Rebecca

Leaving the hotel late afternoon with just a little drizzle outside, I embarked on this heritage trail with a mission to complete it as outlined on the Malaysia Traveller website. With a very good dose of euphoria largely due to being in the state of transition between jobs; I even decided to wear a long dress (yes, right, a long dress to do a walking tour!) just for the fun of it. I booked the complimentary shuttle from the hotel in Bangsar to get to KL Sentral where, according to the website, is the best place to start this heritage walk. I was the only one on the shuttle to KL Sentral, since it is already close to late afternoon by the time I set off. The ride took a total of 5 mins in the minivan without the famous traffic of Kuala Lumpur.

It took me a while to find the connecting bridge to Nu Sentral from the KL Sentral train station; Google map just doesn’t show walking paths, only car roads. Once inside this modern shopping centre, the sign to the road Jln Tun Sambanthan was just around the corner. I followed the sign to get out of the building. The sky was already dark with the sound of thunders rumbling from afar. Looking down at the street from the bridge, the row of Indian style pavilion sketched alongside the road. I am now in Little India of the KL city, a section of the city that is steeped in history, and religion.

This part of the city is named Brickfields because it was once a place full of clay pits to make bricks. Post fire and flood in the Kuala Lumpur town in 1881, the existing structures of wood and thatched atap houses were all destroyed. This made way for the more sturdy houses made of brick and tile. Claypits were dug up and kilns were built, making this area famous for good quality clay bricks. This area was also the main deport for the Malayan Railway. During the British rule, many Indians from Sri Lanka were brought in to work on the railway. The depot is now KL Sentral, the city’s main transport hub; and the Sri Lankan immigrants became the forefathers of the Indian communities here in Brickfields today.

Rain poured within seconds, and I was contemplating stopping at one of the chic cafes for coffee before moving on, but decided against it, betting on it being only a quick afternoon shower. Crossing the bridge and getting down to the street level of Jln Tun Sambanthan on the opposite side, I walked past numerous traditional eateries and higher-end Indian restaurants. The familiar fragrance of typical Indian spice flooded the air.

Continue reading “A Little Bit of History, A Whole Load of Faith… an afternoon roam around Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur” →

October 6, 2017October 7, 2017

Rebecca2 Comments

Trekking In The Land of the Mountains. Poon Hill, Nepal

Mooting the idea…

Doing a trek in Nepal has always been on my bucket list, but I have never thought that I could actually fulfill my dream so quickly. Nepal is an unfamiliar country to most of my friends; a rugged country that is shrouded in mystery and unknown. Visiting the country is already pretty exotic in itself, let alone trekking or mountain climbing. It is home to the famous Himalayan and the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, the mountain that inspires greatness and yet strikes fear in the hearts of those bold enough to even hazard the thought of climbing it.

In recent years, and especially following the 2014 earthquake, much publicity and awareness has been created on this country, and we see many travel groups starting to organize Nepal treks; promoting tourism so as to help with the on-going rebuilding efforts. Getting into the country and talking to the locals, you will realize that tourism is truly the most important revenue generating industry for the country. Tourism pushes the country towards modernization; young people have to pick up English to be able to work in this industry, and other related industries such as hospitality and retail followed suit to take a piece of the pie. To help the country is to visit and it is certainly a country well worth many trips to come.

Things moved quickly, a couple of Whatsapp messages, checking of flights and accommodation, and getting the contact for a reliable tour agency, my friend and I confirmed our trip in April. Experienced planners as we are, choosing the period to trek in Nepal turned out to be the most careless mistake that we’ve made. We chose first week of September more out of convenience, neglecting to check the weather condition. According to most websites, this is at the tail-end of monsoon with rain still being anticipated. 3 weeks before our date of departure we started checking out weather forecasts and all days of that week indicated rain and storm! We even tried to change our flights to other dates, but at such short notice, this has been proven impossible. When it comes to the weather, there is only one thing left to do – pray, and mentally geared up for a wet and difficult trek. Nonetheless, the hope that perhaps it will all turn out well is still high. After all, we will be fulfilling our dream of trekking in Nepal. Surely it cannot get any better than this. The mistake we thought we made turned out to be the most memorable experience we have ever had.

Continue reading “Trekking In The Land of the Mountains. Poon Hill, Nepal” →