It is a bank holiday in KL and as such quite a few of the things to do and see are in fact closed. I did quite fancy going up the Petronas towers but that was just one of the attractions that was closed. After a nice latte in Starbucks, I made my way outside in search of the KL hop on -hop off city tour bus. For a very reasonable 38 ringet (about £8.00) the bus will take you around the major tourist attractions. The ticket lasts 24 hours and you can get off and on at will. I was going to be limited what I did and saw due to the bank holiday, but no problem. Once on the bus you get a running commentary in English so get to learn about the city.
My first stop was ChinaTown. This in a number of streets bustling with stalls selling all sorts. The specialism is fakes. Anything that could be bought in the branded designer shops of the Suria shopping mall could also be bought here!
Up to now I had had a very sanitised experience of KL. Airport, nice hotel, shopping malls. I really wanted to get underneath all that on this trip and see the real city (OMG I sound so pretentious!)
China town was as real as it gets... A hub hub of people, of course lots of tourists but also a lot of locals too.
A friend had said that they were disappointed with it. I certainly wasn't, I loved it.
The infamous smelly 'durrian'
The hustle and bustle of China Town
As I wandered through the busy streets I stumbled upon a 'fish spa' my sister Lesley had told me about them. You put your feet in these tanks of water and fish come and nibble the dead skin. This one particular establishment offered a fish spa and reflexology for 56 ringet. In for a penny, in for pound!
I had had reflexology some years ago when I was in Egypt. The hotel had a resident Thai masseuse. I understood that reflexology was all about the feet. Consequently I did get more than a little anxious when the rather rotund Egyptian/Thai lady got closer and closer to my crotch area. Apart from it not being my cup of tea, she quite scared me. Typically English, I didn't say a thing, but clearly she got the message and refrained from what I beginning to think was the inevitable....
So, it was a a little trepidation that I signed up for this fish spa and reflexology double.
The treatment started with payment... There was a sign at the counter advising 'value customer that payment was in advance and there would be no refunds.' The lady who took my money had only one arm!
The fact that 'Pirana' is doing then rounds at the cinema did cross my mind.....
The next stage was obviously to remove ones shoes and socks. Thankfully another lady washed my feet as by this time I had been walking around for some hours and would have felt more than a little guilty if fish from the tank had started to float to the top.
There were a series of tanks, each holding fish that were bigger than the previous tank.
I have quite sensitive and ticklish feet so, on placing my feet in the first tank I was both cringing and laughing as a whole fucking shoal of little one inch fish made a beeline for my pinkies and started nibbling. After about 5 mins I moved up the 'food' chain to the next tank and so on. Apart from the size of the fish increasing so did the sensitivity of my feet. The girls in the shop thought this was highly amusing and were positively encouraging me to move up to the largest tank and the largest fish (with the largest teeth!!)
The treatment should have lasted 30 mins. 25 mins in the one armed lady presented the girls with lunch and giggling like school girls they, one by one said 'food' and disappeared outside to take a lunch break leaving me alone at the mercy of these clearly also hungry fishes. From time to time I noticed in my peripheral vision that they were pointing at me and calling their friends over..
Little fish
Big fish
The fish in the largest tank were the most aggressive and as I was not willing to risk hobbling around South East Asia minus a couple of digits, when no one was looking I edged my way back along the tanks and put my feet back in the tank with the tiny fish. Much better.
Once lunch was over for the fish and the girls I moved into a seat and had the remainder of my treatment. It was bliss... 15 mins on each foot and I actually fell asleep several times.
I fair floated around for the rest of the day.....
Tonight I plan to return to China Town to see it by night.
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Location:Jalan Binjai,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
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