A certain grey

I was almost in the centre of KL before I began to recognize things. The Maybank tower, the tallest building when I last visited, is still respectfully substantial, but it is now overshadowed by the world’s second and third tallest buildings - Petronas Towers. The twin towers are huge; 88 stories and 452 m high. No doubt to the annoyance of the former Prime Minister, it was overtaken in 2004 by the Taiwanese Taipei 101, at 508 m and an eponimous 101 floors. KL also has the world’s 26th highest building Menara Telekom Headquarters, which is 310m and 55 floors. When lit at night it reminds me of a large, white allium flower. Light is an extraordinary feature of the KL nightscape. So much of it escapes the Petronas Towers that the clouds above take on an eerie, other worldly glow, reinforcing the enormity of these structures in a reflection of an inferiority complex, national in its scope.

Once in the city, the long familiar side of KL put a smile on my face; the cheap Malay-Indian restaurant where I ate roti canai, a delicious greasy bread served with dall; open air cafes with plastic furniture, their Chinese owners arguing loudly, quite unconcerned with their customers; the noodle shops with hundreds of flags advertising Anchor beer and Guinness. It was this that I loved about KL.

A shop house next to my hotel houses Restoran Wong Fook Kee. A name that must surely have been created specially for Benny Hill. Chinese shop houses like this are still to be found amongst the amongst the huge high rise buildings. Some haven’t changed since I was first here in the 1980s, but others have become expensive shops and restaurants. With all the building that has taken place, it surprises me that so many have survived. However attractive the decor of these modern shop houses might be, I was put off by oversized televisions and that appear compulsory at the moment. World cup football fever has become pandemic. I avoided all sign of sport in a Chinese restaurant and enjoyed a bottle of Tiger.

My hotel, the Allson Genesis was by far a cut above anything I had stayed in before in KL. I was pleased to note the colour of the towels though: a shade of grey that is unique to mid range hotels. Your eye wants to think them white, but after the initial flush of optimism, that reluctance to be disappointed with your room, has worn off, grey they undoubtedly are. It is a colour that is quite reassuring; crisp white towels and carefully starched bed linen go with five star hotels and stand testament to the damage done to your credit card. Insipid grey towels suggest a degree of thrift.