Skip to main content

Shades of Malaysia's colonial past

Today was uncomfortably hot, 37 degrees all day, so it was a struggle to keep focused.

I shan't bore you with my usual litany of unhelpful people, confusing trains, unreachable parks or terrifying traffic. I'm just going to treat you to some photos of magnificent Mogul style buildings erected during the time of the Britsh presence in Malaysia.

Providing they load as they should (with me that's not guaranteed) they show on order:

1. Masjid Jamek - The National Mosque - British designed

2. The Mosque Gardens

3. The Old Court Building, now sadly in great need of repair

4. St Mary's Cathedral, built in Gothic style and home to an exceptional English pipe organ

5. The Royal Selangor Club, affectionately known as The Spotted Dog, once the focus of colonial life in KL, now the city's most prestigious private club

6. The centre of Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) where cricket was played

7. The Flagpole, the tallest in the world, the British flag was finally lowered here in 1957

8. Sultan Abdul Samad building, now home to a division of the High Court

9. The National Textile Museum

Then some photos taken at the Sri Maha  Mariamman Temple, I arrived there as various prayers and offerings were being made, it was fascinating.

And finally, how I ended my day, lounging around the amazing pool here, open until 22:00, how could I resist?

















Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Arrival in Bangkok

Made it despite Ciara's best efforts! Not sure how I managed to get here (Bangkok) from Heathrow while everything else was being cancelled due to the exceptionally stormy weather but ended up landing less than an hour late, incredible and well done BA.  Checked in to my accommodation and immediately made tracks to my favourite part of BKK, Saphan Taksin, where the river ferries start, the one with the orange flag is my favourite, 15 Thai Bhat for the entire trip if you don't get off at any of the piers on the way. Even with the rate of exchange having shrunk since my last time here, now 38TB to the pound as opposed to 50, it's still one of the bargains of the modern world! My favourite pier! Then I went on a 'hunt the train station' walk. Thais obviously don't walk much as all told me it was 'very far' but off I went and eventually found it, about 2 hours and several blisters later, presumably Michael Portillo didn't have th

And so it ends - Parts 2 and 3

The next part of the Long Trek Home involved getting from Penang to Bangkok. I had thought of taking the early ferry today rather than the later one yesterday then rushing to the airport to catch the last flight of the day to Bangkok which would have given me another day on Langkawi, but the timings were very tight and I would have needed to drag my case round with me. Being sensible, for a change, I thought that allowing a day for each part would allow for anything unexpected to happen. I went out for a stroll from the hotel to take advantage of the few hours I had left in Penang, and chanced upon a place for breakfast that was so packed it must have been good. It was a really complicated system (well I thought it was, no one else was having a problem sorting out how to order) so I ended up with 2 spring rolls, 2 doughnuts, and a large pot of hot water, not quite what I'd had in mind. One of the staff took pity on this confused English tourist and swopped my pot of hot water fo

Photos from: And so it ends - parts 2 and 3