Kuala Lumpur

After a quick flight from Penang we found ourselves in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days. We had a place to stay in the middle of the city, and it turned out that the check-in directions through booking.com were pretty basic so it took some finding, which caused some minor aggravation at the start. Despite this, a good view and a washing machine made up for a lot as we settled in. 

The first stop the next day was Batu Caves, on the outskirts of the city, where there is a limestone hill rising straight up out of the ground, with caves at the top. The caves are dedicated to a series of Hindu temples, and there is a whole complex centred around the entrance. One noticeable feature as we approached was the large number of monkeys, ready to harass the tourists for anything they could get away with. We resisted, but there were plenty of people who didn't and we were glad to leave them to their monkey friends.

Climbing up to the temples was the first test, with nearly 300 (steep!) steps to get to the top. Once there, it was interesting to explore the various different temples located in the large caverns. They even came with their own poultry, as we discovered with some surprise on hearing a rooster crow. It is a popular attraction, and being close to Diwali, there was a steady stream of people approaching priests for blessings.

When we got to the bottom we visited one of the secondary temples and were summoned for a blessing of our own. The priest was disappointed when he found out we had no cash to make a donation... 

The final section on the way out was another cave, this time with an entrance fee, and a brochure extolling us to enjoy the "natural wonder" of the cave. When we entered, we were amused to see coloured LED lighting everywhere, along with a painted display of statues illustrating different Hindu stories. Any "natural" aspect had been well and truly suppressed, and the cave was one of the tackier tourist traps we had found ourselves in for the whole trip. It did provide us with some amusement, however.

Further exploring took us to the Kuala Lumpur Botanic Gardens where we had a late lunch and explored the orchid and hibiscus gardens. We managed to avoid the afternoon downpour on the way back home, and after it dissipated we jumped in the building pool. For dinner we headed into Jalan Alor, one of the best know street food areas in KL. Gillian didn't fancy ordering frog, but we definitely did manage to order more food than was reasonable - and eat it all. 

Breakfast was optional on our last day, and we headed in to the city centre to wander around the older parts of the city. The architecture throughout has a noticeably Islamic influence, also seen in the Petronas Towers - strikingly visible from our flat. We wandered through markets in Chinatown and also visited Merdeka Square, which front onto the Royal Selangor Club, a remnant of British rule and now a sporting a social club mainly for expats living Malaysia. A big lunch left us feeling lazy when it came to dinner, so we took advantage of the rooftop cafe in our building, and had a light dinner with a view to celebrate the end of our short Malaysian stay. And a beer/glass of wine or two.