Satani Bat Bi: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Part 2)

A few more things on my to do list remained, and next up was finding Pudu Prison.  Built from 1891-1895, and in operation for 101 years until 1996 - the draw for me was to see the world's longest mural adorning the exterior walls of the prison.  An inmate named Khong Yen Chong began painting the mural in 1984, and it eventually extended 860 feet (by 14 feet high).  He finished his prison sentence before his mural was complete, and came back to the prison as a free man to complete his masterpiece.

To get to Pudu Prison from our hotel, I hopped on the city's monorail - a cute little two-car version similar to my hometown Seattle's monorail.

Inside the car

It was a few stops down the line to Imbi stop, closest to Pudu Prison.  I'd heard there was no way I could miss it - the prison is huge! But as we got close to the stop, all I could see was a giant dirt field...?  I got out and walked down the street parallel to the monorail where the prison should be, and entered a tunnel of rebar and scaffolding.

There's supposed to be a prison here...


This covers the sidewalk up the street where the mural should be...

The Lonely Planet book I was relying on was published January 2010 - and unfortunately in December 2012, the entire prison was demolished, leaving only the main gate.  I found this out once I got there.  Ah well, life moves pretty quick.  Here are a few shots I did manage to get:

You can just barely see what an amazing mural this used to be, before it was torn down

Above the main gate

Although I can't claim to have taken these, here are just a few of the mural when it was still standing, courtesy of Google Image Search:

The adventure continues.  I wanted to spend the afternoon moseying around KL to soak some of the flavor and atmosphere.  Sometimes you find the most random treasures you never knew existed this way.

I found the Jamek Mosque, where two paths of the river come together.  It is closed for repairs now, but still quite impressive to behold from outside:

Further down the river was the Central Market, in operation since 1888.  As a sucker for potential Pike Place Market cousins, I had to check it out:

Among a million crafts and practical stores, was this gem - fish spa!  My good friend Brie had tried it when she was in Japan a few years ago and it really intrigued me.  You take off your shoes and socks and slip your feet up to about mid-calf into a shallow pool filled with these "Dr. Fish."  They suck on your legs and feet and theoretically eat up all the dead skin, leaving you buffed and polished and ready to take on the day.  I don't think the experience really lived up to that claim, but for $5 and 15 minutes it was interesting enough:

That brings us to lunch - this cafeteria was at the market and had a million different options.  Curries, fried rice, sauteed veggies, and boiled eggs were just the ones I recognized.  Yum.

A few more sights around town after lunch:

An aspect you'll find in KL hotel rooms (and I suspect in most Islamic countries, though I didn't notice before), is an arrow on the ceiling, pointing to Mecca.  This is to show Muslim hotel guests the direction in which to pray.

We walked in the park the morning before my flight, and the park was lovely, but what really caught my eye was these tree roots/limbs!  Did someone braid them?  Did they twist themselves? How long does it take to grow?  I really couldn't get enough...have you seen these before?

Okay, they must be hand-braided - but then who comes to braid them? How often? How did they get started doing it?  What does it mean?

Ahh, life and your mysteries...there you go again.