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short stint in Kuala Lumpur (KL) had me located in an up market part
of town with one of the few wave pools in this part of the world just
10 mins down the road. Like most Asian cities driving 10 minutes down
the road is no easy feat! Around a thousand motor bikes will pass me,
I'll be involved in a few near misses, every drive on these roads is
a learning experience and no way will I be able to park near the place
unless I slip one of the friendly guys in uniform a couple of dollars
to wait for a spot and park the car for me.The wave pool is part of
a huge water park behind the 'big Pyramid' shopping and restaurant complex.
The site is an old quarry and they've built water slides, water rides
and heaps of swimming pools. 3 long steep escalators drop punters down
into the bottom of the water park. The actual wave pool is only open
for surfing for one hour afternoon weekend sessions. 8' soft boards
are hired but surfers must line up early to get one, 10 boards only.In
order to secure a hire board for my first visit to the park I had to
cancel lunch with my Country Manager to line up, no way was I was going
to miss having a go at this. |
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is a wave every 3 minutes. Wave height depends on water level and how
enthusiastic the pump man is feeling, they say the waves can be up to
chest high but kept only small for the public. The pool has a concrete bottom and remember that you'll probably get sick if you accidentally swallow any water. Paddling out for the first time was pretty typical for any break where you are the tourist, guys eyeing off each other and a bit of tactical positioning in the take off area. Sitting out the back you watch for the wave coming from under this huge concrete facade decorated in Egyptian 'wall art' complete with flying lions, water fountains, ancient style columns and even imitation cracks in the wall. Above the wall is a man made volcano that does spit fire and ash and I'm told creates a deafening sound. They only fire it up at Chinese New Year and their National Day celebrations because local residents complain too much. Over head is a pedestrian bridge where a few photographers have settled to take their action shots. Suddenly water surges then rises from under the wall and there is this slow moving wave approaching. Paddle! It took me a few waves to get used to the sluggish conditions. Everybody catches the same wave. The locals only went right if natural footed or left if goofy. It didn't take long to realise that it's far better to sit on the outside, it didn't seem so bad dropping in if I shared the rights and lefts and the atmosphere was pretty relaxed once we had a few waves. It is a fun 50m long ride. You can do some turns, get a bit of speed and ride all the way down the concrete wall. Sometimes, just for the heck of it, ride the inside and bounce off flapping obstacles, they're very apologetic. A leisurely paddle back out gave plenty of rest time before the next wave.Its not bad value, water park entry costs around $7 then another $6 for board hire. You will get minimum 20 waves. I ended up surfing the place a few times and its mostly the same people each week. A couple of crazy Brazilians turned up one afternoon, they kept us all amused. Why Kuala Lumpur? KL is certainly not a surf destination however there are waves on the East Coast of Malaysia during monsoon season. It is a very modern Asian city. If you go to Malaysia there's a good chance you'll pass through this city, check out the wave pool, everybody knows the big pyramid. Malaysia is an alternative to Singapore for getting your Indonesian visa renewed. The food is absolutely sensational and it's pretty interesting going to a full on Muslim country. I found the whole city pretty relaxed and friendly. Couldn't
wait to get home and surf real waves down at Scarborough though.
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