Kuala Lumpur 2

Malaysia is a muticultural society but the majority of the people are Muslim. The Jamek Mosque stands at the location where the city was founded at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers.

Most of the women wear headscarves but the style in this part of the world is much more colourful than the Middle East.

As in the rest of South-east Asia the markets are an important and lively part of the city.

There is also the obligatory Chinatown - the place to find the cheapest goods in town.

The colonial district of town includes the large open space of Independence Square with its huge flagpole. Back in the time of the British this was a cricket pitch.

The National Monument, which commemorates the Malaysians who lost their lives in the wars, is dominated by this impressive bronze statue.

One of the popular tourist attractions in KL is the Bird Park, which boasts that it is the largest free flight aviary in the world. It was a nice place to spend a couple of hours walking through the jungle setting and seeing lots of unusual birds.

There were also some other interesting sights in the park.

Although KL is very modern, there are still places where the old remain. Narrow streets and old buildings stand amongst the gleaming skyscrapers and glitzy malls.

This old style Post Box ends my blogs on KL.

Kuala Lumpur Part 1 - A Modern City

KL is a clean, sleek and modern city in the tropics. The identity of the city seems to revolve around the spectacular Petronas Towers, until recently the tallest building in the world.

The towers are surrounded by a big park including a place for the kids to cool down under the hot Malaysian sun. It's a great spot to chill out under a tree and relax in the centre of the city.

The second big tower is called KL Tower which due to it's location on the top of a hill actually stands higher than the Petronas Towers. The shot below shows them both.

Here is KL Tower itself, soaring into the sky. It provides a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding countryside.

The following photos show the view from KL Tower through the haze. Two things you notice about KL are that there are hills (Bangkok is flat) and there is lots of green space.

KL is easy to get around with a variety of rail systems including the monorail shown below.

In the Petronas Towers complex is a small but impressive concert hall where we saw a performance by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Not my usual night out but a wothwhile experience.

Of course give me good coffee and I am happy - when you can have a taste of home at Gloria Jeans it's even better!

Singapore 2

Being such a densely populated island, Singapore has needed to build upwards to accommodate everyone, but there is lots and lots of green space amongst the concrete, with everything growing so quickly in the tropics.

There are plenty of people around as you can see in this photo of the shopping district of Orchard Road.

Orchard Road is a shoppers paradise, mall after mall, all the top brands and pretty competitive prices. The mall in the photo to the right looks more like a gallery. Each shopping centre has a different feel and there were lots of performances going on to coincide with the start of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, including the musical troupe below.

There are also some colourful districts in Singapore holding onto their heritage. Kampong Glam (the Muslim quarter), Little India and Chinatown, all with their own flavour, had lots of interesting back streets to stroll through.

Singapore is known as the city in a garden and one of the most beautiful places is the National Orchid Garden. A bit of it's colour finishes this week's blog.

Singapore 1

One of the benefits of living in Bangkok is that the rest of Asia is so close. I was fortunate to enjoy a weekend in the city, island and country of Singapore.

Singapore was founded when Sir Thomas Raffles claimed the island for the British in 1819. Life revolves around the Singapore River, with restaurants, hotels, the financial centre and the colonial district flanking both banks.

At the mouth of the river is the Singapore mascot - the half mermaid, half lion called the Merlion.

Raffles is well remembered throughout the city; the photo below commemorates the spot where he first came ashore.

Although the city has a repuation of being over regulated, organised and too sterile, Singapore is actually suprisingly vibrant and interesting. A couple of cool sculptures on the riverbank are shown below.

The Raffles Hotel, opened in 1887, is a Singapore institution and the Singapore Sling is the drink that everybody has to try at the Long Bar. Sipping slowly is the best way to do it - at $25 a pop your not going to have a second!

The Singaporeans seem to poke a bit of fun at themselves over all the rules and regulations that they have to follow. We were careful not to cross the road at the wrong spot - jaywalking is a $50 on the spot fine and littering would cost you even more. There are lots of signs around designed to help everybody get along. The one below was at a bus stop.

More on Singapore next week!