Day 26-27 – September 26-27 2024 – Kuala Lumpur – کوالا لمڤور

the name meaning, the muddy confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers. Where they meet called The River of Life: a name given by appointment by the government, it names the project to clean up the place where the rivers meet, from which کوالا لمڤور gets its name.

A totally different scene at the airport. We changed money, charging the magic card, and assessed transportation methods, 45kms into KL, arriving at … taxi.

The guy we asked yelled out a name and led us down the, well, platform really, to our driver, joking with him about: how he was going to rip us off; or, he was the lucky guy today because he spoke English. Which he did. The most well-travelled taxi-driver, he knew Melbourne, talked of our national dance, the haka, name-checked Jonah Lomu, and gave us a rundown of the colonial past of Malaya, up to the 1963 change to Malaysia, and alerted us to its legacy, but spoke also of the kings in their palaces, the nine hereditary rulers who elect one king, an elective monarchy. I saw some monkeys out the window. He rattled off the heights of every building in Kuala Lumpur, the Petronas being the tallest twin towers in the world.

Arriving at the Ritz-Carlton, we were too early to checkin, and went out for a coffee and breakfast,

discovering, but barely scratching the surface of, the inside life of KL, that we would explore over the next 36 hours, the shopping-malls and hotels, that inner dimension unfolding one interior into the next,

with brief outside forays. Below, right, the sidestreet down to the Ritz-Carlton. We were yet to find the internal connections and note that no indication is given from the outside they exist.

Upgraded to a suite, the floor-area greater than our house, two toilets and butler service,

This intersection turned out to be a popular spot for self-exhibition,

Dinner spot, daytime,

So yum, we went back the next day. Then hunting the Petronas,

Found it! … but all tours full for the day. We had to come back,

J is very tall.

Here are the secret-in-plain-view connecting corridors,

Room view, with lamps,

connection, lift, reach for great,

… to Jalan Alor for dinner … where they did a cool thing with the coca cola, freezing it then tapping it unfrozen … kept my Tiger in the freezer bin too … dancing on the streets on the way home to the Ritz-C … next day we were told how crazy it gets at night, there’s even dancing on the streets … o yes, we said, there was …