We did go to Bukit Tabur yesterday, rising at 5.30 to be there by 6.30 – too late for the sunrise, which was spectacular even fromground level, but early enough that it never got to too. It was a short, steep hike and had me panting in the early bits as I don’t take too well to uphill. There were some beautiful views over a mist shrouded Klang Gates dam on one side and a smoggy KL on the other. The middle part of the walk was the really exciting one, requiring clambering over the ‘dragon back ridge’, a quartz ridge of raw rock faces. Some ropes and iron foot holds have been added in recent months, before this one had to clamber along as one might, with many deaths. Even with the ropes it felt quite adventurous, very enjoyable. There was only one bit which had me genuinely thinking I might fall over backwards onto hard rock, but several where I had to cast around for hand holds and it was felt certain that I would find one and be able to hoist myself up. Luckily my clambering is far better than my actual hiking, so I managed rather better than our guide who was, to be fair, hungover and in acute pain from a week of over-strenuous Crossfit. The way down was through muddy forest with many mosquitoes. Today my arms and shoulders ache extremely, as they don’t usually get this sort of workout, while the legs are in somewhat better condition.
Today we went to the Muzium Negara, where it was interesting to see the official narrative of the country’s history with curious gaps and odd juxtapositions as it tried to unify the history of Malaysia as it is today, whilst excluding areas which are now in Indonesia or Thailand. The a stop at the Zhongshan Building, an old building now turning into an art and design incubator. Most of it was closed. An archive that seemed to basically be a living room was open, as was a nice little cafe. At one point we actually did walk into someone’s living room.