Ulla kirjutab maast ja ilmast: Kaks p2eva suurlinnas - Kuala Lumpur // Two days in a megacity

Viimastel p2evadel Sri Lankal olime me m6lemad muutuse suhtes ootus2revad. Ja paraja muutuse osalisteks saime me ka! Kuala Lumpuri moodsus ja mitmekesisus on viimase kahe n2dala jooksul Sri Lankal n2htust niiv6rd erinev. Oleme nyydseks siin veetnud kaks v2ga meeldivat p2eva.

Me saabusime varahommikul, kuna meie lyhike lend Sri Lankalt algas hilis6htul. Me veetsime 88 lennukis ning saime seet6ttu vaid 2 tundi magatud, seega olime kohale j6udes p2ris kurnatud. Juba lennujaamas oli meile yllatuseks kui moodne ja uhke k6ik oli ning bussis6idul kesklinna imetlesime me l2heneva linna pilvel6hkujaid.

Meie hostel asub keskuse Hiinalinna osas ning p2rast paaritunnist l6unauinakut asusime me oma naabruskonda uudistama. Nagu nimigi ytleb, on Hiinalinn t2is hiina 2risid ja hiina keelt on k6ikjal kuulda. Me jalutasime l2bi turuplatsi, imetledes uskumatut hulka piraattoodangut - sh k2ekellad/kotid/jalatsid/elektroonika/misiganes. Seej2rel istusime me l2hedalasuvasse lihtsasse Hiina restorani 6htustama. P2rast Sri Lanka rammusaid karrisid oli imeline midagi veidi teistsugust syya.

J2rgmise p2eva hommikul - meie ainsal t2isp2eval Kuala Lumpuris - kylastasime me Rahvusmuuseumi, mis r22gib Malaisia ajaloost - eelajaloost kuni t2nap2evani. V2ljapanekud olid huvitavad ning h2sti organiseeritud - muuseum oli jagatud nelja ossa: Eelajalugu, Iidsed Kuningriigid, Koloniaalajastu ning T2nap2eva Malaisia. V2ga p6nev oli riigist rohkem 6ppida ning paremini aru saada kuidas Malaisiast sai just selline riik nagu ta on. Sest asi, mis meid siin k6ige rohkem on yllatanud, on siinse rahva uskumatu mitmekesisus - t2navatel saab n2ha absoluutselt k6iksuguseid inimesi, ning k6ik elavad siin koos ning ajavad omi asju ilma mingi probleemita. Yhtlasi on olnud meeldivaks vahelduseks see, et siin ei vahi meid mitte keegi, mitte nagu Sri Lankal, kus me olime valusalt silmapaistvad ja erinevad. Siin eksisteerivad k6ik sorti inimesed yheskoos. Muuseumis saime me teada natuke kontekstist ja ajaloost, mis selgitab kuidas selline olukord on siin tekkinud.

Malaisia asukoht Hiina ja India iidsete tsivilisatsioonide vahel ning ta yleyldine paiknemine keset suuri kaubandusteid on t2hendanud, et sadade ja tuhandete aastate jooksul on siinset maad kylastanud ning siia paiknema j22nud inimesi yle kogu maailma. Suure osa ajaloost on Malaisia olnud iseseisev, siinsel alal paiknenud mitmeid suuremaid ja v2iksemaid kuningriike on juhtinud kohalikud kuningad ning ylikud. Koloniaalajastu sajanditel oli Malaisia kord Portugali, siis Hollandi ning Briti v6imu all, enne kui 20nda sajandi keskpaigal ta viimaks iseseisvaks sai. Kui iseseisvus p2rast Teist Maailmas6da jutuks tuli, kahtlesid britid selles, kas riik kus elab nii palju eri rahvaid saab iseseisvalt hakkama ilma et kodus6jaks l2heks. Kui aga kohalik rahvas esimestel valimistel yhtselt h22letas, oli see piisavaks t6estuseks ning Malaisia delegatsioon, mis koosnes siinse kolme peamise rahvuse (malai, hiina ja india) esindajatest s6itis Londonisse, et iseseisvuse tingimusi l2bi r22kida. Kui v2lja arvata 60ndate aastate kommunistide m2ss, on siinne rahvas sellest saati elanud suhtelises rahus.

Siinne mitmekesisus on t6epoolest muljetavaldav - Kuala Lumpuris, mis on koduks 1,6 miljonile elanikule (ning rohkem kui 7le miljonile kui v6tta arvesse kogu linnak), kellest 46% on malaid, 43% hiinlased, 10% indialased ning ylej22nud on segu v2iksematest rahvastest (sh tailased ning portugallased). Paljud neist on siin elanud p6lvkondi ning rahvaste vahel on palju segunemist, sh kommete, keelte, r6ivastuse jms laenamist ning vahetamist. Yhtlasi, kuigi islam on Malaisia ametlik religioon, on vaid 46% kualalumpurlastest moslemid, ylej22nud on budistid (35%), hindud (9%), kristlased (6%) ning hulk k2put2ie v2iksemate religioonide j2rgijad.

P2rast harivat hommikut muuseumis l2ksime me yle tee hiigelsuurde botaanikaaeda jalutama. Sissep22s aeda on tasuta ning park on ylimalt h2sti hooldatud. Botaanikaaia ala sees on kaks tasulist atraktsiooni - KL Linnupark (v6rkudega kaetud ala, kus saab tervet hulka lindusid imetleda), ning Liblikapark (ilmselt sama asi, ent liblikatega). Me ei kylastanud kyll kumbagi ning nautisime niisama aias ringi jalutamist.

Seej2rel hyppasime me monorelssi (!) peale et kuulsaid Petronase Kaksiktorne vaatama minna. Tornid on maailma k6rgeimad kaksiktornid, ehitatud 1996. aastal. K6rged on nad kyll, vaadetes l2heb kael kangeks. Tornidest on saanud Kuala Lumpuri edu ja kasvu symbol. Tegemist on v2ga noore linnaga - Kuala Lumpur asutati 19nda sajandi l6pul, esialgu hiina tinakaevurite asulana. Kuala Lumpuri nimi t2hendab 'mudane liitumiskoht', kuna linn asutati kahe j6e yhinemispaika (mis oli mudane, ilmselgelt).

T2na s6idame me juba Kuala Lumpurist minema ning lendame 6htul Balile. Siinviibimine on olnud lyhike ent v2ga meeldiv. Ma olin kord juba Kuala Lumpuris k2inud, viis aastat tagasi, ent ei m2letanud sellest suurt midagi ning viimati ei olnud ma siinse mitmekesisuse ainulaadsust m2rganud. Ma eeldan, et kuna rahumeelne kooseksisteerimine on viimastel aastatel L22nes haruldasemaks j22nud, on see seega nyyd ka silmapaistvam.

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So we were both craving for a change of scenery in the last few days of our stay in Sri Lanka. Boy, did we get one! The modernity and diversity of Kuala Lumpur is so unlike anything we saw in the last two weeks, and it's been a great two days here.

We arrived in the early morning, since our short flight from Sri Lanka took off in late evening. We spent the night on the plane, and only got 2 hours of sleep because of that, so we arrived pretty knackered. Already in the airport though, we were struck by how sleek and modern everything is, and on our bus trip to the centre we marveled at the approaching city skyline with all its skyscrapers.

Our hostel in KL is situated in the Chinatown area of the centre, and after we had got some much needed shuteye for a few hours in the afternoon, we took to exploring our neighbourhood. As the name hints, Chinatown is full of Chinese establishments and Mandarin can be heard everywhere. We strolled through the central market of the area, looking at the myriad fake watches/bags/shoes/electronics/younameit before sitting down for a nice simple Chinese dinner. After the heavy curries of Sri Lanka, it felt great to eat something a bit different.

The next day - our only full day in KL - we started by visiting the National Museum, which tells the story of Malaysia, from prehistoric times to the present day. The exhibits were interesting and very well planned, with the museum divided into four sections - Prehistoric, Ancient Kingdoms, Colonial Era, and Malaysia Today. It was fascinating to learn about the country, and to understand how it has come to be what it is today. For the thing that has struck us most here, is the incredible diversity of the people - on the streets, you can see people from anywhere and everywhere sharing the city and going about their business. It has actually been very refreshing not to be looked at all the time like we were in Sri Lanka, where we stood out like sore thumbs. Here, all flavours of human coexist and go about their business like it ain't no thang. In the Museum, we got some context and background as to how this sort of arrangement has come to be.

Malaysia's location between the great ancient civilizations of China and India, and its general position in the middle of big trading routes has meant that this land has had people from all over the world stopping and settling here for hundreds of years. For the most part, it has been independent, the numerous small and big ancient kingdoms in the area of today's Malaysia having been ruled by local kings and nobility. During the colonial era, it suffered the rule of Portugal, Holland and Britain, before finally achieving independence in the mid-20th century. When the talk of independence was first brought up after WWII, the British were skeptical as to whether a country with so many different ethnicities would be able to manage on its own peacefully. When the local population voted in unison in their first vote, the proof was in the pudding and a delegation representing the three main peoples of Malaysia - Malays, Chinese and Indians - went to London to negotiate the terms of independence. Apart from a turbulent time in the 60s when a failed Communist insurgency took place, the country has been coexisting in relative peace ever since.

And it really is amazing to witness the diversity - in Kuala Lumpur, which is home to 1.6 million people (over 7 million in the general metropolitan area), 46% are Malay, 43% Chinese, 10% Indian and the rest are a mixture of smaller minorities (including Thai, Portuguese etc). Many of these people have been living here for generations, and there are varied degrees of assimilation between the groups, with interchanging and borrowing of customs, language, fashion etc. Similarly, while the official religion of the country is Islam, only 46% of the population of KL are Muslim, with 35% Buddhists, 9% Hindus, 6% Christians and smaller fractions of other minority religions.

After an educational morning in the Museum, we went across the street for a stroll in the huge Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are free to enter, and are very well managed. Inside the gardens are two paying attractions - the KL Bird Park (an area covered with nets, housing a huge number of birds for visitors to see) and the Butterfly Park (a similar arrangement but with butterflies). We didn't enter either, but simply enjoyed the quiet and relaxing walk in the Gardens proper.

We then took the monorail (!) to go and check out the iconic Petronas Twin Towers - the highest twin towers in the world, built in 1996. They are pretty high indeed. Hurts your neck to look. The towers have become a symbol of Kuala Lumpur, symbolizing its story of success and growth. The city is very new, only having been established in the late 19th century as a settlement for Chinese tin miners. The name Kuala Lumpur means 'muddy confluence' since it was established in the place where two rivers meet (and it was muddy there I suppose).

Today we leave the city already, with an evening flight to Bali, Indonesia. The stay here has been short but sweet, we have both been positively surprised by the city. I had been in Kuala Lumpur once before, five years ago, but did not remember much about it, and it the uniqueness of its diversity certainly hadn't struck me then. I suppose that peaceful coexistence has become somewhat rarer in the Western world in the last years, which is why its more conspicuous when you do see it.