeks Paul is taking a rest from authoring and is stealing from Abi's notes adding his contributions here and there.
23032009 I've arrived!
Abi writes...
Making my way through arrivals I spot Paul waiting for me through the glass ahead and as I walk through the doors , to the barriers that hold the meeters & greeters back, I find him calling out my name as he points a camera at me. I feel my least photogenic self with the jet lag and heat taking their toll in spite of a 5min freshen up in the ladies after baggage claim.
Reunited we go to the airport taxi desk to prepay and get a coupon for the fare back to Dave's. The assistant told us to leave by exit 3 which we did to find the area roped off but the taxis visible, a driver tells us to go back inside and go via the door beside the one we'd taken, when through it we realise we could've just stepped over the rope and ended up in the same place.
During the taxi journey we watch a striking lightening storm over KL. On arrival at Dave & Amudha's I was made to feel most welcome. We had a brief chat before Amudha left for her yoga class, leaving Dave and us in charge of the rice to go with a chicken curry Amudha had made earlier. This was rather easy as it was put in an electric rice cooker so all we had to do was wait for the alarm to tell us it was ready ;-)
Meanwhile we chatted with Dave about possible things to do and see tomorrow, Tuesday, favouring the hop on and hop off bus, as it would take into account any jet lag and so we systematically went through what each stop had to offer and which were worth a visit or a miss.
By the time Amudha returned & well after the rice cooker timer had pinged we were just getting ready to dish up. Amudha brought some take out chicken satay back with her for us to try too. Conversation over dinner revealed when eating chicken in Malaysia beware of bones, they just chop it all up and cook it and leave it for the diner to remove, this is something alien to me and as I'd later find a challenge as the norm is to eat with your hand or use a fork & spoon.
Finally at 11.30pm we retire to bed and it's so hot, even with the ceiling fan breeze, that I find myself already homesick for my bed where I can snuggle up in a feather duvet on a cold night and hear nothing, no whirring of a fan that sounds like a distant train.
20090324 Toilet humour + shaking your tail feather
Eventually sleep came but it was only a few hours before I awoke, I lay there thinking there's nothing worse than not being able to sleep when your tired other than lying right next to someone who is safely in the land of nod. At 4am I decide to eat the dried pineapple pieces I'd been given on the plane to see if that would help me drift off and thankfully they did allow sleep to come.
We awake to a tropical storm and Paul's first rain in 6 months (or as he put it: "that's the first stuff I've seen fall out of the sky in 6 months, well other than what fell in England when home for Christmas") it sounded just like a power shower had been left on full it was so heavy & loud.
Amudha very kindly offered to drop us outside the Petronas Twin Towers, that hold the record for the world's tallest pair of buildings, to get our ticket to go to the skybridge that joins the buildings together. Once our ticket had been issued for a 12:45 visit time we took the opportunity to look around the exhibition and watch a video about construction of the twin towers to put it into context and kill some time indoors whilst the weather was so poor. We learned the glass-and-steel towers soar some 452 metres to reach 88 storeys and that the state-of-the-art engineering techniques combined Islamic patterns of two squares overlaid to form a star with the corners rounded off with circles.
Afterwards we decide to walk to the local tourist information centre to pick up a map. We found ourselves skating more than once in our flip flops on the treacherous wet tiles that the sidewalks are constructed of. The style of walk required to minimise the risk of your legs becoming separated in a groin injury inducing way was quite tiring. The scenery reminded me of USA, passing 7-Eleven, Wendy's, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, MacDonald's and more. I haven't made up my mind whether I like the colourful painted pillars of the monorail, that double up as billboard space, or not.
Map collected we head off to BB Plaza for the AA shop to get insurance for Vafa but find the route isn't 100% straightforward even with the map and so ask several security guards along the way for help. Confusingly we entered under a sign for BB Plaza but find ourselves in a different mall, but then remembered Dave had said last night there were two malls joined together and you only knew you'd ventured into by the change in floor tile design.
Eventually we find ourselves in the right place and I take a welcome seat in the aircon whilst Paul talks to the assistant. Time passes by and we start to worry we wont make it back to Petronas Twin Towers in time. In spite of Paul getting a quote the day before they were now questioning the age of the bike and necessitating referral to the insurance provider. We make the judgement call to leave 12:15 whether received or not and to return tomorrow if necessary. 12:15 came and still no response and so we leave to leg it back across town to Petronas, deciding to take the monorail for a couple of stops as our best chance, but finding ourselves in a carriage like a fridge we looked forward to getting off ASAP.
By this time both of us are bursting for the loo and I assure us that as there were toilets at the top of the World Trade Centres in Manhattan then we should be able to go at Petronas too. Looking at the size of the storm drains we pass we realise the rain here is pretty serious, even more so than we'd seen first thing.
Once back in line for our visit, arriving on the dot of 12:45, we are ushered into a small movie theatre and issued with some 3D specs and told it was a 7 minute showing before taking the lifts to the 41st floor & the skybridge. 7 more mins to the toilet is all I heard! It was basically a big advert for Petronas, however, as this was free of charge to visit we didn't mind. We then get in the lifts and rise at such a rate that our ears pop, rising more than a floor a second. Thankfully the cloud had brightened to allow us a reasonable panoramic view across the city, but still no toilets. Oh and we had to queue to go through security and put Paul's tank bag and the umbrella Amudha had lent us in a locker delaying us further.
Eventually we are free to wander the suria KLCC Mall beneath the towers to find the toilets. The nearest we found were 3RM entrance but being told on the floor above or below they were free, we decided one more floor was doable having waited this long. Once inside the cubicle it was a challenge to know what option to take, there was a step up to a squat toilet, should I stand on the first step and hover, or stand on ridged ceramic foot markers on the squat loo? Not knowing I could be sure of my aim, being equipped with the female apparatus, I decide on the former but it is still quite a skill holding my trousers clear. On meeting Paul outside I comment how it had made my head ache from tipping it upside down to which he was amazed was necessary and mimicked me to try and work out just how my head position would've been which caused me to laugh and nearly spray the swig of water I'd just glugged back everywhere. I explained it was necessary so a girl could see what was going where, but now as I write this I wonder am I an exception to the rule?
We decide to get a spot of lunch from the food court as it was now 2pm so we walked around all the stalls before making a choice, all I fancied was a tuna sarnie and a smoothie and I was amazed in the time it took me to purchase Paul had purchased a freshly cooked stir fry.
Sydney still rates as the #1 city that's grabbed me and got under my skin and I find it hard not to try and make comparisons but only to find none. I suppose it is the last long haul destination so it's probably only natural to draw on as reference point.
All the motorcyclists here seem to wear shirts/jackets on back to front as though to protect their arms from the sun and they feel its better to have a dusty/smog fuelled back than front.
We ask numerous people where to alight the hop on hop off bus and eventually find stop 22. Whilst loitering a young Malay girl approaches us asking if we wish to buy a ticket at 38 RM each, Paul asks her for her official card and she just produces a leaflet and so we decide to walk on to the next stop in case she is phony, however, after several minutes we decide to walk back and take the risk as she did have a polo shirt with the emblem embroidered on and say she would be catching the bus too.
Once aboard Paul instantly closes his eyes and rests his head against the window to cat nap. Soon after I find it hard to stay awake too in spite of the cold cold aircon. It should be called the stop start bus rather than hop on hop off as we spent ages in traffic waiting for lights to change the commentary having long run out.
It seems to take an inordinate amount of time to make our way to stop 13 the bird park that claims to have the world's largest free flight aviary. By now I am seriously flagging and in need of an espresso caffeine shot to keep going, Paul enquires if there's a cafe inside to be told the only option is the booth attached to the gift shop at the entrance and so we stop.
Suitably revived we wander into the Lovebirds enclosure and Paul gets one of them to eat seed from his hand but I'm not keen, in fact one of the things whirring through my head as I'd lane awake in the night was Avian Bird Flu avoidance advice I'd read on the Internet suggested such a venue was a no go.
We wander through various paths to a bridge where in the bottom is a peacock who displays his tail feathers in the spectacular fashion that only a peacock can. I notice a black and white spotted spider crawling up Paul's arm and find it has bitten as we flick it away. I'm amazed he has been bitten before me!
You'll have to look at the photos to find out what else we saw!
The Bird Park shut at 6pm and we just managed to time our visit to the last minute. Shattered from so much walking we take a cab back to Dave & Amudhas. The fixed price this time was 18RM which we later found was about 8RM too much and that the red & white cabs are the most reasonable.
Dave had offered to drive Paul (on Vafa) to Sunny's to drop her off ready for tomorrow's maintenance and as he was going by car there was room for me to go too and so the temptation to ride Vafa was enough to give me the inner reserve to go and put my biker gear on and tag along.
Paul rode Vafa up and down the street whilst waiting for Dave's return and I found myself starting to melt all togged up and so thumbed him down to let me hop on and get the air flowing into my air flow gear.
The KL rush hour traffic was horrendous and cars pulling out regardless of right of way and I suddenly found my stoker babe skills from tandeming, of turning around and looking into the eyes of the drivers behind, most useful except for one driver who was driving without looking ahead!
It felt really good, liking coming home, to be on the back in the saddle. (Paul: with all the carb issues in the UAE, Vafa was not running as smooth at low revs so I had book her into Sunny’s to get the carbs balance and the idle mixtures reset.
On the way back I was really hungry and thought how travelling in this weather was OK but how if it was hotter than 33 degrees I wasn't sure what my stamina would be.
20090325 Feed me & feed me now!
Amudha once again kindly drops us off in KL on the way to her office, this time by BB Plaza so we can finalise Vafa's insurance from yesterday, however we arrive 15 mins before the Mall opens and so we wander round to kill time but not knowing which is the up/down escalator as they're off causes me some nervousness in navigating like stairs, especially as one next to us whirs into action without warning.
At 10am we get to the AA and success this time. Paul's camera strap needed replacing and so we wandered round trying to find a replacement but without success, eventually finding an information desk but deciding toilet location would be the first question after yesterday's experience. The clerk directs us to the Low Yat Mall (which we heard pronounced like Laurette) in the street behind as this specialises in IT shops. Sure enough there are numerous camera shops and after 3-5 attempts we find one to purchase with the quick release mechanism Paul wants, but these two small tasks have consumed an hour in a flash and I recall Paul saying on the road you shouldn't try to accomplish too much in a day.
We then go in search of the hop on hop off bus stop to take us to Kraf Kuala Lumpur that has a collection of shops offering traditional and contemporary crafts, including hand woven textiles, woodwork, batik, basketwork, pewter and pottery. One hour later and I've lost count of how many people we've asked for help (security guards, hotel porters/receptionists, shop keepers included) yet the bus stop still eludes us and so we decide to walk some more to the next stop. Deflatingly Paul then announces we could've walked less by going directly there and forgetting about maximising value from the 39RM hop on hop off tickets! Eventually we abandon all hope of finding a stop before the 3pm 24hr expiry so head off on foot to find the KL Craft Complex.
On arrival I just need to find somewhere to sit and cool off as we'd walked in the midday heat for approx 5 hours and so we head to the food court but after surveying the options all I fancy is a bag of ready prepared water melon. For a change the air con is set to the perfect ambient temperature and so we take the opportunity to sit and catch up, discussing the Osho experience from both our perspectives.
The craft complex was holding an exhibtion so as well as what looked like regular high priced shops there were many small craftsmen and women in marques demonstration there skills. With one guy craving wooden shoes and another craving numerous wooden noses, quite unique but not something we wanted to take home.
Once we'd done the complex justice we head out trying to find a red and white taxi, however, the first rank we came across none of the drivers were interested in our fare and so we walked up to the junction with the main road to try our luck. The first one we flagged down wanted to charge us 30RM but Amudha set our expectation it should be nearer 10-12 and so we declined. The next driver we got to stop said 20 RM and so the tiredness lured us into accepting this offer.
Whilst I relax I watch Paul upload the day's photos to Picasa, whittle the album down as much as possible and write captions. The space is running out on his Eee PC C: drive and so this is a lengthy process.
A big storm hits and so Dave advises us to wait until 7pm to set off back to Sunny's to collect Vafa, yet it still takes us nearly an hour to cross town the traffic is so bad. We arrive just before closing and Paul asks Sunny and his son to sign Vafa. No sooner are we on our way than we stop at the Shell garage almost next door to check the tyre pressures and reconnect the fuel gauge sensor.
Trying to navigate our way to China Town for dinner proves harder than the directions from Dave suggested arriving at 9:30pm. I am so famished it's not funny. We walk up and down a couple of the main streets in China Town but can only find roasted chestnuts and fruit for sale, why when we were looking for fruit earlier in the day we had no joy but not had passed 6 in as many mins was frustrating. Eventually we come to a main road and find a 7-Eleven and I am so desperate to eat at this point I suggest to Paul we go inside, only trouble is that food for sale needed a kettle to boil water and rehydrate the meal or a stomach of steel to attempt the unappetising food on the counter that had been there all day. The Mall next door had just closed there food court so that wasn't an option either. I looked across the street and spy a MacDonald's and so tell Paul I want to buy some fries whilst we continue to wander. His response is we may as well eat there. I had a double cheeseburger and shared some fries and it felt great to have something hot.
Paul had realised he'd forgotten to transfer Dave's door key and so we'd said we'd be back by 10pm so they wouldn't have to wait up for us. So MacDonald's downed we had to make a speedy exit but due to a few wrong turns we didn't make it until 10:10.
20090326
6:15am wake up call to leave with Dave at 7:15am so we can follow him towards his office to put us on the right road for Melaka (Malacca) the first settlement on the peninsula in the 1400s. Once we left the North South Highway E2 we stopped to eat the apples we'd bought from a stall in China Town to keep our energy levels up. The scenery didn't change much all the way down, undulating Palm Tree woods with haze in the distance.
We find our way into the centre of Melaka parking outside the heritage centre but not a sliver of shade to be found. Paul holds his jacket up to at least look like we're trying not to flash what we've got as we change out of our biker gear and apply sunscreen. Soon after getting off Vafa I'd clocked some nasty looking iggies scurrying around and pointed them out to Paul. They looked like a cross between an earwig and an ant. Once I was almost ready to walk a way I felt something bite/sting me on the sole of my right foot that felt as nasty as a bee sting and when I lifted my foot I saw it was one of these weird insects, when I tried to brush it off though it was still clinging on and so I called across to Paul to get it off me. I quickly downed an antihistamine in case of my usual nasty reaction and then noticed a local lady sat on the wall so I went over to her to ask what these things were and if they're bite/sting was dangerous. Thankfully she said they were just an ant with a nasty painful bite. Relieved and assured I wasn't a big girl's blouse for my reaction.
Soon after walking down the street parallel to the river we came to the crimson Christ Church and the colourful trishaws lined up around Queen Victoria Fountain. We walked on and noticed a loan trishaw parked up on the roundabout and got chatting to him, for 40RM an hour he would take us to some of the most notable sites, the fee was non-negotiable and we decide to go for it as it would provide some welcome shade and allow us to cover more ground than on our own steam.
After a quick stop to take a photo at ship outside the Maritime museum we get deposited at the cultural museum at the base of St Paul's Hill, with the lure that it was free of charge to enter and was air conditioned we went in. Impressed by the displays on show but mindful of our time clocking past with the trishaw awaiting us it was a whistle stop walk around before climbing the steps to St Paul's church a 1521 chapel ruin to look out to Selat Melaka & the Southern Peninsula. Hungry already I open the Tuc biscuits from the plane I'd stowed in my bum bag for such an eventuality.
Next door was Mahmud's palace well an elaborate reconstruction of Sultan Mahmud's 15th century wooden palace that had Thai influence in my mind and for a couple of RM we could enter. After completing the first floor we realise we only have 10 mins trishaw time left and so we either needed to leave now or pay the man off. Paul the chivalrous gent offered to do the latter whilst I sat on the porch to benefit from the shade and breeze. We only managed two of the additional floors as the third was roped off.
Before leaving we walked around the forbidden garden to find a bench in the shade to sit whilst Paul ate the remaining fruit we'd purchased.
We then walked out the back way so as not to retrace our steps to find Jonker street en route to Cheng Hoon Temple, or Temple of Bright Clouds, that was founded in 1645 and is one of the oldest Chinese Temples in Malaysia. Paul fancies walking in an art cafe but after seeing a dog lazing on the kitchen floor I decline to eat and just look at the art. One of the photos was a cleverly taken shot of a guy against a waterfall that made it look enormous but on talking to the artist learn it was a trick of the eye.
The temple wasn't anything special in my eyes, the one I'd visited on the Northern territories tour in Hong Kong was far more impressive. As we are about to leave I notice a toilet block and take the opportunity to pay a visit before retracing our steps back to a cafe I'd noticed locals eating at, remembering Charlie Boorman's advice that it's usually a good indication it's safe to eat.
Seated as near to the ceiling fan as we could be we ask to see the menu to be told there are pictures on the hotplate at the front of the cafe. My heart sinks when I see the options are Chicken Rice, Fish Curry, Chicken Curry or Belly Pork Curry and decide the fish looks the best bet. Having learned from yesterday's experience I eat all the rice and as much of the fish that would easily come away from the back bone. The small bones had the appearance of toe nail clippings which didn't help with encouraging consumption. Bizarrely Paul was uncomfortable with eating there when watching the owner's wife emptying fresh curry with her hands into the currypot that had been sitting there, however, the turnover of other diners was so high whilst we ate I thought it should be as OK as we could hope for.
As we decided to take the minor road back we were anticipating a 5 hour journey and so decided to leave after going round a few back streets trying to find the right road out. After the first town we notice the storm clouds gathering and sure enough soon after the first sploshes of rain hit our visors, as the pace increases Paul dives into a Shell garage to fill up with fuel and shelter. Soon after we are joined by numerous local bikers and I spy a cash point and ice cream opportunity for an almond magnum whilst we sit the storm out.
When there is just one local biker left sheltering that is our queue to leave.
20090327 Garage Chum Services
Left at 9am to get to Sunny’s for 10am opening time to collect the shock we‘d had on order, having make good progress across town we arrive 5 mins ahead of schedule, just long enough to watch Sunny arrive on his BMW F800. I‘m relieved to see he wears a proper biker jacket and flip top helmet, making me feel less of an odd ball.
Whilst Paul and Sunny Jnr worked on changing chain & sprocket and adjusting steering head play I am tasked with diary updates on Paul’s Eee PC. I watch Paul overseeing Sunny Jnr towards the end of the maintenance session and realise from his face he isn’t happy and when I ask later it’s because he could’ve done something saving on the bill. However Sunny kindly charges half price as earlier their had been a misunderstanding in price for the shock, Paul had understood 1,009 RM but it was 1,900 RM almost double the price (Paul: a case of Chinese whispers). As this was the part we’d been waiting on to leave KL and as the last shock had only lasted 10k miles from Turkey Paul decided to take it anyway.
Paul must have more jam than Hartley’s as we arrive back at Dave & Amudha’s just as a few spots of rain start to fall. No sooner had I dismounted Vafa than a flash of light, instantaneously followed by fork lightening accompanied by an almighty bang, causes me to vocalise my shock before running under the canopy to shelter from the heavens that simultaneously open delivering stair rods.
We have lunch that we’d bought from the expatriate supermarket the night before, Rye bread toast and cold curried Heinz baked beans for me and breakfast beef sandwich for Paul. Refuelled Paul goes to work on Vafa to fit the shock we’d collected whilst I have a diary marathon, interrupted by helping Paul with my garage chum services as and when the need arose e.g. taping up protective shock sheathe, reattaching petrol tank insulator, threading rear shock absorber bolt, testing intercom after Paul connected directly to my helmet as I forgot to pack the cable - mega oops!
We eventually stop at 8pm when the dinner Dave cooks for us is ready Char Siew Pow followed by Jacket Spuds cooked on the BBQ with cheese & sour cream. I wash up as I felt bad Dave had cooked for us when he’d been at work all day.
Then it’s a quick shower before packing which takes us until 11:10pm to sort, exhausted we collapse into bed, but it felt really great to be bumbling around like we do at home.