|
On Thursday September 10th and Tuesday September 15th our ENAK! hosts Rosemary Chin and Janine Williams organised two delightful outings with small groups of ten and our renowned guide Nadge Arrifin, for a tour of the Early Colonial Centre of KL.
I was part of Group A. We met at "The Galerie KL" at 9.30 and of course took our first ineluctable touristy photo in fron of the "I Heart KL" sign. Those who had visited here before said that usually one must queue to get the classis shot, but today we were the only people on the square! After a few photos we started our tour gazing out to once said to be the "most beautiful living room in the world"; The Royal Selangor Club (1894) and onto the cricket field of Merdeka Square. |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
From our viewpoint we could also see St. Mary's Cathedral (1894) and moved onwards to the clock tower sultan Abdula Samad Building (1894). Nadge explained that there exists a controersy as to the exact style of the architecture of this building designed by the architects A.C. Norman & Arthur Benison Hubback – it is both a Moorish and Mughul style.
We walked around to the second façade of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, which originally housed the offices of the British colonial administration, now houses the Ministry of Tourism amongst others and walked to the location where the two rivers meet. |
||
 |
.jpg) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Nadge explained that in the early days of Kuala Lumpur this side of the river was swampy and muddy most of the year. The confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers gave rise to the name of the city we all call home: Kuala Lumpur – the muddy estuary or confluence!
We walked around to the second façade of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, which originally housed the offices of the British colonial administration, now houses the Ministry of Tourism amongst others and walked to the location where the two rivers meet. |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
The Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad mosque sits at the center of the confluence, with the water level far below us. Nadge explained that this area flooded frequently over the years until the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnels (Smart Tunnels) were introduced. You must have a look at our photos from the morning and then the photos that were all over the news on the evening of the 10th.For some reason it seems that the Smart Tunnels were not operational that day and there was severe flooding all over KL. Pam who was in our group also mentioned that there are multiple interesting videos on YouTube, explaining how the dual-purpose tunnels are made to manage motor vehicle traffic and flood deviation – truly worth viewing! |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
On we went to the Old Market square – Medan Pasar which still holds some remnants of the original architecture from Arthur Benison Hubback as well as some Art Deco buildings and famous Art Deco Clock Tower.
From here we walked towards the Central Market and stopped on the way for our final destination: Restoran Tajudin Nasi Berani, 8 Jalan Hang Katsuri. Famous for its nasi briyani and sambal and freshly fried chicken. Great lunch with kampung style right in the city center. Well worth the visit!
We are all very grateful to Rosemary and Janine for having organised this great ENAK! despite the added difficulties with the unmentionable virus, it was a marvelous day! THANK YOU! Angela Burke Scharer
|
||
