Day 2 Kuala Lumpur

Today we travelled to Malacca with the very knowledgable and talkative Mohammed our "praisworthy" tour guide.

I know more about the history or Malaysia now and have a better understanding of the succession of rulers that shaped the country.

Mohammed also explained the "mind set" of modern Malasians around development and the reasons why this country is expanding so quickly to compete with other Asian destinations. We also saw the extent of the suburban development and the infrastructure of highways and toll roads that are necessary to service the expansion.

Visiting Malacca was like stepping into the past with the opportunity to view architecture and practices no longer common.

It was also great to see so much of the countryside which is palm trees and jungle as far as the eye can see... green, green, green. Of course the day ended with a thunderstorm and we hope to start a fresh shiny new day again tomorrow ;-)

I will continue to add images to Flickr.

Historic information.

Kuala Lumpur

We left Adelaide on the coldest day of Winter and arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 9pm on a warm humid night. Tour East welcomed us but had trouble with their vehicle and after about 30 minutes put us in a taxi for the 45 minute ride into the city. One of the first things you notice as you drive in are the two towers that look like chrystal when lit at night.

Day one was spent exploring the city. Streets of hotels are lined up around the city which seems devoted to shopping. There are huge shopping malls ranging from a market atmosphere to high end brand names from Europe and America. A very cosmopolitan atmosphere and crazy traffic made the day unpredictable but heightened our senses so that we can better appreciate our new experiences.

The temperature is in the low to mid 30s and very humid it makes sense that many people choose to venture out in the evenings and into the night.

Although we explored several of the shopping malls, including one in the twin towers which seem to be a shrine to designer brand shopping, the highight of the day was visiting the Craft centre where there was a display of traditional musical instruments and of course information about weaving, batik, copper and silver work.

The batik material on offer for sale seemed to be prints of the original designs in much the same way that we see many prints of original Aboriginal designs in tourist centres... disappointing but to be expected. Maybe there will be prints made of our marbled fabric one day ;-))

Travelling in 2010

And so the journey begins.

We begin the first leg of the holiday with several days in Kuala Lumpur.

Shall post information and images as time and circumstance allows.

OPAL - Photoshoot

Currently doing a series of photographs for the OPAL project. Working with the local team to depict the ways in which people, especially young people, can pursue an active lifestyle.

We have some lovely outdoor areas and perfect weather most of the year so this has been agreat opportunity to get out and about in our wonderful surroundings.

This is an ongoing project with a different focus every 6 months so more FUN to come ;-)

Pandas

A quick trip to Adelaide this week and the opportunity to visit the zoo and see Funi and Wang Wang the current star attractions in their "state of the art" accomodation.

It was a lovely leisurely visit, the last time I was there I had 35 excited children to round up...

More images on Flickr. ;-)

Also did some shopping and came home with some "bargains".