Malacca

 Malacca 

I was up early for a walk past some of the sightts that I had seen the night before. We had had aperitifs before dinner along the river, watching the world go by. And there were still plenty of your boats going past even before breakfast.

Another tour boat...

...and just next door were more entretainment options. The ferris wheel is brightly lit at night just as the boats are but it was early and not open yet. 

Another of the many bridges over the rivr and another tour boat.

Looking back at another bridge, reminiscent of Venice with the ferris wheel in the background. 

More bridges...

...and then I reached the colourful part of the river lined with cafes and restaurants, which reminded me of La Boca in Buenos Aires...

...more photos of the riverfront...

...and a quiet section of the river, cordoned off and protected by a walkway and hoardings to give some piece to some wildlife. We had seen both Water monitors and otters in the river the night before, but there was nothing to see during the day. 

Every where seems to have some murals.

Jonkers Street, the entrance to Chinatown.

The entrance from just a bit further back with the giant dragon.

A view along the river.

We were standing on the bridge between the Portuguese, later Dutch part of the town and behind the camera, the Asian or Cinhstown sector.

The townhall and to the left, the clock tower...

...the Protestant church of the Dutch, whereas the Portuguese Catholic church was at the top of the hill...

The thinnest house in the city. 

And everywhere we went, there where these cycle rickshaws, covered in ghastly colours, cartoon characters, floral displays and loud naff music.

Part of the Dutch quarter that was ostly built and lived in by the Chinese.

A retored Dutch shop.

A detail of a shop with the shutter up, but if let down, it formed a counter.

The house of the richest man in the neighbourhood. Oringinally the houses were taxed by their width so houses were narrow and deep. This takes up several plots and emphasises his wealth.

The house with a view of the gates.

A hotel, almost a museum as everything inside is original dating back hunderds of years and including a lot of antiques.

The central lightwell and stairs. 

A view fro the door past the lightwell to reception at the far end.

And Harony Street, as it has a lot of different religious sites all along the same road. A Taoist temple...

...a Buddhist temple...

...the minaret of a mosque...

...and the entrance to the mosque...

...and a Hindu shrine, all along the same road within metres of each other. 

A tourist attraction of a viewing platform that visitors enter at ground level and the whole ring structure pulls itself up the central column. In the background is a view of the Malacc Straits, the busiest shipping strait in the world

The separate belltower of the \Portuguese Catholic church on the top of the hill.

The shell of the old church...

...inside the church. 

The entrance to the last gate standing. The other three gates were demolished by the British.

One of the offices of British rubber companies, this one belonged to Sime Darby but Dunlop, London Rubber Co and British Tyre and Rubber also had offices nearby.  

Kuala Lumpur

 Kuala Lumpur   

For my first full day in Kuala uempur, I went for a walk around some of the sights to see. Just up from my hotel was the start of Chinatown and the Chinese market. They sell a lot of goods and are prepared to haggle but it is not a night food market. That is along a street running paralell to this one. 

The KL Tower which was where I was heading for a view over the city. 

I passed the entrance to the Taman Eko-Rimba Kuala Lumpur (TERKL). It ia a raised canopy walk through some rain forest. Just beyond was the steep road leading up to the base of the KL Tower.

Another iconic building, tall, without being compromised by other tall buildings around it. 

The Petronas Towers, a side view and not the well known twin towers pictures. With the rise of other buildings around it, it has lost some of its grandeur.

A closer view of the towers from further around the viewing platform on the KL Tower.

A general view of the skyline of Kuala Lempur. There are some green spaces but the towers are taking over.

Another view.

My hotel somewhere near the base of the tall red building top left of the photo. The open area to the top right is the site of a new development so return in a few years time and the skyline will have changed again.

Another iconic building. I had omitted taking a photo of the Upside Down House near the base of the KL Tower, both on the way up and on the way back. I wasn't fussed about taking a photo of the World Peace Gong and the Blue Coral Aquarium also wasn'y on my list of things to see.

Not to be overshadowed by George Town's street art, there is a series of street art adorning Kuala Lempur...

...but it wasn't as impressive to me as George Town's efforts. 

I was disappointed at the riverside walk, it had potential but had escaped any beautification. 

The junction where the Gombak River on the left joins the Kland River on the right. The junction is prettiyly lit up at night in blue and iy much prettier at night than during the day.

At the junction is the beautiful Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque, built in a Moorish style.

                                       

Next to the bridge looking upstream to the confluence pf the two rivers is an old building. Its facade is covered with the River of Life mural. To my mind, they have taken a grand brick building andruined it with some tacky grafetti. 

Nearby is a major cross roads. On one corner stands the National Textile Museum in a beautiful building with a strong Moorish influence in the design. It was formerly the Federated Malay States Railway offices.

On the opposite corner is another grand building. This was the former Chartered Bank building used as offices.

Next door is yet another beautiful building now occupied as an art gallery.

Behind it is the library which is a juxtaposition of traditional and modern architecture.

                                                  

All three buildings face the country's second tallest flagpole at 95 metres. The tallest is the recently erected 99 metre tall flagpole opposite the Sarawak state legislative building.and beyond that is...

...the Merdeka Square (Independence Square). It is a large grassed area. It was formerly used as cricket field for the djacent Royal Selangor Club which was a country club for wealthy British and governemnt officials. On one side is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. 

The building originally housed the offices of the British colonial administration, and was known simply as Government Offices in its early years. In 1974, it was renamed after Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan of Selangor at the time when construction began in 1894.

Opposite the Sultan Abdul Samad Building is the Royal Selangor Club, with more than a passing resemblence to a cricket pavillion.