One benefit of flying out at 12:45 am means the traffic to the airport was non-existent, the car drop off easy, the wait to board ridiculous, the delayed take off understandable - considering the hurricane that was whipping through Melbourne at time. An extremely cramped sleep in the plane was bordering on unbearable. Similar to childbirth apparently – you tend to forget the pain so you keep going back.
Having 7 hours to kill in Kuala Lumpa, we decided to ignore the local’s advice and left the airport by catching a taxi and seeing at least some of the place. Malaysia seems to be a combination of palm plantations, buildings and preparations for more buildings. Without a doubt the economy is booming over there. We headed to a province called Putrajaya. We were hoping to get a sniff of the local culture – that we did – it just hasn’t been cultivating for too long in this area. It was, however, impressive. This is the seat of power in the country, a perfect balance of Government extravagance and Religious vigour all expressed in impressive buildings amidst picturesque waterways. They even went to the effort of putting a gondola on the water. Apart from the chipboard bowsprit we almost thought we were back in Venice........not really.
We did spend considerable time in the surrounds of the impressive mosque, The girls had to cover themselves up (fair enough too – just for the laugh of seeing then in their silly pink coveralls) and we had to take our shoes off in certain areas (after that long haul flight – they deserve the stench of smelly socks if they insist on us undressing). The religious education was immeasurable – we had no idea that Adam and Eve were Allah’s first prophets’ (he had thousands apparently) with Mohamed being the last. And they even have Jesus on the same genetic tree. So it all makes sense and finally we can put the whole argumentative divide to rest.
Enlightened, we went underneath the complex and had Nandos Chicken for lunch. Obviously the commercialisation of Peri Peri is endorsed by the Muslim faith. We caught the same taxi back to the airport. Ahmed the driver was adept at ignoring speed limits and taking up 3 lanes with one car. He also pointed out relevant tourists sites such as the home of the F1. The interconnectedness of all things is readily apparent on Malaysian roads.
A short hop to Phnom Penh, to be met by the warm hospitality of Helen and Amy was delightful. A notch downwards (societal wise) from KL with tight busy roads, poverty and general chaos was apparent on the way to the house (aka compound). Melbourne drivers could learn a lot from these people – it maybe chaotic, but it is friendly, people are patient, let everyone in and it all flows.
The Clements have a fabulous 3 level house in the better part of town. Hot and muggy after the Melbourne winter is a bit of a shock, however as we sat in the cooling evening air being watched over by gecko’s on the ceiling of the impressive front porch, we looked forward to a night on the town – possibly heading off to the Foreign Correspondence Club for dinner.
The dinner was great, the drinks cold and the company welcoming and very enlightening – there is so much to see and do here. The itinerary for the next day’s schedule was inscribed on a napkin and we eventually tumbled into our comfortable beds and collapsed in an exhausted slumber.
No comments:
Post a Comment