Under-dressed in KL

*skip to photos here*

We’ve never seen the Petronas Towers, and “KL” (as Kuala Lumpur is commonly referred to) is a one-hour flight from Singapore: two good arguments for spending a weekend there.

The towers weren’t as impressive as expected, and due to workloads, we ended up with only one full day to see the city, but we made the most of it by going on one of those “Hop-On, Hop-Off” buses; a first for both of us. Slightly less motivated for sightseeing after our week in Singapore, this was just the right thing. And we were amazed at how much time you save, when you’re not figuring out how to get from one place to the next yourself!

We hopped off first at the National Museum to learn all about the city’s history. From the replicated remains of 11,000 year old “Perak Man” (I always thought that “Ötzi” was one of the older ones, but this dude made him look like a spring chicken), to the history of the Malay kingdom of Melaka, Portuguese occupation, and the industries which Malaysia relies on today (rubber being the one I remember), there were wonderful things to see.

The second time we hopped off the bus was at a Bird Park, the world’s largest free-flight, walk-in aviary, where − under one huge net-dome − we saw flamingos, herons, and some very oddly-colored creatures. While fascinating, I spent a large part of my time there expecting to be defecated on, something that happened to me in Venice when I was 12… luckily we were spared! 🙂 I felt a lot more at ease at our third stop, the National mosque, where we were decked out in long purple gowns and could marvel at the building that holds some 15,000 people when full. And according to a very enthusiastic guy who lectured us on Islam, it is regularly full for Friday prayer!

We had tickets to the Malaysian Philharmonic orchestra for Saturday evening; two Malaysian brothers were playing a lovely little selection of pieces from Bach to Tschaikovsky. The price for one seat was around USD 20, about what you pay for one drink during an intermission in Zurich! In the email confirmation sent, the fine print did indicate “Dress Code – Smart Casual. Strictly no Jeans, denim, shorts, collarless T-shirts/ singlets, sneakers/sport shoes, and slippers at any time” (who wears slippers to a concert?), but I was certain that we would be able to get in. After all, Phil was sporting some really swanky, gray Nike shoes, while I was wearing H&M high heels (that looked a lot more posh). I assumed that if we explained that Phil had no other option (and that we’re traveling lightly), they would be happy to make an exception. Especially for a Swiss couple! And after all, we had just gone to some of the world’s finest restaurants in these outfits, and had had no problem whatsoever.

Boy, were we wrong. As I picked up the tickets, the small but feisty lady behind the counter informed us that, dressed the way we were, there was no way we were going to be able go in, and suggested that we go buy a new pair of shoes for Phil (in a mall where Prada and Gucci were the type of store to be found). I would have done that for someone like Yo-Yo Ma without hesitating a second, but there was no way I was going to pay one cent more for two violin-playing brothers I had never heard of. We called it a night, grabbed the tickets for souvenirs, and headed out of the mall, stopping only when a group of young men from Bangladesh asked if they could take their picture with me. I recently read an article about white women in Bollywood movies, who have the license to wear more suggestive Western clothes… so who knows what they were thinking. Regardless, I was flattered!

Heading back to the wonderful hole-in-the-wall place we had found the night before, we were welcomed by the friendly Kashmiri owner, who didn’t mind our attire one bit, and offered us delicious curries with freshly baked naan and mango lassis.

The morning of our departure, I also took a tour called “Dialogue in the Dark”, where we were led through a series of dark rooms by visually-impaired guides, “opening our eyes” (for about an hour) to the world of sightlessness. One of the most impressive experiences I have had, in large part due to the new friends from Malaysia I made in the process. Kam, Su-Sze, and Yvonne… I hope to see you and your families again sometime soon!