representation of great Malaysian efficiency .Then comes the acres of green with a drive through one of the densest forests heading towards the city . The city itself is a good mix of the old and the new , the fast and the slow , the black and the white .
There’s a great amount of diversity in the city , the structures reflect different architectures , temples , mosques and pagodas dot the landscape , the entire population is a mélange of Chinese , Indians and Malays . The Buddhist maha vihara temple near Tun Sambanthan is a stark contrast to the spectacular Batu caves in the hills on the way to Genting . One needs to climb the three hundred steps upto the top of the hill to see the temple of Muruga , the son of Shiva .
In Kuala Lumpur , we stayed on the thirty fifth floor of the swank Berjaya Times Square Hotel , the forty storey hotel on top of a ten storey mall on top of a four storey games arcade and with the KL monorail running through its first floor .Some great food at the Big Apple restaurant kept us in good spirits just like the great harmonious city all around . The monorail gives a great overview of the city as it travels from Titiwangsa in the north to the KL sentral and Tun Sembanthan in the south passing Imbi ( where we stayed ) and Chow kit , the riotous shopping place .
The Petronas is an imposing structure and so is the Surya KLCC mall it houses . The variety of fish in the aquaria make interesting viewing .
Malaysia also makes for good mystery .
For instance , while little is known about its origins , some say that Indians discovered Malaysia as they crossed the Bay of Bengal looking for some sort of Swarnabhoomi or “land of Gold” ,only to find this heavily vegetated land , most of which still stands as is . In fact the cable car gondolas that transport one from Genting highlands to the lowest altitude past through 500 year old scary and dense rain forests . Genting itself is like Ooty , nestled amongst thick vegetation at a height of 2000 feet above sea levels , the only thing it has is the massive amusement theme park . It’s like Pattayya and Las Vegas as cities built on just one source of income.
The most outstanding ride is the Space Shot . As it slowly takes you high up , so high that you can see KL many miles down . Rising slowly , it gives you a great glimpse of the entire rain forest around Genting , building fear in your soul to its maximum . And then it drops you . Feet , heart , mind become numb and you shriek hard to stay alive . It is one of the most remarkable experiences one can have .
Probably , it helps you conquer fear . But it’s great fun for twelve ringgits a head .
Malaysians seem very impressionable too . Their flag is a replica of the Amrican flag with the stars replaced by the half moon crescent and star , an Islamic adaption , and most of their earlier kings were called ‘Rajah’s , straight out of Hindu history .The Government is a replica of the British monarchy , a King ruling the country with the administration looked after by a Prime Minister . Even their traditional wedding ceremony is remarkably similar to the ones done in India .
Srivijaya , the oldest of Malaysian ports was the original name for the port city of Malacca . Rajeev Menon , one of my neighbours in Pune and a great badminton buddy did the sixon-sixoff schedule as a merchant navy captain with a Norweigan company , would often recount tales of how pirates would jump ship and how he was once lighter by two thousand dollars of his personal wealth when they attacked just off the coast of Malaysia .
Pirates of the Malaccan ! plays out every night in the dark waters of the Andaman bay. The Kingdom of Malaysia forms a strange ‘V’ sign with the south China sea as its backwaters with the richer nations of Brunei and Singapore occupying pecks of land in its borders . The intensity of trade makes it a much desired destinations for pirates .
As Malaccan trade grew in volume , it attracted the middle east businessmen and soon the local heads started to call themselves Sultans and forming a cross cultural network of ships controlled the pirates .
This and the fact that non-muslim ships couldn’t dock anywhere near Egypt attracted the Portuguese who landed in Malacca in 1511 .If one were to look at the boat of the Portuguese sailor , Alfonso de Albuquerque preserved in its splendour on the coast of Malacca , one can see the spirit of adventure and the great conquest that the Portuguese made .The Dutch attacked the Portuguese ruled Malacca till the next invader came along .
The resort of A’Famosa spread over many acres has a gate that replicates the original fort as constructed by the Portuguese before the Dutch took it away . We spent a great three days in our three-bed villa with private swimming pool . A banana truck took us along around the resort .
As we sat down by the sea on the strait of Malacca , the Portuguese locality around us had a stark resemblance to Goa . They count amongst the poorest of the people now and are culturally the most bankrupt .
‘One not like this place , ‘ said Syed talking about the sea front Portuguese locality in Malacca , the dashing driver who doubled up as a history guide too. Syed had five children and his wife was buzy expecting the sixth , all of whom he supported by ferrying tourists around the Melacca city .
‘ The British change everything ‘ , he said affirmatively , ‘They come to Penang , dock ships , refuel , and go to China . But the Japanese beat them ’
As the world war played out in Europe , the Japs down here , part of the italy – germany axis , were plundering the localites here . Malaysia happened to be in their way of total eastern control ,so they threw the british out in 1942 , a couple of years before the war ended and invited the B2 bombers and the only bomb ever exploded saw them surrender it back to the British .
Finally , the Chinese came invading in 1969 , before a series of treaties signed amongst all these city states and countries settled the definition of land borders and created amongst the most efficient and progressive states in the southeast .
The road from Genting to Kuala Lumpur or the one from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca were superb , well laid , and a great drive .
The KLIA doesn’t need luggage to be screened as the entire airport has been wired and screening happens the minute you step into the airport .
I stared at the Flight scheduler with horror . The flight was delayed by over twelve hours and was slated to leave now in the morning.
I managed to convince the Chinese supervisor and his Indian assistant that I needed to be on the flight leaving right now via Chennai to Mumbai and couldn’t wait for the morning flight . Persistance paid and we managed our way back .
The Air India baggage retrieval counters in Mumbai were a mess . The luggage of different airlines turned up in different counters and there was utter chaos at two am . There was utter chaos as the conveyor belt of the Air Indian Malaysian flight got loaded with the Air India South Africa flight and all hell broke loose.
As one drove out of Andheri in the pouring rain , the dilapidated buildings , the incomplete structures , filth and ‘work in progress’ signs dotted the lanes onto the western express highway .
‘Selamat Datang India !’
‘Welcome to India ’, as they say in Malaysia .
No comments:
Post a Comment