KL via Oman return
In a slightly seedy spa/salon on the less salubrious side of one of KL's premier shopping areas, Bukit Bintang, I was having my nails done today when more than usual excitement broke out.
Squeals, screams, banging.... a rat had escaped from the ceiling and onto the floor next to one of the employees. It was chased around the place by about four workers, each with sticks or brooms, trying to despatch the creature, or at least, get it out of the shop. I think it eventally took refugee in a chair, which was then dumped outside the door.
And all the while, the nail technician who was working on my nails didn't bat an eyelid. Didn't even look around, but kept on filing and buffing away. Maybe she'd seen it all before.
KL was its usual self today - a bit of rain, ceramic-tiled footpaths slippery as ice, some very glitzy stores only a skip and a jump from buildings blackened with decades of old-growth mould, the on-the-nose odour of durian. All as before.
We both took the opportunity today to have haircuts and wash some clothes, before our coming two weeks in Indonesia. Kuala Lumpur is one of those places where laundry gets done by weight in tiny shops- RM7 for a kilo. So our washing came to about $A15 - much cheaper than having it done by the hotel.
The hotel, the ParkRoyal serviced apartments, is very comfortable - I stayed here a couple of years ago and was impressed by the space and the facilities, so DB booked us in here again. And they finish breakfast at a late enough hour to allow for a sleep in, which we needed this morning.
It's
still Ramadan, as Malaysia is officially an Islamic country, but there
are enough other segments of the population - of Chinese and Indian
origin - that it poses us no problems. Making our way back to hotel this afternooin we saw the evening food stalls opening and doing a brisk trade, with locals stocking up on food they can eat the moment sunset is declared.
And there are Aidilfitri posters around, all preparing to celebrate the end of the holy month, which is due tomorrow or Wednesday.
Dinner tonight in Lygon Street (or more formally, Cangkat Bukit Bintang), at Opium, a restaurant we first tried a year and a half ago with Jenny and Ash. It's still pretty good, and finished off at an old time favourite, The Green Man, an English sports bar pub.
Opium had a muso playing a 21-string instrument I'd never heard or seen before - a Guzheng, which Google tells me is also known as a Chinese zither (below).
Tuesday, 4 June, Kuala Lumpur
A quieter day today, with the only thing on the agenda being a visit to the Batu Caves, a cave complex in the limestone hills just to the north of KL proper. I wanted to have another look at them, because there's been a bit of a fuss about their World Heritage site status, since the Hindu community, who have authority over the caves for ceremonial purposes, had decided to give the site a bit of a refurb - painting the 300-odd stairs and the golden goddess whose name escapes me at the moment.
I think the make-over looks great, and that the fuss will die down in due course.
40Two signs seen in KL today (the one on the left was on the back of a headrest in the taxi to the Batu Caves). -Make of them what you will:
Ramadan officially ends tomorrow, and there're signs of preparations for the Aidilfitri celebrations throughout the city.
One which caught my eye today was this shop in a back street not far from our hotel, where it wasn't just a case of "lambs to the slaughter", but rather, cattle... I don't think it was even a regular butchers, judging by the items hanging around the walls. Maybe it was just the locals, getting ready for a big BBQ
Tomorrow, another early start, this time heading for Medan, in Sumatra, one of Indonesia's main islands. Medan is just south of Banda Aceh, but we're not going there.