Oh well , I suppose you cannot have years of incredible growth and at the same time try and adjust for an imbalance of wealth in a multi ethnic society ; without some imperfections . As far as I am concerned , one of those is being given a £2 parking ticket , for one wheel over my parking line, and that in a semi rural area with lots of spaces . This was one officious cop , aiming to continue rebalancing wealth . Still I suppose I should be grateful , as It was a computerised ticket which I can pay on line . 25 years ago , it was essential to have twice that tucked into the driving licence when it was presented to the police. This was an irritant , compared to near disasters. ( ah so you only have 24 hours to pay before the fine trebles . Can effectively only be paid on line , with a program that is only in Bahasa, and with a Malaysian credit card ! So the police get more money with their new technology! Finally 8 times the fine )
You cannot get a taxi in Malaysia without a “ Grab app “ . Their version of Uber , except the transaction is only cash . It is virtually a monopoly , almost no alternative ( an airline is trying to establish a competitor ) . So no phone , no app, no taxi . Arriving at the airport we couldn’t get the app to function, I think because we didn’t have a local SIM. Fortunately airports are thronged with helpful ,and very expensive drivers ! ….Keeping the phone functional is an imperative for travel; KL is not designed for pedestrians . The upside however is that the rides are ridiculously cheap.
We picked up our hire car in the centre of KL , with the words that you will need a “ Tap and Go” card to use the highways . There is no alternative way to pay !!! No problem ! they can be bought at any ( light ) rail station . Not true , ‘could’ is the operative word . Our local “ station master advised that they had temporarily run out of stock , more would be in that night ; but could be bought at any number a news/book outlets . Two more “ not trues’. So it was off to the major train station . Can’t buy them there also ,’ you need to go to the adjacent shopping mall’ where on the second floor there was a small outlet; with a long queue. As I approached the desk there were numerous signs which said they had ‘ sold out ‘ . In disbelief I asked the assistant how I could take the highway that afternoon . After a patient wait , a supervisor hustle me into a corner and with furtive smile , advised that she had a limited stock for tourists .My credit card momentarily disappeared , but was returned with my very own toll card .( I have yet to check my bank balance ) . That evening the highway was packed , with owners of all those missing cards , and miracles , ours worked also . ( so far only one debit on my card !)
That night found us up country viewing fireflies . It had been raining so I suppose their batteries had only been partial charged . The best hotel in the environs only cost £20 a night , without breakfast . In fact there was none available ; so I frequented a local Chinese , and for another £2 ate my fill. Unfortunately that parking ticket doubled the cost . Leaving the hotel I was astounded that one of the guests drove a Maserati , on road price 10,000 times the room rate .
Our destination was the Cameron Highlands of lower temperatures , market gardens growing English veggies ; oh and of course extensive tea estates. The road up clings to the sides in a succession of bends . It had been widened to allow for comfortable passing . This increased the steepness of the sides , which necessitated copious use of plastic sheeting to prevent erosion ; not a pretty sight.
Our destination for the nights was a mock Tudor hotel offering all mod cons , excellent staff, ; oh including a banquet for breakfast .No risk of parking tickets, they actually wash the car each night. Allowing time for digestion, an optional activity was a walk in the forest . Billed as not suitable for infants , pregnancy , and senior citizens . Clearly that didn’t refer to me , so I scrambled up , slid and tumbled down . Aged fallers are more at risk of personal damage ; avoided this time. Perhaps this is another pastime I have outgrown !
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