Week 23 (2)/ Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Semaine du 17 mars 2014 (fin).

2 jours à Kuala Lumpur (KL) avant Bali. Je suis ravie de retrouver le confort d'une ville moderne après plus de 4 mois en Inde du Sud. Dès l'aéroport, je suis impressionnée par la qualité du train qui m'emmène au centre ville en moins de 30 minutes. Le taxi prépayé qui me conduit ensuite à mon auberge ne me coûte presque rien malgré la durée du trajet. Le dortoir de mon auberge de jeunesse me semble luxueux. AC et wifi dans un lit douillet et des draps qui sentent bon... Le rêve! La ville est digne des grandes métropoles internationales, sertie d'impressionnants immeubles, dotée d'infrastructures de qualité, de musées de qualité et de jardins somptueux.  Je profite de l'occasion pour abandonner mes lourds vêtements indiens couvrants et mettre mon premier short depuis bien longtemps. Au départ pour Bali 2 jours plus tard,  je me trompe d'aéroport car Air Asia est la seule compagnie internationale à opérer depuis l'aéroport domestique. Heureusement les deux aéroports sont proches et mon taxi est motivé. J'arrive au guichet d'enregistrement 10 minutes seulement avant la fermeture. Un seul regret: ne pas avoir eu suffisamment de temps pour échanger vraiment avec des habitants. Ce sera pour une autre fois. En route pour Bali!

Petronas tours and other great architecture.

A fountain.

View from KL tower.

Petaling street.

I love dragon fruit, especially the one that's red inside. 

Great Museum of Islamic Arts.

They have an architecture gallery showing many different mosques styles.

My cool guesthouse named Back Home (in Chinatown).

In the streets.

The aviary. So sad too many birds are kept in cages there.

Male feeding the female papaya.

Week 23 (1) / Tamil Nadu / Last days in India (Madurai & Chennai) -Departure for Malaysia & Indonesia

Week of 17 March 2014

On Monday morning, I take a bus for Madurai. After a hectic six hours drive in old coughing bus, we reach Madurai city. Hotels and guesthouses everywhere. I have to visit several ones before giving up: no big and light room in a charming guesthouse here for budget traveller. My hotel is dark in a gloomy street but I guess it will be OK for one night. I go for dinner in the small narrow and packed city center. Not much charm here, Except for a few bookshops where I buy Tamil and malayalam guidebooks. I go to bed hoping that I will like Madurai better tomorrow. On next morning, I have a simple breakfast and go to visit Meenakshi Temple, dedicated to goddess Parvati and lord Shiva. I feel impressed by the beauty and magnificence of the temple and its immense heavily decorated gopuras. Photographs are forbidden. After my visit, I take a rickshaw to the Gandhi Memorial Museum to learn more about the life and achievements of Mahatma Gandhi. There is a group of school boys and girls there, visiting with their teacher. They are so quiet and listening. Outside in the street I get to taste and appreciate my first jack fruit. Finally, my day visiting Madurai was better then expected and I am happy I stopped there on my way to Chennai. I have a dinner in the street and head to the close train station by feet where my train leaves around 9PM.

When I arrive in Chennai by 6AM,  I go directly to the YWCA hotel because it is close to the train station and I never tried a YWCA. Great choice!  It's such a nice place, set in the middle of a little park, full of charms, with comfortable, clean and clear rooms. The staff is very kind too. I like Chennai people at once. They are so easy to love as they are very friendly and smiling. Very soon, I meet two boys at the sugar cane stand in front of Madras University and, as they have nothing to do, they propose to visit the city with me. What a great day we had! Full of laughs, long walks, pictures, good sights and good food too. 

The day after, I have what i believe to be my last idli wada as I am to fly to Malaysia in the afternoon. Then I go for a walk on the beach. Not the cleanest but it's nice to hang around with locals till the opening time of Vivekananda Lilam. I like that museum very much. So many details and beautiful pictures about the life of swami Vivekananda. You can view a short film on his historic speech at the Parliament of World's religions in Chicago in 1893 (part of Columbian world exhibition), and meditate a few minutes in the quiet meditation room. I especially like two pictures of him, one where he meditates eyes almost closed like a beautiful Buddha, and the other one where he is dressed like an errand monk (that he was for some time). one of the boys I spend the day with the day before makes me the surprise to wait for me in the museum and say goodbye. I have what I believe to be my last masala dosa and then it's time to take my flight for Kuala Lumpur. 

Good bye Mother India! I love you and I will be back soon. 

Madurai.

Meenakshi temple. No pics allowed inside.

Gandhi memorial Museum. Very pedagogic.

My first jack fruit. Delicious.

Chennai.

University of Madras.

Charming Mosque of thousands lights [only one left].

Valluvar Kottam monument. Having fun.

Triumph of labour

Ramakrishna Math.

Swami Vivekananda Ilham.

My 2 favorite pictures of swami Vivekananda (found on google, pics were forbidden in the Museum).

The Beach.