Malaysia

Current time in Kuala Lumpur:

Day 2 - Thursday October 19, 2006 (Kuala Lumpur, continuation)

In the afternoon I reconnoitre the surrounding of the hotel. Because everything is very close together you come pretty fast by the KL tower. The KL telecom tower (1995) is 1.381 feet high. On the list of highest communication towers of the world this tower stays on the fifth place. As that my camera is still in the hotel I decide not to go up yet. This I will do at a later moment. Know its time for a Tiger beer. I went for this to the Beach Club Café on the Jalan P. Ramlee. Above the bar of the Beach Club there must be an aquarium with some sharks. Of course I'm curious to see this. Indeed you can see an aquarium with some small sharks above this bar.

Day 3 - Friday October 20, 2006

In the morning I first had breakfast in the hotel. From this I went by the Jalan Pudu to the Jalan Hang Tuah. At the side-way of these streets you can see the walls of the Pudu prison. This prison is build between 1891 and 1895 and served until 1996. In the beginning there were 600 prisoners. Later, after an enlargement, there were 2.000 prisoners. In 1985 there were 6.500 prisoners who were sleeping in ploughs. Until the moment they closed the prison, because of overpopulation, many drug runners have died by the hangman. The walls of the prison were painted by inmates with pictures of the tropical nature. Unfortunately I couldn't take a picture of this wall because my camera wasn't acclimated yet.

I walk further in the direction of Merdeka Stadium. On August 31, 1957 the independence ceremony took place in this football stadium. From this point its get a bit harder to pass along! Through following local people I final crossed a few crowded streets so that I final reached the former central train station of Kuala Lumpur. This station is build in 1911 and is the take-off point of a walk through the colonial district of Kuala Lumpur. As directive I use a walk as this is described in the Lonely Planet. The station is in Moorish style designed by the architect A.B. Hubbock. Before Hubbock was transferred to Kuala Lumpur he served the British administration in India. This declares the northern-Indian influences at the train station. Naturally I walk to the platform and there I see some trains pass by.

Nearby the station you can find the national mosque, Masjid Negara. Personally I find this not such an interesting place. Truly this is one of the biggest mosques of Southeast Asia. The mosque is built in 1965 and the umbrella shaped roof symbolises the 13 states of Malaysia and the 5 pillars of the Islam. From here I walked further in the direction of the post office. Here you can find the Petronas fountain which I also don't find very interesting. Fortunately you find on this place a very beautiful sight over the city.

From the Petronas fountain it's a short walk to Merdeka Square. Merdeka Square forms the heart of the colonial district of Kuala Lumpur. On the lawn the British played cricket during the colonial times. In 1957 the independence of Malaysia was declared on this lawn. During a walk all round this lawn I walk first along the National Museum en the Memorial library. A striking building is the Royal Selangor Club. This building formed around 1890 the social centre for the high society during the tin-booming business. At present-day this place is still a meeting place for the elite of Kuala Lumpur.

At the north of Merdeka Square you'll find the memorial arches and when you walk a bit further to the north you'll see St Mary's Cathedral (1894). Next I walked to the east of Merdeka Square. Here you find the Sultan Abdul Samad building. This building from 1897 contains Victorian and Moorish influences. Originally the building was used by the British administration. Now a day the building is used by the Malaysia's Supreme Court. The endpoint of the colonial district forms the Masjid Jamek, a mosque from 1907. On this place there are two rivers coming together, the Sungei Klang and the Sungei Gombak. Here Kuala Lumpur started to existence.

KL Train Station

Royal Selangor Club

Sultan Abdul Samad building

Little India, Chettair House