Day 3 - Back to Nature

With little sleep from night two, I reluctantly let Phil drag me out of bed this morning. Feeling a bit like a bleary-eyed monster, it was only fitting that the first stop of the day was the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. We walked in the hostile humidity, a new-found foe, for about 40 minutes before we arrived. Copious amounts of walking and sweating, of course, are our new past-times. 

The KL Bird Park is the world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary. Basically, this means that we got to walk around in a 21-hectare big bird cage! And surprisingly we escaped unscathed and poop-free! The bird park not only has over 3, 000 birds in it's (very capable) care but it is also set in the beautiful Kuala Lumpur Gardens, which were established in 1888. The bird park itself has been in operation for about 20 years. The setting was so beautiful and, as always, we couldn't quite capture it on camera, especially the fidgeting birds. Sprawling indigenous gardens, streams, and a waterfall combined with the calls of exotic Asian birds and jungle fowls (aka the common rooster); it all felt a bit like Jurassic Park (minus the glass of trembling water and epic soundtrack). I loved it! It's no wonder that the attraction draws 200, 000 visitors each year. Admittedly, the admission was a dent in our sight-seeing budget but well worth it.

The one thing that struck me is that despite the feathers and beaks, birds can have very human-like qualities. Some reminded us of grumpy old men, stooped over with knobbly knees; and others of evil beady-eyed henchman. The most memorable moment in the park was feeding the lori birds. A cup of watery milk and a palm of seeds was all it took for the birds to turn into a frenzied mob clutching at my fingers, strands of hair, and shirt-straps. About 9 to 15 brave birds fought it out for some snacking in a scene which played out like something from Hitchcock's 'Birds' (well, maybe not that dramatic). While Phil tried to photograph this madness, a bird keen on getting in on the action flew at his head and made him drop the camera. I am happy to report that both Phil and the camera are fine. The bird, on the other hand, is sheepishly in hiding after having caused such a stir.

Next on our agenda was the Islamic Arts Museum. Wow. For only RM10 (about R25) each we felt as though we stepped back in time. The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying Islamic artifacts from all over the world and it was mind-blowing to see the reach and influence of the faith across the globe. Textiles, ceramics, jewellery, arms and armoury, metalwork, woodwork, coins and seals; all with a distinctive Islamic craftsmanship can be found in their respective galleries. There is also a gallery devoted to the Qur'an and it's manuscripts. The intricate detailing on the scripts is so fine, you would never imagine that they are hand-drawn. To say the scribes were talented would be an insult; they were true artists displaying their creative prowess and sometimes their imagery, adorned with gold and colour, overwhelm the wording.The oldest fragments of the Qur’an in the museum are from the 8th century! And our most interesting find... a marriage certificate dated the 23rd of January (our anniversary!) from hundreds of years ago. I also found it interesting that the marriage certificate has the genealogy of each partner too - you marry an entire family not just your hubby/wife. I guess there's no hiding from the black sheep in the family!

After the museum tired us out, we went hunting for lunch. Chicken fried rice and chicken fried noodles from a restaurant in the old bus station seemed to do the trick. After that, we returned to our lodge to freshen up (did I mention we have heavenly air-con in our room!) and accidentally fell asleep! On the plus side, when we woke up we were ready to tackle the markets again. This time in search of our very own caricature. We met a wonderfully talented man called Matt from Penang who sat us down and drew us with much finesse and humour. I can't wait to frame it for our house one day; it's a lovely memento of our time in Kuala Lumpur.

Again, we ended up in Central Market (which needs a whole blog post in itself) for dinner - Tandoori Chicken and Lamb Masala with naan bread. 

Tomorrow we move on to Melaka and a little further into Malaysian history, culture and life.

Until next time, 

Luisa