Penang to Kuala Lumpur

We arrived in Georgetown by ferry in sunshine. We left by ferry in the rain. We had a police escort for the two kilometers from the hotel to the ferry which helped enormously as we had to cross a roundabout and negotiate a couple of uncontrolled intersections in the pouring rain.

...patiently awaiting the ferry...

...now waiting for it to get moving...

...and now enjoying the depressing rainy view as we cross.

It rained all of the first day. The next two days were dry during the ride but both days we had downpours in the afternoon after arriving at destination - that seems to be the normal day around here at this time of year.

When we're off major highways, we have a mix of farmland
and rolling hills...

...and always a lot of wetland - this seems to be characteristic
of everywhere we've been from Shanghai all the way down,
land that is almost underwater and is suitable for rice...

...and towns whose architecture reveals a colonial influence.

A rest day today (December 14) in Kuala Lumpur. Much of KL displays architecture from colonial times...

Moorish style of former British courthouse

The National Monument
by the same designer as the USMC
Iwo Jima memorial in Washington DC

...but it is also known for the tallest twin towers (452 metres) in the world, the Petronas Towers, which were completed in 1998.

Interesting that here in an Islamic country (67% Moslem, and most of the rest is Hindu or Buddhist), we are listening to Christmas carols in almost every public place we go, including in the enormous shopping mall nestled between the two Petronas Towers, and everybody actually says 'Merry Christmas' without offending anybody else.

The choir below is singing Christmas carols that
can be heard through the central area of the
shopping complex in the KL Civic Centre
between the Petronas Towers.

Just outside town are the Batu caves that has become one of the most important Hindu religious sites outside India.

KL is also home to the largest free-flight enclosed aviary in the world which gave us a chance to get close to many species that we had seen from a distance during the bike ride and a number of species that we saw only here and for which we've included photos just because we think the birds are beautiful.

 

Probably not what the aviary was built for...