March 2, 2025

As we head into the port, we listened to the “port talk.” Viking described the city excursion to Kuala Lumpur as 5 1/2 hours with transportation requiring perhaps 1 1/2 hours both ways (only a 61 km distance so really bad traffic). We took this tour on our first visit and it was nothing special….a museum, some buildings, and it seems like something more.  Our memories could be dampened by the downpour we experienced in KL. Evidently, there is also a shuttle bus to a closer destination, Port Klang. I think there’s a mall there. So, I googled it and found some valuable information.

   -“Klang is not on people’s visit list.”

   -“There are a number of criminal gangs operating in Klang. Among the Chinese community, there are the Ang Bin Hoey triad gangs such as Gang 21. There are also Gang 24, Gang 36, and others. It is thought that the Indians originally worked for Chinese gang leaders, but they now dominate many of the criminal organizations.”   It sounds like a multicultural opportunity.

   -Trip Advisor listings of things to do in Klang all show trips out of Klang to somewhere else.

   -There is nothing to bring a traveler to Klang except ferry lines.  (to get out)

   -Port Klang has a seedy feel.

Armed with this new information, we decided to skip Kuala Lumpur and visit Klang. It may well be more attractive in the predicted 95* and thunderstorms. If nothing else, we could look for a vacation home.

At 9:30am we boarded a shuttle and headed to Klang. Karla was planning on some shopping; I was making plans to “explain a few things” to Gang 21. Fortunately for Karla and #21, we were dropped off at a shopping mall. Karla found a couple of items and I purchased some medication…..without prescription and at about 10 percent of the US cost. The mall is typical of what we have encountered in Singapore and Malaysia. It is huge and modern, occupying about 3 blocks and 3 storeys. All of the brands were there.

Klang is a city of almost 250,000, but we saw very little of it. Like Kuala Lumpur, it was founded to handle the tin trade. Later, rubber emerged as the major export; that has been superseded by palm oil. Had we spent more time in town, we would have seen lots of container farms and shipping infrastructure. We’ve seen quite a bit of that elsewhere.