Kuala Lumpur in three days

JUNE 9: short, crisp, inspiring remarks – by Clark International Airport Corp. top honcho Victor Jose Luciano and Philippines’ AirAsia CEO Maan Hontiveros – delivered, with some shirt-flashing – CRK-KL-2X, and flag-waving crew providing festive flair, Flight PQ7455 departed – at exactly 3:15 p.m. from the Clark International Airport to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Complementing Malaysia AirAsia’s morning flights along the same route since 2005, the new daily flights seek, according to Ms. Hontiveros, to “enable our guests especially Filipinos to have access to Malaysia’s awesome tourist destinations but more important, we want to draw tourists from Malaysia to our amazing beaches and natural wonders in Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, Davao and here in Central Luzon.”

Enabled with this maiden flight, this writer, along with a dozen others, had only thoughts of accessing Malaysia’s awesome destination, if only in the capital KL.

“This is your captain speaking, we have just landed at the Kuala Lumpur low cost carrier terminal, 20 minutes ahead of schedule.” Much applause there. 

Yes, Philippines’ AirAsia yet affirmed its ahead-of-schedule promptness, established in its flights to Davao, Puerto Princesa and Kalibo. All seamless, pleasurable, journeys too. 

Now hear this, no disembarkation card to file at the immigration counters. Just present your passport and do two-forefinger scanning, a barcode gets pasted on the visa page, stamped “visit pass” for 30 days. Easy breeze-through, no matter the long queue. Tourism Malaysia taking good care of us from there.  

An hour or so from the LCCT, emerged the KL’s nightscape, dominated but of course by the sparkling silvery Petronas Towers.

Destination though on the first night was Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower), a telecommunications tower rising to the height of 421 meters. Sumptuous Malaysian fare, spiced up by a cultural show, at the tower’s mega view banquet hall – 288 meters above street level – made a most fulfilling welcome dinner.

The mega view is no overstatement, the hall’s large glass panels provide a 360-degree panorama of the city. Lie down on the glass and make as though one floated above the lights of KL; on the western side, the Petronas Towers make a spectacular photo backdrop.

Checked-in at the five-star Grand Millenium, right at Jalan Bukit Bintang, the epicenter of shopping in KL. Room 0944: soft, yet firm bed, pillows just as soft, onto dreamland before midnight.  

JUNE 10. Breakfast at 6:30 a.m. – continental, Malay, and Indian – at Level 1 of Grand Millenium. Assembly at the lobby, exactly at 8 a.m., sub-grouped to four destinations: KL city tour and Putrajaya; Kidzania and Sunway Lagoon; Genting Highlands and Batu Caves; and Melaka. Been there, done all that. But it was Melaka to where I’d long desired to be back. Alas, to Kidzania, my name was attached.

Anyways, Petronas Towers made the first agenda of the day. Photo shoots at ground level while awaiting the 9 a.m. slot. Spared of the long queue to the ticket booth, Tourism Malaysia’s staff having secured our tickets ahead.

Zoomed in the elevator to the 83^rd floor. Transferred to another lift to the 86^th floor observation deck. Lo and behold the whole of KL on one’s feet. Impressive.  Towering edifices in various hues reaching for their own places in the sky, ribbons of roads and expressways, small lagoons and waterways, pockets of green all over. The works of man, wonders of nature in synergy. Simply impressive.   

Down at the 41^st floor skybridge, felt like the Carpenters gushing: “I'm on the top of the world looking/down on creation/And the only explanation I can find/Is the love that I've found/ever since you've been around/Your love's put me at the top of the world…”

Indeed, it was colleague Ashley Manabat, editor of the debuting Headline: Gitnang Luzon, though that found some Canadian loving.

Back on the ground. No, Melaka, I won’t be denied. Where I had the will, Tourism Malaysia’s Zuhairah Abas and tour guide Eddie Chook found the way. Two seats at the Bas Pesiaran to Melaka made available for me and Businessweek’s Peter Alagos.

Two hours and 30 minutes by expressways through palm oil plantations and housing developments thereafter, Bukit China – centuries-old burial ground for the early Chinese migrants and settlers made our first sight of Melaka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where European powers – the Portuguese and then the Dutch – made their first toehold in Malaysia, .

After a quick Chinese lunch, off to the heritage center of Melaka, predominantly in old rose: the Stadthuys which served as the residence of the Dutch governor, Christ Church and the clock tower, rows of buildings now servings as museums and antique shops.

The body spent in the hike up a hill under the scorching past noon sun, the spirit renewed at the ruins of St. Paul’s Church where the body of the “Apostle to the East,” St. Francis Xavier, was temporarily buried before it was finally interred in Goa, India.

The marble statue of the saint in front of the ruins had a story of its own. Right after it was erected in the 1950s, so our guide Simon Chong narrated, a tree branch fell upon it and severed its right hand. Not long after it was re-attached, the hand was cut again in some freak accident. Then it was discovered that the interred body of St. Francis did not have a right hand as it was taken as some kind of a holy relic. Thence, the statue remained without it.

Propped at the inside walls of the ruins of St. Paul are large slabs of tombstones marking the graves of some Dutch noblemen.

Downhill from St. Paul’s is what remains of Fort A Famosa, the Porto Santiago gate that is eerily similar to our own Fort Santiago in Intramuros.

Gaily decorated trishaws made the best transport through Melaka’s heritage district, passing by the baba nyonya houses, the Kampong Kling Mosque, stopping at the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, reputedly the oldest functioning temple in Malaysia and the grandest temple in Melaka. Prayers renewed the spirit anew, the body refreshed too. Onto Jonker Street, exploring its shops for antiques, both genuine and reproduced.

The Melaka River cruise scratched out for lack of time, a ride up the Menara Taming Sari, a “gyro tower,” made our last stop. Spinning up a pole some 80 meters from the ground, one saw the whole expanse of Melaka, the old hemmed in by the new, and still expanding with more reclamation of the straits that once lured the conquistadores of the Old World.

It was a fitting finis to my return to the Melaka I came to love at first sight, in November 1985. Notwithstanding the hordes of tourists now, the place by necessity highly commercialized, yet Melaka to me has remained the soul of Malaysia, with its Muslim, Christian and Buddhist values with- and outstanding the march of times.

Still, I miss those old men by their Underwoods and Coronas on wooden tables and benches diligently taking typing jobs under the canopy of the giant trees by Christ Church.

Back to KL by 8 p.m. No nasi goreng, no nasi lemak at the food stalls at Lot 10. Made do with some fishballs, broccoli leaves and noodles. Hearty – healthy too – dinner for RM10.30.

To cap the night, peoplewatched along Jalan Bukit Bintang, sipping café Americano at Starbucks.               

JUNE 11. Gorged on fruits at breakfast.

Got lost with the press crops – from Pampanga and Manila – on the way to the Philippine Embassy for a call on Ambassador Eduardo Malaya, arranged by the Inquirer’s Tonette Orejas. Taxis to the rescue, to the tune of RM15.

Déjà vu. By the chancery’s door, I met a living remnant of my 1985 days in KL, as Malaysian government fellow at the Institiut Perhubungan Raya Malaysia and part-time local hire at the Philippine Embassy, as editor of its fortnightly mimeographed publication, Philippines News Digest.

“Ahmed,” I called out to the embassy’s handyman-messenger. “It’s me Bong Lacson, the student from the Philippines who worked here long time ago.”

Seeing his searching eyes trying hard to place my face in the Filipino universe of his existence, I started mentioning the people at the embassy I worked with.

Ambassador Pablo Suarez. Consul Franklin Ebdalin. Consul Virgie Gaffud. Miss Fannie…

“Passed away, already.” At the last name, he started remembering.

Andoy.

“Passed away too.”

Bert, the martial arts master.

“Moved to Johor Baru with his family.”

The gleam of recognition now in his eyes: “Thank you for remembering me.” And we embraced.

Indeed, Ahmed was the only remnant of the chancery I knew, having been totally renovated – only last May – in time for the visit of Vice President Jejomar Binay. 

“This is the biggest assembly of mediamen I have ever faced since I stepped down as DFA spokesperson.” Happily greeted us Ambassador Malaya at the second floor landing, ushering us to his office. And for over an hour he fielded questions ranging from the Independence Day parade – the first ever in Malaysia, arguably in ASEAN – to OFW affairs, tourism, trade and investments, but kept diplomatically silent on terrorism and the peace talks.

The boys of the local press, Ding Cervantes of Philippine Star and Punto, Jess Malabanan of Manila Standard and CL Daily, Rey Navales of Sun-Star Pampanga, Joey Pavia of Business Mirror and Punto! and of course, Tonette and Peter got more than a week’s worth of stories from the ambassador.

“Thank you for your homecoming visit.” Told of my having worked at the embassy, the ambassador whispered to me as I bade him goodbye.

It was but a ten-minute leisurely walk, through a pedestrian overpass, onto a mall, a square with a dancing fountain to the Grand Millenium from where we checked out at 1 p.m. after lunch of roasted duck at one of the food stalls at Lot 10 again.

Bus to the AirAsia Academy, adjacent to the LCCT.

Did great flying the Airbus A-330-200 with Peter as co-pilot. Smooth take-off, no jerking, no spins, smooth turns and feather-touch landing. In the flight simulator, that is. At Jess and Ashley’s turn at the controls, we crashed.

The tour was capped by an early dinner of Indian food, curry-based and spicy but yummy.

Then, onto the LCCT to catch the flight back to Clark.

Little more than a wooden bodega three and a half years ago when I first passed through it, the LCCT now puts to shame even airports presumptive of international standards. One sees, feels the effects of the principles of time-space-motion clearly applied to its construction: full but not crowded. Stalls for food and refreshment, duty free goods and souvenirs, sturdy, comfortable chairs  strategically placed with the traveller’s convenience of utmost consideration. 

Clark could very well learn a lot from the LCCT. That is subject for another story.

So with the strong aroma of leather still in the cabin, an almost fully-booked AirAsia Flight PQ7456 left KL at 7:50 p.m. and arrived past 11 p.m. at Clark.

Once again, ahead of its expected time of arrival. Really awesome. Terima kasih,  Ms. Maan.