My Travel Adventures

Having pushed ourselves to the limit over the past three days, we made a late and leisurely start on the day of my departure. Our initial arrangement was that I would meet Victoria and Steve at nine o’clock, but this eventually changed to nine thirty, and we did not leave until after ten. The night before, Steve had driven his sister home and stepped in dog poo on the way to his hotel room, so he and Victoria did not fall asleep until after two: they were busy cleaning up the messy floor.

I dedicated my last day in Malaysia to exploring its capital. Kuala Lumpur is a relatively young city, having arisen from a tin-mining settlement in the nineteenth century. The period brought about an enormous demand for tin: it was used to make household items, line tea chests, and fuel the industrial revolution in the Western World. To harness the production of this valuable material, the local Raja invited Chinese miners and engaged Chinese businessmen in support of the venture, succeeding in expanding the town despite rampant malaria and other tropical ailments. Disputes over the flourishing industry led to the outbreak of the Selangor Civil War (also known as the Klang War) between 1867 and 1874, which saw Kuala Lumpur burned to the ground and decimated by an outbreak of cholera.