The oasis in a busy city - Lake of Gardens, Kuala Lumpur
I had almost a full day to kill before meeting up with my couch host. However the day because a comedy of messes. First I had the great thought of getting up at 6 am before it got TOO hot to go running in the Lake of Gardens. I even went so far as to map it out as to how to get there on google maps the night before. Well 6 am came and went and that didn’t happen. But I did get up at 7:30. So I dressed in my running gear but wanted to check my e-mail and such first. Well taht is when I found out about the money situation (see earlier post) so the next couple of hours were eaten up trying to deal with that.
If only I could've jumped in it - soooo refreshing!
Finally, I got that done and embarked on my walk to the Lake of Gardens to get some exercise even though the hot of the day was full on. Well I ended up doing a full circle in amongst traffic and concrete and roundabouts and signs that confuse. So fully frustrated I went back to the hostel to ask for directions. I gave up on the jog prospect since it was now about 34C and 90% humidity. I changed, packed my bags (had to be out of the room at 12), left them with the hostel and walked to Central Market to find out how to walk to Lake of Gardens! How such a beautiful place can be so hard to get to. There are no such things as grids for roads here – they curve and twist and go any which way.
Part of the Old KL Railway Station
Finally after finding the iconic old railway station, finding the overpass, then the underpass, then the road which passed the National Mosque and the Planetarium, I arrived at a dead end road which allowed me to hop a fence, and “voila”, the Lake of Gardens.
A peaceful bridge invites you to cross
I have to say, and I didn’t explore all of it since it was so bloody hot and humid, but it was a beautiful respite from the noise and chaos of KL. The irony was that it must have been Chinese photography class day since everywhere throughout the park were male photographers taking pictures of little nymphish Chinese girls. The odd wedding party was there as well. But in the bigger scheme of things, it was a treasure.
A sheltered path around the orchid gardens
It helped me burn off my frustration about the whole $$$ thing and also allowed me to smile freely and laugh. I wish I had known how to get there earlier so that I could have gone for a run. But given the humidity and heat around here, running is not a great option. Tomorrow I leave for Langkawi and I think I might pursue yoga for the 7 days I am there.
Water ponds and falls - anywhere in this heat, there is water, I am drawn