In Continuum.

Malaysian Trip Part III: Towers.Pyramids.Art.

When you think of Kuala Lumpur,what is the first thing that comes to your head?For some reason the song by the Malaysian tourism board pops into heard first,that female voice singing "Malaysia,truly Asia" thing,with the city's skyline in the background.The second for me would be the Petronas Towers of course,and that was where we were going by LRT on the second day of my trip to the land that is 'Truly Asia'.Well,supposedly anyway(If Asia really is like Malaysia,it's rather pathetic).

As the train rumbled to a slow stop at the KLCC station,the inside of the Petronas Towers was in itself,awe-inspiring.It was huge,and of course dotted with branded shops.Gucci,FCUK,Guess,you name it.The Christmas Tree standing in the middle of the concourse,which made the one at Takashimaya look like an ice-cream cone.But anyway,it was a great sight indeed,and i found myself - along with fellow shoppers - staring up towards the top of the tree,with our drool on the verge of spilling over the edge.

When you are in the tallest building in the world - or a building that once was - you'd want to get all the way to the top and catch the city in full glory,right?So that's what we tried to do at the ticket booth,until the lady there kindly told us that all 1300 tickets were sold out.Okay,hold on a second here.This is retarded.We are tourists to what used to be the tallest building in the world for God's sake,and the tallest building in South East Asia,and you only limit 1300 people to the top?Oh wait,not even the top.The bloody sky bridge that stretches across the two towers at the 41st floor,not even the top.How smart.This is totally retarded.

As we came back up from the ticket booth in the basement,a ocuple of caucasian tourists were complaining about the stupidity as well.Seriously,this is good money and you guys are forsaking that?How smart,and the Petrona Towers are supposed to be the economical centre of Malaysia.Whatever happened to that little money-making mind of yours?

Anyway,aside from that,we took a taxi all the way to Sunway Lagoon.I think it is a good system at times that the taxi driver doesnt use a meter.He rolls down the window and asks you about your destination.He then sets a price,and if you are in agreement with the driver,hop in.Which means no matter how long he takes to get to the destination,it is still going to be the same price.Which i thought,was a brilliant idea.

We arrived at Sunway Lagoon,with the sun hanging up in the air enough to roast a pig.We felt the sun's prickling fingers upon the back of our necks,and we soon took refuge in the shopping mall,or what they called the Sunway Pyramids.Like any other malls in Malaysia,it was huge.It ever had an ice-skating ring in the middle,which was later turned into a hockey match venue.But anyway,the problem with the malls in Malaysia is that though they are huge,they are basically replicas of one another.They arent even significantly cheaper than the goods in Singapore,which is why i admired the goods sold at the road side.Sure they are pirated stuff,but the only piracy i dont support is movie-piracy.Anything else goes,baby.

I've been having coaster-phobia for the longest time in my life.The first time i went to Disneyland and saw the rollercoaster ride,i freaked out and caused quite an uproar in the middle of the park.The Star Wars ride in Universal Studios didnt help either,since it was indoors and completely dark,i couldnt see a think that was happening at all.Taiwan was my first experience of 365 degrees loops,and i swore never to take rollercoaster rides ever again.But interestingly,the moment we bought the tickets and entered Sunway Lagoon,i had the urge to get down and dirty with the rollercoaster.Of course,the Viking was still very much out of my books,but the way the train surged along the tracks at high speed and great heights was,in a way,tempting and exciting.So the lot of us took that ride,and went screaming all the way down from the peak of a crest that was set 90 degrees downwards.That was petrifying,and i remember myself screaming my head off with Jerry the cousin.

The best ride to me was the Buffalo Bill ride.Just imagine a rollercoaster ride at a slower speed,but involving water.The first time we attempted the ride,we were rather worried at first,seeing just how drenched the previous riders were.But as the queue shorterend and our shoes neatly tucked in the corner,we were ready to take on the ride.The cart went through a series of narrow channels at first,then it went up slowly up a slope that was at a 45 degrees incline.It was the smaller of the two climb,and the second had us running down the side of the polysterene hill and into the pool of water below.We rode that twice,with JY sitting out of the second,and the guys were clever enough to take off our shirts,then lean forward so that the water that crashes into the cart from the front would surge to the back into WW's face.Sorry WW,but we had to do what we had to do.Sunway Lagoon was great,and it marked the peak of the trip really.For me,anyway.

There is a street beside the inn where we lived.Petaling Street is somewhat like a night market in Taiwan or Singapore.You can find anything cheap there,and with cheap goods come a horde of tourists and locals,shoulders against shoulders and buttocks against buttocks.It was excruciating just to squeeze pass one another in the narrow streets as the venders shouted out prices and attempts to lure tourists into their shops.But the problem really was this: Other than shoes,t-shirts,sunglasses and belts,there werent much variety to the stuff sold.Sure they were cheap,but a shoe found in this shop will probably be found in another at a cheaper price,if you are lucky enough.Jerry the cousin was kind enough to help me obtain a pair of Nike shoes at merely thirty Singapore Dollars.Fancy that.I swear,the next time i visit KL,all i am going to be are going to be shoes,shoes and more shoes from Petaling Street.

There was a man in a wheelchair towards the entrance of the night market that night,and before him a table with little pieces of art he made from wires.It ranged anything from a drum set to a saxophone,from an electric guitar to a witch sitting on her broom.It was amazing,just how much he managed to accomplish with a single wire,just bending here and there to make out the faces of the characters,or the features of a motorbike for example.I was mesmerized,just seeing him bending the wires into little keychains with the specific names or words written down on a little blue notebook by the buyers.I must say that i was immersely impressed with the man,and bought two pieces from him.One is a acoustic guitar with a stand,and it even has six strings.I cant really show you the other piece that i bought yet until after Christmas,because it is meant to be a surprise for my beau.I think this other piece is absolutely beautiful,and i bought it without a bit of hesitation.

Before leaving the street and the man in the wheelchair,i asked for the man's hand to be shook by me.He reached out and we shook hands right there,because i really respected what the man was doing.Sure,he was in a wheelchair and handicapped,but what he was doing was clearly not just to feed himself,buy himself three meals a day or pay his rent.He was creating little pieces of art,right there in the middle of the bustling night market and standing out from the rest of the stores.I shook his hands out of pure respect,and left the night market thinking just how inspired i was by him and his art.Truly amazing stuff,i tell you.