Sarahvani's travel blogs:
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KL and the Wedding
Entry 33 of 46 | show all | print this entry |
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I left Marcus and headed to Singapore - having left no time to actually look at the place (again) - no great loss really as I find it a bit sterile. Landed at Changi and made mad dash across town to bus terminal. They were trying to charge about 25 quid for the bus!! Something not right there.. decided to take my chances and head to the Malay border... bus was only 4 pounds there! That's better. Bus was horrendously delayed but arrived to another city with a difference this time... My uncle was waiting for me! Yay! familiar face. Just wanted to be taken to street stall for Char Kway Teow and go to sleep... no such luck. Said Uncle took me straight to 'Lion's Den' i.e. house filled with family! I say lion's den only because there are just so many of them, ergo it can be intimidating when half asleep to enter a room full of people that look just so slightly like you!!
I feel very lucky to have family all over the world. I always see a different side to a country once I've been shown around by someone who lives there. I've met so many backpackers who hated KL and I can see why. To those devoid of transport the place must seem huge, confusing and difficult to get around. The best spots, especially the food markets are hidden away where people who don't speak malay won't find them!! One of the best nightspots is Bangsar, if you can get there you're doing ok! Get a taxi it hardly costs anything...
I had such a good time in the 11 days I was in KL. One of my eldest cousins was getting married and most of the family had turned up to see the wedding. I had never seen an Indian wedding before so it was all very interesting. I think the best bit was that I was no longer a spectator (in the sense of being a tourist). I was actually part of what was going on and again I felt priviledged to be there.
It was quite a big wedding by Indian standards so the blessings and functions went on for a few days before the actual ceremony and I took the time to go out with my cousins and my brother and generally see a bit more of the nightlife. I've been to Malaysia about 7 times now so wasn't bothered about the tourist stuff, I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere. Christopher hadn't been back in 16years so I guess it was a bit weird for him to meet everyone. To give a bit of background; my mother had 14 brothers and sisters. One is deceased and one was missing from the wedding so 13 siblings were present. Every sibling is married/has a partner and all but two have children (the average is 2, giving me 27 cousins). It was great to spend loads of time with the ones who had come over from Australia and who I rarely see for obvious reasons!
The actual wedding was lovely; taking place at Batu Caves (holy caves in KL)and my mum took the opportunity to dress both her children in Indian clothes (I think she's been dying to do that for a while). I had only ever worn a sari once before so it was a pretty weird feeling, but I felt at home after a few hours. I wore the ones I had bought in Chennai with Marcus so I felt pretty comfortable, even if I did feel like a Barbie doll dressed HEAD to TOE in pink - even my bloody toenails were pink... only once people only once!!!
Most of the family headed to Port Dickson for a few days afterwards to chill out on the beach. It's become quite polluted there but we still had fun (and went in the sea). We even went to Malacca for the day and I revisited that awesome museum (Museum of Beauty Practices from the 2001 trip). They've revamped it as well so it's even better now!
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