Tour guide in KL

I do enjoy showing people around places I live. I loved showing my Malaysian friends and others around Dublin, for example, in the late 1990's, and I do enjoy showing people around KL.

Today, my boss had an American IT guy working in KL for a while, so I offered to show him around on my day off. KL can be difficult to navigate if you are new to it, and there is nothing really apart from the Petronas Twin Towers that makes it stand out from the rest.

Its shopping mall or shopping mall, or another shopping mall. There are pubs and clubs, but not everyone wants that, and in any case, most cities have them anyway, except Riyadh or Kota Bharu.

KL does not have much history, and what it has eventually gets wiped out by developers. Nevertheless it does have its charms, and unique qualities.

I usually follow an itinerary, it covers KL in a day as follows:

1. Batu Caves. If I have time, or if its open, the Malaysian Nature society offer a tour of a side Cave called the "Dark Caves" (yeah I know....not much imagination in the name, I mean....Hantu Caves, Gila Caves, Tahi Caves, Lanchap Caves....I could come up with other more interesting and vulgar names), but to see it in unspoiled condition, and make one realise the beauty and value of nature.

The Cave system is still being explored, and at some point, I do intend going on the long tour, which will involve crawling and climbing with the experts.

2. The KL Tower. This is a Telecom Tower, with a viewing platform. When I first went in 2001, the price was RM8. In 2006 it was RM20. Now its RM38 per person, but it includes a couple of extra tours now. The view from the top is pretty stunning

(http://www.menarakl.com.my

The last piece of virgin rainforest in KL survives at Bukit Nanas at the Menara KL. It gives some idea of what a Jungle is like, and it can be accessed off Jalan Sultan Ismail.

3. Chinatown, where nothing is real...full of fake goods, dodgy rip off Louis Vuitton bags, fake Levis, genuine fake Gucci, genuine imitation Armani...ahem..

Its a cacophony of noise and life. "You want massage", "You want DVD", "Come come, you want watch", and the most useful words are "Hmm Sai" or "Tidak Lah" both firmly meaning no thanks in local lingo. Its always something for tourists to see, and most people there are tourists. Malaysians would'nt dream of shopping there anyway. Or, at least, would'nt dream of admitting it.

4. From there, the next bit means avoiding the taxi touts, who quote exhorbitant rates, so we head Pasar Seni LRT station, and take the LRT from there to KLCC or the Petronas Twin Towers. Theres a pleasant park there, and the shopping Mall on the ground floor is quite pleasant and well laid out. Again, I don't really advise shopping there, since its relatively expensive, and frankly speaking, these days, Malaysia is not the bargain for clothes that it was 7 or 8 years ago. Ireland and England often offer better clothes, shoes, etc for less.

Then its back home using LRT.

With KL, the main gripe relates to transport. The LRT, KTM Kommuter, Monorel are all owned by different companies and consortia, who don't cooperate. The taxis try to overcharge, even when I speak the local lingo (badly), there are ways around this. I could pay the price they try and charge, but then that spoils it for other tourists who follow, and makes them think "Orang Putih Bodoh" (stupid white guy).

I get home at 7pm, sleep for a while, and go out pubbing to VR1 (my local bar) at 9pm.