A few days around Klang

Some trips stay with you because of the places you visit. Others because of the people you spend time with.

My visit to Malaysia in July 2012 was a little of both.

I was visiting a very good friend whom we affectionately called Uncle. Looking back, much of what I remember about those few days revolves around his company, the food we ate and a rather memorable late-night drive into Kuala Lumpur.

It was only a short trip, but we managed to see quite a bit.

Bak kut teh in Klang

One of my clearest memories is the bak kut teh we had around Port Klang.

I remember sitting down to a table filled with bowls of pork, each containing different cuts. There were trotters, ribs, intestines and other pieces, accompanied by rice, Chinese tea and chilli in soy sauce.

It was quite a spread.

An outdoor table set with white bowls decorated with red roosters, each holding a different cut of braised pork: trotters, ribs, intestines and belly, with plates of rice, a teapot pouring tea and small dishes of chilli in soy sauce. — Bak kut teh: a bowl for each cut, with rice, tea and chilli in soy sauce.

I had eaten bak kut teh before, but having it in Klang felt a little different. The place has such a strong association with the dish, and I remember hearing that bak kut teh had actually originated around Port Klang.

Whether that is historically accurate is another matter, as the origins are still debated.

One other detail has stayed with me. If I remember correctly, you couldn’t simply keep asking for more soup at the place where we ate.

I don’t know why that particular detail stuck in my mind, but it did.

What I remember most clearly, though, is how delicious everything was.

Around Port Klang

The following day, we spent some time around what I remember as Port Klang.

The photographs show fishing boats, wooden jetties and passenger boats along the waterfront.

Small blue and white fishing boats moored among wooden poles beside a jetty on stilts, seen through a railing, with a modern glass building behind. — Fishing boats at the jetty.

A wide stretch of water with moored fishing boats, a red-hulled boat in front, a speedboat crossing and passenger ferries in the distance. — Boats on the water by the jetty.

I don’t remember exactly what brought us to the waterfront that day. But looking at the pictures now, I can still appreciate that different side of Malaysia, away from the shopping centres and tall buildings.

There were traditional boats tied up along the jetty and others out on the water.

It’s one of those smaller parts of a trip that might have disappeared from memory altogether if not for the photographs.

Kuala Lumpur, well past midnight

One experience I haven’t forgotten is our late-night drive into Kuala Lumpur.

We went in a Mercedes belonging to one of Uncle’s friends. It was well past midnight when we reached the Petronas Twin Towers.

And they looked magnificent.

The Petronas Twin Towers lit silver and blue at night, seen from near their base, with the skybridge between them and a palm tree in silhouette in the corner. — Looking up at the Petronas Twin Towers.

I remember standing there, looking up at the illuminated towers against the dark sky.

The photograph is timestamped 12:41 a.m., although I had always remembered the visit being closer to two in the morning.

The exact time doesn’t really matter. What has stayed with me is the sight of those enormous towers glowing in the middle of the night.

Even now, looking at the photograph, I can understand why I was so impressed.

A day in Putrajaya

On our final day, we visited Putrajaya.

I remember it as a day trip, and the photographs show some of the city’s distinctive buildings.

There was Perdana Putra, with its large green dome, and the pink-domed Putra Mosque.

A pink-domed mosque with smaller domes and a tall minaret under a cloudy sky, with palms in front. — Putra Mosque, Putrajaya.

What strikes me now is how spacious everything looks. The broad open areas and impressive government buildings were quite different from the places we had seen around Klang.

I wish I remembered more of that afternoon, but the photographs have helped piece together where we went.

A temple I had almost forgotten

There was another stop that day which had nearly slipped my mind.

We visited a Chinese temple.

When I first tried to remember this trip, I could vaguely recall visiting a temple but couldn’t remember which one.

The photographs suggest it was Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur.

A large Chinese temple with tiers of red and gold curved roofs above white walls and red pillars, under a cloudy sky. — The temple, which appears to be Thean Hou Temple.

The elaborate roofs and traditional architecture are particularly striking.

There are also photographs of a Guanyin statue surrounded by greenery, a koi pond and a statue of Yue Lao, the Chinese matchmaker deity.

A white statue of Guanyin holding a vase, standing beside a rock waterfall surrounded by ferns and tropical plants. — Guanyin by a rock waterfall.

A painted statue of Yue Lao, an old man with a long white beard holding a book, beside a large red sack and a carved stone with Chinese characters. — Guanyin by a rock waterfall.

I don’t remember much about what we did inside the temple. But seeing these pictures brought back the fact that we had visited it.

That’s something I appreciate about keeping old photographs. They sometimes preserve parts of a journey that memory has quietly let go.

Looking back

Three days in Malaysia, and quite a collection of memories.

The bak kut teh in Klang, the boats around Port Klang, the Petronas Towers late at night, Putrajaya and a temple visit I had almost forgotten.

But what ties the trip together for me is Uncle.

The photographs remind me of the places we went. The friendship reminds me why I was there.

And whenever I look at that photograph of all those bowls of bak kut teh, I still remember how good that meal was.