Malaysia for me was one of a kind. While there is so much to see and do there, it seems like the intense tour around Kuala Lumpur did the trick for me, as I had blue feelings setting out to the airport. Yet, a sense of completeness and accomplishment was there too, as I was watching the palm landscape passing by through the KLIA Express train window. The pink train only has three stops – Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and SN Sentral, connecting the city center with the airport.
Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful place, with developed infrastructure. I have never been to Malibu or any other of those cities, but I would imagine the sky scarpers and palms would create a strong sense of similarity. Also, I stayed there for the 1.75 (haha) days, so booked a luxurious condo at Ceylonz Suites with rooftop garden and infinity pool. The place was amazing… And cost me 40CAD per night. And while this seems like the cheapest deal out there that is hard to believe, the other parts were quite expensive. Unlike Thailand and Vietnam, the souvenirs were 2-3 dollars each, just as the food (well, maybe 4-5 dollars).
There is something about coffee in Kuala Lumpur, though. Iced cappuccino – 8CAD easy.
On my arrival day, I was in a buying rage, so went to the central market 15 minutes away from my place. Google led me through some sketchy place, with beggars-to-be, sitting under the walls. And yes, I managed to get whistled at and probably catcalled in Malay, and yes, I felt uncomfortable and intimidated – but hey, Cuba 1.5 years ago was way worse. Plus, the street was busy, so it was okay.
Apparently, copper and tin are an entry card for Malaysia. The country used to be the main exporter in the world for pewter (with Selangor company in the lead). Not anymore, but the metal processing industry is still big. Batiks – colored silk fabric used for hijabs, beach ware, scarves – are another go-to souvenir, just as the colorful pants and skirts. The country is HUGELY diverse. I am from Canada, so tell me about it – but diversity in Malaysia is different. People mix together in one big cultural soup, full of Indians, Thais, Malays, Myanmarians, some Arabs as well. Mostly Asians and Indians though; the country is Muslim, BUT – Hindu is very popular, as well.
For example, the next day I took a half day tour from a street salesman (yes, I thought I was getting scammed, but there was no way of checking, and the tour was cheap – so I went with it). We had to go to one of the shops at the central market (as I insisted on paying by credit card), and there was the machine to pay. If I was getting scammed (which I was not but could be!) I could still dispute the card transaction with my bank, but cash would be gone forever.
So, back to the Hindu. The tour guide (with his own personal car, might as well kidnap people) took us (me and the mean couple from Mauritius) took us to a Chinese temple first, with an amazing view down on the city; and then, then – we went to the Batu Caves, with a Hindu temple hidden inside. Full of street vendors and monkeys at the bottom, I made my way up to the top (approximately 250 colorful steps), removed my shoes and covered my shoulders, and entered the caves under the water dripping from the ceiling. A very spectacular view, especially under the window in the ceiling, where the sun shines through, emphasizing the colors of the temple.
Down at the mountain footsteps, one could also find three Hindu temples, all with similar colorful, elephant-y decorated walls. In one of them, three different priests one by one offered me the blessing for luck and good fortune, by drawing the red sniper dot and white line on my forehead, as well as tying red, white, or striped black and white bracelets on my wrists, AND asking for money donations in the most innocent way possible. While I find it funny, I do not think religious blessings are things that can be “bought” with money, and blessing people so you can demand money afterwards is sort of a disrespect to your own religion you are practicing.
One of the younger priests started flirting with me and even made the small prophecy for me. I wanted to get some future readings, but not this way. He asked me what I did, and I said I was in IT. So he proceeded to tell me I would work in IT, but then do HR for the same company. This was the lamest and most fake prophecy I have heard, and it was evident from his choice of words and behavior he was making it up on the go. Things like “I am active on social media”, “open to people but don’t trust them”, and other generic phrases that match any girl of my age with more or less the same style of life or aspirations. Anybody could pull this off.
Anybody needs a prophecy? I just got a live masterclass, haha.
We also visited the batik factory, where I could color a little spot of the silk fabric with a paint brush. To prevent the colors from overlapping, they pour thin lines of wax on the fabric, which is later removed, and you get a clean picture with white outlines.
The tour finished around 1:00 pm, and I asked to be dropped off at Petronas Towers. Apparently, you need to book the entrance ticket to the bridge, or top of the towers in advance. As I have done neither, I just wandered inside the towers’ mall, and headed out to see Masjid Jamek Mosque. The entrance was free, and I was provided with a one-piece hijab to wear, that covered my head and everything till my waist.
I entered the mosque front part, something like a veranda, and a clearly Muslim guy (turned out he was from Uganda) offered to sit down for a small overview story. I sat, and he decided to engage another girl of Indian origin (but really, she was British), who was peacefully, not bothering anyone, at the rear corner.
He was a professor of theology at the Malaysian university, and you could clearly say his storytelling was quite engaging. Apparently “Kuala” means “life” and “Lumpur” means unity. It is very symbolic since there are two rivers in KL, so “lumpur” also refers to the unity of the two. He proceeded to tell us about the history of islam, when another German couple and a Swiss boy joined. I did not know that Islam follows the same genealogy of the prophets as Christianity, and that Muslims also believe in Jesus Christ, while Muhammed is considered the finalizer of Qu’ran, and thus, nobody can alter the holy book after him.
However, I was constantly waiting for him to start offering us to convert to Islam, and I did not have to wait for too long. Slowly the historical boards he was showing were replaced by the boards, which, in one way or another, conveyed the idea that “Islam is the only true religion”; and so if Qu’ran is not the only true holy book, and Muhammad, who did not go to school or university, knew about the formation of clouds, unique fingerprints, dark deep ocean water, then Islam is indeed the one and true religion. He also proceeded to tell us that it’s the only growing religion in the world and showed a TikTok video where a guy talks to Chat GPT, and AI recognizes Islam is the best…
The guy really started strong. Such a pity. I looked up the verse about the cloud formation to see what exactly it says. Does not take too much brains for a Muhammad guy with no education to figure out that every time the sky is cloudy, it is going to rain. Same thing with the fingerprints. Pure lie – he said Qu’ran points out their uniqueness, but in reality, it just says that Allah is the most powerful, and he can resurrect people completely as they were during life, up to their fingerprints. Of course, I never got a chance to point that out, our storyteller mostly talked to either one of the guys in our group.
I read the Bible many years ago, but also wanted to read Qu’ran and Torah to understand and make up my own opinion about these three books, rather than listening to random people’s opinions, who read them already. So when he offered a free Qu’ran book, I said yes and took it. Nice manifestation, huh? Maybe I should start my own manifestation religion.
After we saw the daily prayer taking place inside the mosque, we called it a day and exited the Masjid Jamek complex. It was a great cultural experience, and probably one of the most memorable days on my trip. The other folks whom the guy failed to convert to Islam were busy for a hangout, so I made use of my rooftop infinity pool with a stunning view at the hotel. Pictures speak better than the words, trust me.
Next morning – on the road again.
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