After a quick lunch, I decided the most efficient way to hit several more sites listed in the Lonely Planet would be to walk back to the neighborhood of my hostel down a particular street with a long name that ended in Lee, which promised a Chinese temple and an Indian temple that were important to Kuala Lumpur's history. After passing near my hostel, I would continue on to a famous Mosque (hitting all the religions today!) and maybe even the national museum. I don't know how many days I'll have in Kuala Lumpur when I get back, so I might as well fit in as much as possible!
After circling a block in the wrong direction, I finally found the right heading and set out for a long walk. Walking in a city, if it has any character, is usually an enjoyable use of time anyhow. As I drifted out of the concrete canyons of the center city and back into Chinatown, the building got shorter, more colorful, and decidedly run-down. It took some doing to find the Sin Sze Si Ya Chinese Temple--I was expecting a large ornate gate or some such--but it turned out to be a down a little alleyway and tucked into a small courtyard between buildings. Inside, however, it gleamed with gold and red, although, again, while from a Malaysian point of view I'm sure it's quite interesting, coming from a Chinese point of view it wasn't really anything special outside of having been in Kuala Lumpur for a long time. The Indian temple turned out to be even more underwhelming--mostly modern marble floor with a small altar, and you had to pay 20 cents to leave your shoes at the stall outside the gate.
0 comments:
Post a Comment