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"Me at home" -
by famed Malaysian cartoonist Lat
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Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia
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| KL's Chinatown- is a
crowded colourful mélange of signs, shops, activity and noise. The
central section, Jalan Petaling, is a frantically busy market that
is closed to traffic. It is most spectacular at night, when the combination
of street stalls, food, haggling and bright lights makes impressions on
all five senses. The old buildings - undergoing constant restoration by
conservation groups - are interesting in themselves, while bargain-hunters
and collectors of kitsch might be in luck as well. |
| Petronis Twin Tower-
Two
years ago Jamal and I visited the 88 story Petronis twin tower – at 452
meters it is claimed to be the world’s tallest building, that time the
observation tower was closed – Jamal was so disappointed. This time we
were in luck – after passing through security scanners and the bit too
friendly body search we ascended to the observation bridge joining the
2 towers. Jamal like almost everyone else complained – "why can’t we go
to the top?" – the guide answered, "you just can’t – that’s why it is free."
The Petronas Twin Towers, are the inspired symbol of Malaysia's new landmark
to the world. |
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John & Jamal on
the 42nd floor tower bridge
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View from the Petronis
Twin Tower bridge
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| The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station-
another Moorish-influenced feature in the city. Designed by a British architect,
A. B. Hubbock who specified the roof withstand 6 feet of snow. the
station was completed in 1911, it was refurbished in 1986 when its old
world grandeur was restored. The building houses the Heritage Hotel which
offers a specially created ambience reflecting the pre independence era
of old Malaya. We visited on two occasions once for lunch and a second
time for dinner in the Victorian dining room of the Heritage hotel situated
inside the station. They serve good old English fare including Fish &
Chips, lamb chops & Ploughman's pie. |
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| The grand old Majestic hotel -
just over the road from the station, where John stayed 31 years ago. Sadly
is is now closed. |
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| Malaysian Railways Administration
Building - over the road and to the right of the Majestic. |
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| Masjid Jamek - again designed
by British architect A. B. Hubbock, is evidence of Malaysia's large
Indian-Muslim community. Built in 1909, the mosque sits serenely
at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang Rivers. It features onion shaped
domes, arched colonnades and shiny, cool, marble floors. |
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| The Sultan Abdul Amad Building
- Jamal's favourite building in Kuala LLumpur - the building was built
in 1897 to house the various administrative departments of the Colonial
British Government at that time. Its Moorish features have attracted the
interest of visiting historians and students of architecture. Today, the
building houses the Supreme and High Courts and also Infokraf, a
center for Malaysian handicrafts. |
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On to Penang Island
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| The Cathay Hotel - We stayed
in Penang at the graceful 125 year old Cathay. The hotel has over 30 spacious
rooms $24 per night for a room with a multi-speed ceiling fan or
$29 per night for an air-conditioned room. The rooms are huge and features
colour Tv, original (working) black bakelite phone and a beautiful polished
wooden floor - ensuite bathroom with hot and cold water. |
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John at the bar
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The ornate lobby
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| The Eastern & Orient Hotel-
Known as the E&O Hotel is was built by the Armenian Sarkie brothers.
The Eastern began its colourful history back in 1884. The hotel gained
overwhelming popularity almost overnight, in 1885, the Oriental was established.
Both hotels then combined to form the Eastern & Oriental Hotels. The
Sarki's also built the Penang Hill hotel and the famed Raffles Hotel,
Singapore. The combination of both hotels proved to be a success, The E
& O stood majestically with its Moorish minarets, spacious domed lobby
and endless seafront. By 1927, the hotel was advertised as "the premier
hotel east of the Suez" and acknowledged as having the longest seafront
lawn in the world at 842 ft. |
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The Sarki Brothers
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The E & O in its
heyday
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John at the E&O
hotel
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Jamal & the world's
longest lawn
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| The Queen Victoria Memorial Clock
– opposite the old wharf, was donated by a local Chinese millionaire
to honour Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, it stands 60 ft high,
one foot, for each year of her reign. |
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| Penang Hill - we took the
30 minute slow 850 meter climb up the hill in a funicular, actually two
of them, you change half way. The line was built by a Swiss company in
1923 and the carriages were modernized in 1975. |
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| The single carriage carrying up to
30 passengers, pushes a “front-trailer” up the hill. |
At the top is the worlds longest
perpendicular tunnel – quite an engineering feat in it’s day. |
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In order for the two carriages to pass
each other at the halfway point, the track splits into 2, the train automatically
takes the left track, guided by a double flanged wheel on the left side.
The right wheel has no flange. |
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| One of the original 1923 funicular
carriages displayed at the top of Pinang hill, another is used as a souvenir
shop at the National Museum. |
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| At the top of the hill is a magnificent
Hindu temple alongside a Mosque and the Penang Hill hotel built by the
Sarki brothers of Raffles fame. |
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| The house of Cheong Fat Tze-
over the road from our hotel - Cheong, known in the 19th century
as the Rockefeller of the East. His business empire stretched through out
asia. He died in 1916, such was his aura and fame the British and Dutch
authorities ordered that flags be flown at half mast throughout their colonies.
The house is reputed to be only one of two of its kind outside China. While
the floor plan of the 38 room house is essentially Chinese, the overall
effect is typical of Straights Settlements architecture. |
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Party Time
at the KHO
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Farewell party for Ines,
before she left for a month in the States
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A Salubrious
Evening
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| Friends
Roberto and Vevin invited us to a sumptuous meal of Grandma’s Stuffed Roast
Chicken, at their Riviera style home in Rue de Semér, Kerobokan,
Bali, to wish us well for our tour. |
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May,
2003
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xKHO
News is published monthly x
your contributions are welcome xxxx Prices
quoted are in Australian dollars unless indicated otherwise
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| Tuesday April 8 we headed of to Denpasar
airport Bali for our long awaited two week holiday to the Asian continent.
The previous day it was announced that the housewife - President of Indonesia
had changed an almost 20 year |
| old decree signed by former
President Soeharto to allow the nationals of 48 countries including |
"That'll fix them" |
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| Australia a free visa, to promote
tourism. The visa was issued free on arrival for a period of 60 days. The
citizens of other countries having to apply for a visa or receive a 30
day visa on arrival at a cost of $50 US. Meg has now reduced the number
of eligible countries to 10. Australian's are no longer eligible. We were
in panic as to what to do on our return – there was no further information
forthcoming as in when will the changes take effect etc. Even now we still
don’t know. Talk about shoot yourself in the Sepak Bola’s, then I guess
Meg doesn’t have any, although some would say otherwise. Ind.
Sepak Bola - Eng. Soccer ball |
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SARS
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| Arriving at the airport we were surprised
to see most airline staff all masked up no doubt to hide their Identity
in face of (SARS) the Sudden Airline Restructuring Syndrome,
which most airlines have resorted to since a huge |
| drop in passengers during Mr Bush’s
unsuccessful attempt to find “Weapons of Mass Distraction” in Iraq. |
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TRAIN TRIP CANCELLED
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| Thanks to the visa uncertainty created
by Boo Meg we decided it was best to apply for a 6 month social visa at
the KL Indonesian Embassy. The visa is not initially 6 months – it
is 60 days, extendable monthly up until a total of 6 months when you must
leave the country. On our arrival in SINGAPORE we were surprised
to find the only persons wearing masks were the health inspector sisters,
who we were told to report to if we felt ill. We took the highly efficient
15 minute $1.60 subway train from the airport to Geyling where we spent
the night at the $49 Hotel 81 “Gold” After a few sips of our “Duty free”
we headed of to Bugis Street for dinner “al Fresco” The next morning we
headed by bus to JAHORE BARU in MALAYSIA after transiting customs we were
on our 5 hr $5.40 journey to Kuala Lumpur. We stayed in the clean and cheap
$34 China Town Hotel, right in the center of CHINA TOWN |
 Jamal
on the very colourful bus
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| We were forced to wait in KL for
6 days waiting for the visa. We made the most of it and saw much more of
KL than we would have otherwise. Incidentally, Malaysia gives
a 3 month free automatic visa on arrival that can easily be extended by
visiting the immigration office, no wonder they are the tourism leaders
of Asia. |
| One night we went to the famed COLISEUM
HOTEL for dinner - where Somerset Maugham once sat, nowadays KL’s
famous Straights Times cartoonist, LAT drops by. |
 Cartoonist
Lat with self portrait
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| The hotel, bar and restaurant has
barely changed since it as built in 1921 “To change it would be bad luck”
said the 3rd generation Chinese owner. We enjoyed a very pleasant evening
at the Coliseum - the food was excellent contrary to the advice from Lonely
Planet guide. |
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The Coliseum Hotel
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The restaurant
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The Coliseum bar
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| Another highlight in KL was a visit
to the ISLAMIC ART MUSEUM Among the galleries there is the Islamic Architecture
Gallery which showcases miniature replicas of renowned buildings such as
the Taj Mahal, Imam Ismail Albukhary Mosque and Museum and the Amir Timur
Mausoleum. Apart from this gallery is the Standard Chartered Ottoman Room
which displays objects from the reign of the OTTOMAN EMPIRE of Turkey
and Syria. In the Al-Quran and Manuscripts Gallery is a collection of more
than 200 Islamic manuscripts which include a 30-Judz' Al-Quran from the
MING DYNISTY. One favourite place to hang around , just near China
Town - the CENTRAL MARKET which has hidden away a full American Bar - a
rarity in Malaysia. |
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| After 6 days in KL we headed by $5
bus to BUTTER WORTH where we took the ferry to GEORGE TOWN
on Penang island. |
 Penang
from the ferry
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| I had not been to Penang for 30
years and could not believe the changes. With Penang hill in the background
it now looks like Hong Kong. Fortunately the old colonial area
has survived and must be one of the best preserved example of British colonial
architecture. On arrival we headed straight for the Cathay Hotel. (see
story left) Many mornings we had breakfast at the Bakery, their speciality
is freshly baked hot croissant with a large red saveloy forced into
it and smothered with tomato sauce. |
 Breakfast
at the Bakery
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| The NATIONAL HISTORY
MUSEUM is a former commercial bank dating back
to 1910. The Museum accumulates rese arches, collection, records and publications
in regard to the nation's treasures. Exhibits include the 520 million-year-old
metamorphic sandstone, a 4,000-year-old Homo sapiens skull and an eight-sided
gold coin dating back to the 15th century. |
 John
at the Museum
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| One day we took a $30 high speed
2½ hr ferry trip to Langkawi Island – Malaysia’s much over rated
tourist destination – a white elephant in my opinion, not worth mentioning,
which I won’t. Seems all it has going for it is that it is duty free. |
 The
"beach" in Langkawi.
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 Main
St - Langkawi
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| On our second last day we decided
to fly back to SINGAPORE to save time, with Malaysian Airlines, we were
lucky enough to have a storm on the way, with much turbulence – which made
it an interesting flight. |
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Our MAS 737-400 Penang
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In transit at KLIA
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| After a day of frantic shopping –
Jamal bought lots of nick-naks and gifts. I bought a Samsung digital
camera which will no doubt enhance the KHO news. |
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We headed back to Bali, very happy
with our Holiday. we can’t wait to return and finally do our grand train
trip. maybe next year.
Hopefully Meg will be back in her
kitchen by then. |
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Ines escapes the
heat
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| Here we see Ines with friend Sheila
last week outside the historic Empress hotel built in 1908 on the banks
of Victoria Harbour, British Colombia Canada. Ines arrived back in Bali
on April 28. |
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Reunion
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| 5 years ago Pak Made and his son
Wayan did the first year of renovations at the KHO. Last week they dropped
in to renew acquaintances. |
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3 Coins in the Fountain
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| The KHO garden now sports a new "Wishing
Well" fountain. |
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| We found a good quality professional
pump in Malaysia, rated at 10w & pumps 1800 litres per hour. The submerged
high intensity 2 cm red LED's can be seen next to the water jet.- Yes there
are 3 coins. |
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| The red fountain at night – very
effective – looks like Madonna cut her wrists in the water. |
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| While we were in Malaysia, Jamal’s
younger brother Deni looked after the KHO. During the time he gave
the office it’s annual repaint. |
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Soccer Night
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| Saturday night, Wayan and friend
Ketut came over for dinner and to Join Jamal and Deni watch Lazio
and Juventus play. Unfortunately along with 15 others Wayan lost his job
at Villa’s Alu this week due to the lack of guests who are staying away
in droves to avoid SARS. |
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