7 April 2011
Kuala Lumpur
Sitting at the DOME cafe overlooking the lake and fountains at the base of the Petronas Towers. I have walked from my fantastic 43rd story apartment at Berjaya Times Square – home to the world’s 5th largest mall. It is so large, in fact, that there is a roller coaster INSIDE of it that I hope to ride later.
On my walk here I got myself turned around in relation to the towers and ended up going the wrong way when looking for this park. To my delight, however, I stumbled upon the Ampang Muslim Cemetery. Those of you who have known me a long time will know that I love cemeteries. They are usually the most peaceful place in any city. 20 minutes caught in a rainshower under a big tree in this cemetery was probably the most relaxed and peaceful I’ve been in months. And they always give me a unique perspective on the character of the culture in which I find myself. In many places, the way a city honors its dead reveals the interesting combination of geo-cultural tradition, religion, and personal style – both of the deceased and of the family caretakers of the plots.
The names can reveal the diversity of the community too. This community, for example, included a plot overflowing with white orchids dedicated to one Diane Gail Hamzah nee Gleeson – an obviously Anglo woman, married perhaps to an Arab, living and dying in Malaysia.
This one cemetery plot also symbolizes for me one of the things I love most about Kuala Lumpur in the less than 24 hours that I’ve been here – the stunning diversity. It is overwhelmingly Asian, to be sure, mostly Malay, Chinese and Hindi. But abayas and hijabs and saris and pashtun pajamas are common and live comfortably with skin-tight mini-skirts, high heels and spiked hair-dos. KL is a truly modern melting pot – more so than any place else I’ve been except possibly New York. NYC has Latinos, Africans and African Americans, all of whom are virtually absent from KL. But rarely in NY do you find yourself in a large popular outdoor cafe seating hundreds with as many hijabs as eye-glasses. Another thing I find amusing about this city is the pervasive scent of clove cigarettes. It brings me back to my youth, smoking Djarums in the woods of Greenwich, CT.
I consider myself a primarily urban woman. And yet there are few modern cities I actually enjoy enough to want to stay in them for long. Until today I might have said that New York and Paris were the only ones. But today Kuala Lumpur has launched itself into their company without reservation. Why? The diversity. The character. It is different than Paris or NYC, but the ancient banyan trees in the middle of a city block and the scooters and hijabs and saris – they all make for a combined charm NYC & Paris can’t match. I don’t know how I could have gone so long without hearing more about Kuala Lumpur. Who knows what the rest of Malaysia will bring…
The view from my sheltering tree. Did I mention that they almost locked me inside?!
April 9, 2011 at 7:45 pm
I was in KL three years ago, during my trip from the Netherlands to Australia. I had a 12-hour stop there, 7am to 7pm local time. So I went out of the airport and travelled around the city. It was really nice!
I cannot agree with you more that its ‘diversity’ is really appealing. And I think you forget to mention the food, for diversity I mean. You can find asian and western food there, cheap and delicious!
I used to be scared about cemetery; what you said seems to make me ponder.