Afternoon Adventure
Friday afternoon was cloudy and muggy, but it didn't stop me from taking a few hours out in the afternoon to explore Central Market. It was actually quite nice, actually, taking a walk sans Delhi heat and sun. After spending so much time walking everywhere in Victoria, it's been hard adjusting to the feet-free Delhe lifestyle. So Friday I took advantage.
Central Market is this two-storey open concept building full of shops and handicrafts that I think was conceived as an indigenous souveneirs shop. It's since been taken over slightly by plastic shops that sell your standard made-in-china fare. But if you can get past the sparkles and the lit-up Hello Kitties, you can actually find some pretty spectacular stuff. Gorgeous Malaysian batiks, woven bamboo mats, South Indian textiles... again, though, the soundtrack was quite disconcerting; I was shopping to the "Life in a Metro" soundtrack.
The place has an awesome food court as well, especially for those like myself who are inexplicably drawn to shoddy Asian fast food. I had Chinese at a place called Mama's Kitchen that was staffed by these two young, round women with gigantic smiles. They must have thought I was pretty funny, not knowing how things worked and being adamant about eating vegetarian food (being a strict veg here would be so frustrating!).
I had originally come out to visit the National History Museum, but according to a sign posted on its front door it's been closed since November 07. Hm. And I even braved traffic to cross the street to get it!
Luckily the Museum looks out onto the Independence Lawn, or Dataran Merdeka. It's marked by an enormous flag that was raised on August 31st 1957, the day Malaysia declared independence from Great Britain. The flag--and a row of about a hundred of its smaller counterparts--stands in defiance across the street from the old British administrative buildings. The buildings themselves are quite beautiful, topped by a Big Ben-style clock, but the flags make a real mockery of them now.
Masjid Jamek, one of the most prominent mosques in the area, hides in a corner behind Central Market and the British buildings at the point where Kuala Lumpur's two major rivers join. It was prayer time while I was practicing my hack-job photography, so I heard the mosque before I ever saw it. After braving traffic a bit more, I happened upon its backside with a street and the two rivers between myself and the mosque's lawns. I sat and listened to prayers for a while, took some long-distance photos, and wandered on my way.
Tucked somehow between the Market and the Mosque is a tall indie art gallery and annexe that housed some of the most interesting new art and artists I've seen in a while. The place that caught my attention the most was this small store and studio called Gajah Gajah Gallery. The owner, a famous Malaysian illustrator, uses the facility to promote "Naive Art," and he's loud and proud about it. At first I thought he meant "native," but no, it's "naive." He aims to foster artistic creativity in old and young people alike despite their exposure to art or their lack thereof. Donald, one of eight young (or young at heart) artists-in-residence, showed me around the tiny spot, pointed out his peers' work, and quoted me prices for some of the pieces I liked. They were all super bright and colourful, and each student had a different subject--Donald painted dogs, one student painted cats, another city scapes, and the oldest painted close-ups of nature settings. I bought a few paintings of monsters, tucked my wares under my arm, and headed back to the hotel on the monorail.
Batu Caves
This morning I crawled out of the hotel for some coffee and ran square into two women doing the same thing. They'd just gotten off the plane from Sydney, Australia, but within two minutes I'd discovered that one had actually grown up in Orillia, Ontario. It is a small world, my friends, a truly small world.
After breakfast I dragged my still-tired body into a tour car to go to Malaysia's most famous Hindu temple at Batu Caves.
Hindu faithfuls flock to the location in January to perform masochistic rituals under the watchful eye of a giant gold Murugan, Ganesha's younger and much-slighted brother. According to legend, Murugan got upset after losing yet another bet to Ganesha, hopped on the back of his trusty peacock, and took off for the top of a hill to start his own following. Thus, his temple is nestled in the hollow of a large cave at the top of a 242-step staircase. Stairmaster, eat your heart out.
I stepped out of the car and straight back into India--hot, sticky, and colourful. Up the stairs I went with barefooted men and high-heeled women, past the head of the giant Murugan, and into the high-arched moss and limestone.
The temple and statues were interesting; they were colourful and like many of the temples I'd been in with Gowry last summer, but for some reason I had a hard time deciphering what kind of story the place was trying to tell. I've taken a pile of photos, particularly of Murugan and his peacock, so hopefully going through those will give me more of a clue. It had an anticipatory feeling, like it was waiting for the real action to start. I guess carved and painted gods can't replace the spectacle of flesh and blood being pierced and stretched to its maximum capacity.
Berjaya Times Square
Malaysia is making itself famous for its shopping. And I say that quite seriuosly--it wages its own campaign 24/7/365 advertising to itself and to the world that KL is THE place to shop. So Mom and Dan and I decided to check some of it out today.
I'm really not a mall person. I wandered around for two hours and bought two things. But it was kind of cool none the less, watching people wander through the shops that all sell the same things, toting bags and laughing, scarfing down more bad food court fare. At one point I wound up in the fray around the 10 ringit per item bin at some teeny bop store, but I pulled out after taking a good hard look at the shrieking Asian teenagers I had to contend with. Ten years ago when I, too, was a shrieking teenager I may have had a chance; today, I was a goner before I even started.
I'm so tired and I haven't even gotten to China Town yet. But I'm going back again tomorrow, so there will likely be more updates than I have already.
Oh, KL. You're a strange little town, but I think I like you.