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Day 16 - Kuala Lumpur (8th October ‘24)

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Today is the last day of our trip. We headed out and straight back to Merdeka square (Independence Square) which we saw yesterday on the bus. It is the ceremonial centre of KL. It has an enormous lawn, with a flagpole flying the Malaysian flag. It also has the flagpole where the Union Flag was lowered and replaced with the Malaysian flagged when it became independent in 1957.


It also has the Sultan Abdul Samad building complex along one side, which is really nice to look at. The building used to be the centre of British power in the city (which is when it was built) and the lawn outside used to be a cricket pitch.


It was incredibly hot as we were walking around so we didn’t stay too long and headed to the Central Market, via a street through China town. Central Market was not what we expected at all. We imagined a bustling indoor market with hundreds of traders selling all sorts from their rough and ready stalls. However, we discovered Central Market was in fact fairly smart with independent traders selling local arts and crafts. It was quite cool and calm in there which was a welcome break from the sweaty heat outside. We mooched around looking at all sorts and sat for a drink from one of the stalls - the homemade lemonade was welcome hydration!


After a sit down we headed to the old part of town for a Batik workshop. This was held in a shop, 'Jadi Batek', that had a workshop out the back that produced all of their own goods. Batik is basically sketching out a design onto fabric (or in my case, using a template to go on a Tote Bag). You then used a tool called a Tjanting to draw over the sketched lines with molten wax. Once the wax was dry, you then painted the fabric (ideally within the wax lines!). The idea is that the lines stop the colours bleeding into each other. I did mine on a tote bag and Kirstie did hers onto pieces of fabric in order to frame it.


We shared the workspace at first with people making bits to sell in the shop. These same people then delivered tutorials for a group that arrived. In another corner working on their own was an American lady, who was doing an enormous piece for her son - the size of a table cloth. She had been going to this particular workshop for years and was recreating a photo her son had taken of a volcano eruption in Hawaii. It was pretty amazing.


After the Batik workshop we had a mooch around the shop and then walked to Bintang Walk (the proper city centre). Our plan was to do some last minute shopping, grab some dinner and then head back to the hotel for a dip in the rooftop pool and then pack. Mission accomplished. On our travels, Kirstie even managed to visit Daiso, her favourite Japanese shop which is in the Tokyo Street section of one of the malls.


When we got back to the hotel, we headed straight to the pool and enjoyed the final views over KL. What a view, what a city and what a trip.


Singapore --> Indonesia (Bali) --> Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)


Done!


Sultan Abdul Samad building with Merdeka 118 skyscraper in the background.



Sultan Abdul Samad mosque.


Snowman mural in Chinatown.


Central Market entrance.


Posers paradise. I snapped this in a fleeting moment of nobody sprawled over it!


Made in Malaysia at Central Market


Batik workshop, out the back of Jadi Batek


Tjanting tools and a pot of liquid wax. It was hot… I found out the hard way!


Here I am in action…


You can see the blobs where I went wrong.


My finished product - the wax just needs boiling away - the colour will fade a little.


Kirstie’s finished product.


Tokyo street. A section of one of the malls with Japanese shops. KL is a melting pot!


View from the open air rooftop pool. A very fitting way to say farewell to Kuala Lumpur. Peace out! ✌️
















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