Although I had now been to Kuala Lumpa at
least four times, I still hadn't actually seen very much of it. With
all this free time to enjoy myself I decided a visit to Little India
was in order. All through the Rathyatras I had admired the flowing
dresses and jangling bracelets of the dancers and even though I was
the owner of two new dresses, a girl can never have too many clothes
while traveling lol
OK that is a total lie as one needs to
be able to carry all of one's belongings on one's back but I was in a
shopping mood and nothing was going to stop me!!
The first thing I needed to do was work
out where I actually was!
Google maps found my location plus that of
the nearest train station, all I had to do now was work out how to
link the two.
I walked, I checked my phone location
thingy, I turned around and tried again.
On my second attempt I located the
train station and, as I was unsure where exactly I was going, I tried
to buy a card like the one I had in Singapore. “Next station”, I
was told so I paid my 1RMs (20p) to get to the next station.
I happily approached the ticket desk
and asked for a card. “Sentral Station”, I was told by the
serious looking lady serving there, “Three more stations”! I
bought another ticket for 1RMs and headed into town.
Arriving at Sentral I felt I was
entering a different world as people thronged the underground
station. I bought my swipe card and loaded 20RMs (£4) onto it
figuring I would be able to use it when I got to JB in a weeks time,
I also checked where the train to Singapore ran from before heading
up to the warm streets above me via the lift.
(as a side note here, being at the Farm
I felt I had been happily isolated and protected from technology and
moving things. I entered the lift and patiently waited once the doors
closed to reach the floor I required. I even took out my
camera to capture a picture of me in the big city.
The lift was incredibly smooth and I
felt no difference as we powered from floor to floor. The doors were
firmly shut and as I was in no rush I did not wonder about the length
of time we were taking to change floors until quite a few minutes had
passed.
Having become aware of the passage of time I was just
beginning to wonder how long it actually took to travel up two floors,
even in such a smooth and silent lift. when the doors opened.
I was
about to step out when I realised that I was still on the floor that
I had entered the lift at. The two ladies who had pressed the button
to open the doors, entered the lift, smiled and pressed floor number
'2'.
The lift lurched into life as I recognized
not only the feeling of movement but heard the sounds of motors and became aware of the
large flashing floor indicator button just above the door. A few
seconds later we stopped and got out. I smiled and we all went our separate
ways.
I have no idea exactly how long I had
stood in that lift as it waited in the basement train station but I
was glad someone else had needed to use it that week!!)
Little India is about five minutes from
Sentral Train station and easily spotted.
Arches line the street
and a wonderful elephant fountain marks
the entrance.
Flower garlands hang from tiny stalls
while shops overflow with bracelets,
clothes and aromas!!
Bit by bit my arms filled with bags as
'Just a quick look”, became my mantra of the day!
I did buy things I needed like anti
histamines
but I also bought lots of things I
didn't need like even more dresses and long flowing skirts that I
would probably only ever wear once!
From Little India I entered the
shopping Mall at Sentral and was again struck by the differences.
Tiny quaint shops were replaced with
Trade mark names.
Christmas decorations dominated every
floor space
and looking up or down over the central
balcony opened the awareness to the vastness of consumer demand that
was currently under-way!
Yet consumer demand was where I was at
and I soon found myself sitting in the most fabulous ice-cream
restaurant imaginable playing with the Free Internet and updating my
Facebook account as I ate my way through a mix your own creation!
Flavours exploded as my simple cone
revealed the three mixes I had selected to sample.
Professional ice-cream eaters arrived
to order master pieces I had never dreamed could exist while all around me
people marched past to the sound of piped music playing songs of
Christmas cheer!
I returned to the underground
train station to begin my journey to
the outskirts of town saturated with my three hours of commercialism
and ready to pick up my bead bag once again.
I called into the Hindu Temple I had
noticed on my route, bathing myself with spiritual energy and
colours.
Balance was the key I told myself,
balance and fulfillment.
I loved being at the Temple but I had
also loved the vibrancy of the shops and the indulgences of the
ice-cream parlours!
I walked back finding short cuts behind
houses where people had planted minute gardens amongst the rubble.
I walked along trails that ran along
the canal bank and cut off a huge chunk of my journey.
As I approached the police station I
realised that all the 'parked' cars that I had noted but not 'seen'
on my voyage to the Train Station were in fact all crash victims with
tyres missing, smashed windows or bumpers hanging at weird and
wonderful angles.
About a mile of these cars hugged the
pavement and I wondered how many more would end up parked along the road side before someone moved or scrapped them.
The sun was hot as I walked back up the
hill to the Temple. I dropped my acquisitions onto my bed, showered
and rested,
and then dressed in my new clothes
returned to the Temple to enjoy the New Years entertainment.
***************
New Years Day at the Temple was a feast
to end all feasts!
People arrived bearing gifts for the
Deities, they also arrived with their new cars to have them blessed
for the following year!
Mataji's daughter, despite her initial
reservations to my staying in their apartment had decided to adopt me
as her new play mate
and together we spent the day telling
strange stories, eating and dancing
as well as singing and chanting.
As another side note here, it was
during our afternoon meal as I sat with my knees to one side on the
floor that I was instructed, by my new five year old instructor to
Temple etiquette, to “Sit Properly!”
It took quite a long time to
explain the problems of age to this flexible little one and as she
looked at me and then at the Indian lady sitting properly and
aged about seventy beside me, I could see that my excuses cut no ice with
her.
I rearranged my legs and began what has turned out to be six
solid weeks of daily stretches until I can gladly say I can sit
“Properly” for an entire meal!!
We are never too old to learn something
new, especially from young children who have no concept of age!!
No comments:
Post a Comment