Morning visit to Muzium Negara for a summary of Malaysian history from stone age to the present.
Had lunch at the Medan Selera Food Court, above the western entrance to KL Sentral Station. Food was not up to the standard we'd found at Pasar Seni, but not bad value. We both chose Nasi Lemak sets. Miuk had chicken, and I had squid. We got vegies from another stall, and I tried mango kulfi (RM6) from the tandoori stall.
Took the train back to Regalia and had a swim at the rooftop pool. Refreshing even if the sun was hot on the black plastic of the walkways.
We met our driver Bala (from WegowithAnuar.com) and set of for our tour at just before 3pm. First stop was Royal Selangor, where we enjoyed a 40 minute guided tour, learning about the pewter trade. There were some demonstrations of the pewter making craft, ranging from pouring molten metal into a mould, to lathing and shaping, polishing and hammering (which we got to try). Ten minutes in the gift shop (expensive) and we were on our way to Kuala Selangor, about an hours drive away.
Bala was pretty passionate about the position of Indians in Malaysia today. Quite a balanced view actually. He recognized both the advantages and the limits this particular multicultural society provides to its citizens. On the way to Kuala Selangor, much of the landscape is given over to vast oil palm plantations. Apparently a profitable and easier to manage business than the rubber plantations which the oil palms replaced. Stopped for a look to see the fruits, which were harvested up to 3 times per year, after just 3 years growth of the palm.
Soon the hill of Bukit Melawati was visible in the distance, and we drove up the steep access road. Just below the British constructed lighthouse a crowd of tourists gathered, feeding fruit and vegetables to a large troup of sliverleaf monkeys who were sitting on the guard rails, on the road, and on old cannons which once defended the strategic hilltop.
We were issued with monkey food(sliced ubi) and instructed to hide the bag in ones pocket (lest the lot be stolen). These monkeys had soft and quite gentle hands. They did not grab, and ate daintily. There was some scrabbling between monkeys, though not particularly aggressive. The macaques (which we'd been advised NOT to feed), hung around in the background, perhaps waiting for scraps. Some of the monkeys were keener than others, allowing the opportunity for selfis with monkey to be captured. There were no babies with the troupe around the cannons, but we saw three of the startlingly orange furred progeny near a TV towe on the way down the hill.
But it was time to find dinner, which we ate at one of many restaurants in a fishing village, strung along the shores of the Selangor River. We ate in a big open barn of a place, with rowdy chinese tourists beside us. There was certainly plenty of food. The dishes served included sweet and sour fish, crumbed prawns with basil and tiny cabe(1), a plate of stir-fried vegies, tempura-ed calamari and a deliciously smoky village fried rice. We washed it down with refreshing kelapa muda drinks. By the time we were done, the sun had set over the muddy river, and it was time to head on to the final destination, the firefly reserve at Kuala Kuantan.
It was a 15 minute drive to the park. We were there before the ticket office opened. A few other tourists were waiting too. There was time to read the information about the life cycle of the tiny insects we had come to see. The kelip-kelip (twinkle twinkle in Indonesian) live just 9 months on the banks of the mangroves, or in the trees which line them. Eggs laid in the muddy banks hatch year round, and the larvae feed on the the multitudes of miniature snails which thrive in the moist muddy environment, until, fat & sassy, they pupate, and emerge as flashy adults, thronging the mangrove trees in search of mates in order to carry on the species.
It was the adults we had come to see, and soon enough, tickets were procured, lifejackets donned and we were seated in our shallow drafted wooden boat. Our boat had a single oarsman. The only sound to be heard as we were slowly paddled down the river was the gently splish and splash as the oar dipped into the river. As our eyes became dark adjusted, thousands of twinkling lights became visible in the trees as the fireflies participated in mating dances, wreathed in cold chemical fire. Our oarsman brought us up close to the trees, so we could see the tiny bodies of individual fireflies, abdomens flickering in sensuous rhythms (well just flickering randomly actually!). Our twenty minute cruise on the river was surprisingly pleasurable - the tiny light-show was anything but an anticlimax at the end of the tour. The ululating recorded cry of the muezzin at the village mosque sounded through the darkness as we walked back to the carpark, and rested on the hour-long drive back to KL.
Had lunch at the Medan Selera Food Court, above the western entrance to KL Sentral Station. Food was not up to the standard we'd found at Pasar Seni, but not bad value. We both chose Nasi Lemak sets. Miuk had chicken, and I had squid. We got vegies from another stall, and I tried mango kulfi (RM6) from the tandoori stall.
Took the train back to Regalia and had a swim at the rooftop pool. Refreshing even if the sun was hot on the black plastic of the walkways.
We met our driver Bala (from WegowithAnuar.com) and set of for our tour at just before 3pm. First stop was Royal Selangor, where we enjoyed a 40 minute guided tour, learning about the pewter trade. There were some demonstrations of the pewter making craft, ranging from pouring molten metal into a mould, to lathing and shaping, polishing and hammering (which we got to try). Ten minutes in the gift shop (expensive) and we were on our way to Kuala Selangor, about an hours drive away.
Bala was pretty passionate about the position of Indians in Malaysia today. Quite a balanced view actually. He recognized both the advantages and the limits this particular multicultural society provides to its citizens. On the way to Kuala Selangor, much of the landscape is given over to vast oil palm plantations. Apparently a profitable and easier to manage business than the rubber plantations which the oil palms replaced. Stopped for a look to see the fruits, which were harvested up to 3 times per year, after just 3 years growth of the palm.
Soon the hill of Bukit Melawati was visible in the distance, and we drove up the steep access road. Just below the British constructed lighthouse a crowd of tourists gathered, feeding fruit and vegetables to a large troup of sliverleaf monkeys who were sitting on the guard rails, on the road, and on old cannons which once defended the strategic hilltop.
We were issued with monkey food(sliced ubi) and instructed to hide the bag in ones pocket (lest the lot be stolen). These monkeys had soft and quite gentle hands. They did not grab, and ate daintily. There was some scrabbling between monkeys, though not particularly aggressive. The macaques (which we'd been advised NOT to feed), hung around in the background, perhaps waiting for scraps. Some of the monkeys were keener than others, allowing the opportunity for selfis with monkey to be captured. There were no babies with the troupe around the cannons, but we saw three of the startlingly orange furred progeny near a TV towe on the way down the hill.
But it was time to find dinner, which we ate at one of many restaurants in a fishing village, strung along the shores of the Selangor River. We ate in a big open barn of a place, with rowdy chinese tourists beside us. There was certainly plenty of food. The dishes served included sweet and sour fish, crumbed prawns with basil and tiny cabe(1), a plate of stir-fried vegies, tempura-ed calamari and a deliciously smoky village fried rice. We washed it down with refreshing kelapa muda drinks. By the time we were done, the sun had set over the muddy river, and it was time to head on to the final destination, the firefly reserve at Kuala Kuantan.
It was a 15 minute drive to the park. We were there before the ticket office opened. A few other tourists were waiting too. There was time to read the information about the life cycle of the tiny insects we had come to see. The kelip-kelip (twinkle twinkle in Indonesian) live just 9 months on the banks of the mangroves, or in the trees which line them. Eggs laid in the muddy banks hatch year round, and the larvae feed on the the multitudes of miniature snails which thrive in the moist muddy environment, until, fat & sassy, they pupate, and emerge as flashy adults, thronging the mangrove trees in search of mates in order to carry on the species.
It was the adults we had come to see, and soon enough, tickets were procured, lifejackets donned and we were seated in our shallow drafted wooden boat. Our boat had a single oarsman. The only sound to be heard as we were slowly paddled down the river was the gently splish and splash as the oar dipped into the river. As our eyes became dark adjusted, thousands of twinkling lights became visible in the trees as the fireflies participated in mating dances, wreathed in cold chemical fire. Our oarsman brought us up close to the trees, so we could see the tiny bodies of individual fireflies, abdomens flickering in sensuous rhythms (well just flickering randomly actually!). Our twenty minute cruise on the river was surprisingly pleasurable - the tiny light-show was anything but an anticlimax at the end of the tour. The ululating recorded cry of the muezzin at the village mosque sounded through the darkness as we walked back to the carpark, and rested on the hour-long drive back to KL.