So, after two weeks, hundreds of miles and a few tasty local dishes, we come to the end of our quick spin through Thailand and Kuala Lumpur. It would have been nice to have seen more of Malaysia, maybe the historic sites of Melaka, Ipoh and Penang, but it wasn’t to be. KL was interesting but I don’t see there being much more here that would drag me back all that way. Thailand, crazy and over-the-top as it is, is a different story.
After the walk through that urban rainforest, I spent the rest of the last day visiting a couple of Islamic sites in this majority Muslim nation.
First I had to get there, and here’s a driverless train…
…taking me to my drop-off point near the knackered old main train station. More later.
Built in the 1960s, the National Mosque can hold up to 14000 worshippers and as its name suggests, it’s the spiritual focus for the Muslims of KL and beyond.
There’s a rather austere beauty around the courtyard (which non-Muslims are allowed to visit outside prayer times), typical delicate abstract tracery in the tiling.
Those clouds are going to roll into the most ghastly thunderstorm imaginable in the next few minutes…watch this space.
The prayer hall is reserved for Muslims so here are a couple of looks at the interior from the barrier;
Nice place.
Just across the way is the famed Islamic Arts Museum, a collection of stunning manuscripts, textiles, paintings and architectural models from across the Muslim world.
Opened in the late 1990s, the light, airy building itself is as much of an attraction as its exhibits. For example, they brought in Uzbek experts to craft some of the domes.
Perhaps the best thing about this museum, though, is that it was waterproof. I’d just made it inside when that thunderstorm erupted. In KL you do your open spaces in the morning, because there’s always a chance of heavy afternoon rain.
A lovely place, and I’m sure our last destination was lovely back in the day. Kuala Lumpur train station, a delightful British-designed building with North Indian influences, was the main station during the imperial era. You can almost imagine Charles Dance emerging in his crisp white suit fresh from inspecting his rubber plantation.
However, the next station to arrive at platform 1 was the super modern KL Sentral, which is the city’s principal interchange. That meant that the old station, although it’s still used, is known as the Heritage station and has grown rather tatty and unloved, its imperial glory days never to return.
However I say that as a lentil-munching Guardian-remoaning member of the self-hating liberal elite. As the silent majority who voted for Brexit will tell you, the imperial days are coming back, this station will be what it was in the 1920s and the Malaysians will be falling over themselves to hand each of us our own individual pith helmet. Rule Britannia!
Until then, it’s a bit of a charming, atmospheric ruin. Let’s go in and catch a train.
Unfortunately we’re not catching the night train to meet Helena Bonham-Carter at her hill station. We’re just going one stop.
It’s still got something.
Eventually the train arrives and takes us down to that next stop – KL Sentral itself. The old place never stood a chance.
So we get to our last stop, and after checking we didn’t get in the wrong carriage…
– phew!
we’ve arrived.
The train will head south, but we’ve reached the end of our line. Thanks for staying with me all the way, if you’ve been following this blog. I have really enjoyed trying to capture all the fun I’ve had out here so you can share in it too, and I hope you’ve enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed putting them together, and that you found them fascinating, inspiring, and, just maybe, even funny.
So, from Kuala Lumpar, until we blog again, it’s Selamat tinggal!
orwellianTwo 