Batu Caves, Little India, Central Market

So after sleeping 13 hours we found ourselves wide awake at 5am which was way too early to do much of anything. So we broke out our room's coffee maker, had some granola bars to tide us over and took our time getting ready for the day. Around 7:45 we headed out for a real breakfast at Dome cafe- which Brian read was the first vendor to bring Western styled coffee to Southeast Asia. Their coffee menu certainly had many options:




We had a quick breakfast then headed for the line to get tickets to the observation deck of the Petronas towers. We had to walk through the mall again which -even though it was technically "closed" this early- was like a bustling city all unto itself of people commuting to work:




And grabbing quick coffees and breakfast:




We read in our guidebook that the Petronas towers tours allow only a certain number of people up to the observation deck and bridge daily...and that sometimes (depending on the time of year, etc) tickets can be sold out by 10am. Luckily we got there early and secured ours...we even had a choice of times so opted for sunset tonight at 7pm.
We hopped in a taxi and headed to Batu Caves...it is limestone caves and houses one of the most sacred Hindu temples outside of India. We weren't quite sure what to expect so you can imagine our surprise when we stumbled upon this site of menacing pigeons (apparently Philadelphia isn't the only city with a pigeon problem) as well as these scavenger monkeys! Here they are fighting over what looks like a bag of birdseed...




It was early so we had it all to ourselves...well us and the monkeys anyway. This golden statue was enormous and looks down on all of KL:




We headed up the 272 steps to the limestone cave and temple above and along the way dipped and dodged away from the monkeys that were just waiting for some scraps of food to be tossed their way.




It was hot and extremely humid and a looooong way up this narrow staircase but we made it. This little guy was basking in the sun at the top, seemingly in an appropriate, meditative state:




We walked through the dark, dripping limestone caves and eventually came upon a few Hindu shrines...they were simple and weren't at all what we were expecting. We had to remove our shoes (which is commonplace throughout Asia as the soles of shoes are considered extremely dirty- maybe you're onto something Wes?) and of course a "donation" was expected. We were handed small wax candles that we were asked to light from a large candle and then a man asked for our names and said a prayer for us for good luck. He also placed ashes on our foreheads and tied red and golden bracelets on our right wrists.




At one point he handed us a banana which I think was supposed to be an offering to the Hindu god but Brian didn't immediately place it in his pocket as he was directed to and a slick little monkey came out of nowhere and tried to swipe it! After this the man abandoned his idea for us to give as an offering and instructed us to throw it to the savage monkeys instead! Heading back down you can see all of KL...too bad it is so hazy.




We made our way back down the stairs and the crowds had come out of nowhere. We saw a couple of Indian families carrying sickly looking infants up and wondered if they were bringing the children there for some kind of healing ritual...? This one woman in particular seemed to have some kind of offering for the temple on her head and she walked up the steps on her knees:




Brian had just commented this morning at how KL was so much more "sterile" than he anticipated Asia to be...Once at the bottom I said, "now do you feel like you're in Asia??" His answer was a laugh and a yes.




After that workout I was parched and that's when we conveniently came upon this guy chopping fresh cold young coconuts...he read my mind. This was exactly what I wanted.




There is nothing like coconut water straight from a coconut! See Jul- this is what I was telling you about :)
We saw this sign and then a man completely ignoring rule #2:




But he put out the food just in time for this nursing mother monkey and her really young baby to come down from the tree and grab some...so cute I had to take video:


We met a family from Australia who informed us that the public transportation line was right here so we decided to take the train to KL Central and Little India. It was way cheaper (2RM) than a cab (50RM) and very air conditioned which was a nice respite from the sweltering heat. Unfortunately I had to ditch my coconut before I finished to make sure I was in compliance with the many rules:




Malaysia really knows how to take the fun out of everything...no kissing in public, no animals on the train, no cutting fence with scissors and apparently no kites either?!




Not quite sure why (perhaps to appease the Muslim population of KL? or maybe just general safety/comfort of women?) but each train had several cars designated just for women:




We disembarked in Little India and Brian insisted we eat at this place...the restaurantwas packed with locals so I figured it had to be relatively safe. Our meals were served to us on large banana leaves and Brian could not wait to dig in!




I ordered a vegetarian platter which had an assortment of vegetables and a creamy and spicy lentil based sauce. I also ordered side of roti with cheese that I thought would be filled with paneer but instead it turned out to be closer to a melted kraft single...it was still good though ;) We noticed that all the locals were eating with their right hand and that no one had any napkins. Us Americans are so high maintenance. The staff had to actually wash some silverware to get us the spoon and fork we requested!




Little India was mostly stores to buy saris and tailoring shops. We went in a few stores and then found our way to the central market where we picked up some rambutans and marveled at the pink dragonfruit which would unfortunately just be too inconvenient to tote around.








The central market had tons of stalls where you could buy the most mundane trinkets or elaborate pieces of furniture. We weaved our way through the mall but it is hard to commit to carrying around any souvenirs so early in our trip.




We continued on to the art gallery to see Philadelphia's sister sign halfway around the world:




Inside the gallery they had this huge miniature version of the city handcrafted by some very detail oriented people complete with lights and trees and traffic patterns.




And here are the masterminds behind it all:




By this point it was after 3 pm and we were hot, drenched in sweat, feet throbbing and pretty much ready to go back to the hotel. We showered and did something that Brian rarely wants to do..."relax". But sitting for 20 minutes proved to be just too much and when a thunderstorm hit he set up his camera to hopefully capture some lightning on the towers...




We are looking forward to a nice traditional Malay dinner tonight after our tour of the observation deck at the Petronas towers. Hopefully this rain will let up before we have to venture back out!

Oh and check out Brian's photos here:
Brian's Malaysia gallery
- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Finally made it to KL!

After what seemed like an eternity we finally made it to our destination...Kuala Lumpur as most people fondly refer to it as just "KL". The last leg of our flight was barely off the ground that it seemed like we were already descending. Here is a shot from inside KL airport:




Brian commented on the farms of trees all around as we landed at KLIA (the international airport). We later found out from our Taxi driver that they are palm trees and that they are subsidized by the government here to harvest palm oil- to create both cooking oil and "clean biofuel"- it is debatable as to how clean the fuel could actually be since the farms that harvest these trees have contributed significantly to deforestation of Malaysia and a significant reduction in the native trees that are quickly being replaced by the money making palms. This in turn has significantly altered the natural habitats and is threatening survival of rainforest animals including the orangutans.
According to our travel guide, over half a million people are involved in harvesting oil palm in Malaysia and while it has sometimes benefited communities through improvements in the surrounding infrastructure (building of schools, hospitals, etc), it has also had it's negative impact as well- forcing people off their land to make room for the palm farms and thereby decreasing production of other agriculture (i.e. fruit, rubber) and in some cases has polluted the water supply through use of industrial farming products, etc. Seems to be a very complex issue that at least this taxi driver was not a huge fan of. He went on to tell us that 50% of the palm farms are owned by the government- a government run by the same king for the past 55 years. He said, "people are ready for change" as the current government is "very corrupt" and he is hoping that this change will come on 5 May 2013 when they vote for a new prime minister (our visit is very timely...)
The drive to our hotel took about an hour...the landscape of palms slowly was gradually replaced by a more urban environment dotted with high rises with low lying clouds and overcast that the driver informed us was simply pollution. Not the best shot from the cab but you can just make out Petronas towers and KL building in the distance:




Dilapidated apartment buildings with clothes hanging outside windows and on tiny terraces to dry on every level soon morphed into modern glossy buildings with wide balconies and lush landscaped greenery. There were lots of large trucks on the road and surprisingly very few motorcycles- our driver told us that motorcycles really are not allowed to travel on the particular road we were on. He went on to say that you can have 3 people "maximum" on motorcycles in Malaysia and that everyone has to wear helmets (this is very strict compared to other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam where helmets were rarely worn and if there were maximum passenger laws they were completely ignored). We drove on the left side although the driver sat on the right side of the car (felt strange!). They had something like EZ pass but he actually had to swipe his card out his window to get through the tolls...he taught us to say "thank you" in Malay (tarima ka-see- I am one step ahead having learned that already last night!). As we approached the downtown we were surprised at how lush and green the city was...there are trees that form canopies over the city streets complete with vines hanging down and everything.
We arrived to our hotel but we couldn't check in yet as it was only 11am and early check in was not available this "early". The space age check in process was pretty cool...glossy countertops were actually iPads underneath for all the documents to be signed. Barely any paper was exchanged!




We decided to change into our bathing suits and visit the skybar/pool while we waited...we were both craving hot showers like you wouldn't believe but the pool seemed like a close second. The upholstered couches lined the window seats all around the pool. It had a green house feel to it with large skylights- some open and some closed but was nice to not really have to worry about sunscreen. And check out the towers right behind me!




Brian was afraid to have alcohol as he was really ready to crash but the rose lychee martini just sounded way too good to pass up...it was absolutely divine:




We finally were able to check into our room on the 26th floor with a pristine unobstructed view of the towers. We showered for the first time in what-36 hours?! And it was everything we thought it would be! Our room is very nice- large windows and polished wooden furniture. Tons of closet space with a designated office/sitting area as well...we had no problems making a huge mess of it almost immediately with all our bags (and their contents) strewn about.
It was only 2pm and while we were exhausted we also didn't want to completely waste the day. We decided to check out the City Centre just outside of our hotel- a sprawling public park with beautiful trees, fountains and a large play area:




But as with any city park, along with enjoying yourself comes rules...and in this park's case- lots of them:




My personal favorite is #13 "no bathing in the toilet". I am pretty sure this rule was not being observed by one homeless man in particular. I was tempted to run off to the swings but Brian politely reminded me of rule #11 which stated that children over 12 and adults are not allowed to play on equipment meant for children. Also I found it amusing that throwing "sticks and/or stones" was also not allowed :)
We checked out the massive mall (Surias KLCC) just at the base of the Petronas towers...it is a serious 5 level monstrosity complete with domed ceiling boasting stores like Gucci, LV, Guess, Tag Heuer etc...any store you can imagine, you can be sure to find it here:




As turned off as we were of being in s shopping center that could have been in Anywhere, USA we ascended to the 4th level food court for what we thought was going to be authentic Thai cuisine. It felt promising when we were greeted by a woman wearing traditional Thai clothing who bowed for a "wai" and a polite "Sawatdeeka" but I was disappointed when my tea arrived...




Lipton, really? Halfway around the world for Lipton? The service was pretty bad which wasn't surprising after reading that Malaysia has pretty poor service standards in general. However, we were not expecting this:




What is this you ask? Well obviously it is s service bell...once pressed, it rings a bell at the desk and a robot like voice announces "table 10". Approximately 7 minutes later a man arrived with a notepad and an unfriendly demeanor to take our order. The red and panang curries were delicious though so we didn't really care.
Oh and this was my favorite part of their menu...the mocktail "Virgin Mary" highlighted in red for items that the chef recommends (also note drink entitled 'pussie foot' just below:




We found this store inside which reminded us of where our friend Wes would shop if he lived in KL :)




They really don't let you have any fun here...look at all the rules for the escalator:




And then we headed outside in the sweltering heat and late afternoon mist...where we saw a monk wandering along the pond:




And straight up could gape in the magnificence of the Petronas towers, named for the Petrona oil company:




It was only 4pm but being that it was 4am at home we had no problem heading back to our comfortable hotel room, drawing back the drapes and climbing into bed...for what would turn out to be 13 hours of blissful sleep...

Thank you to my friends Yetta Brinks and Patrick Most for sponsoring our first night here at Traders Hotel as a wedding present :)

- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Part 2: FRA to SIN

So we are on the same, enormous, double decker plane (the A380):




Brian is very excited about this (in fact I am almost certain this is why we chose this particular route). Fortunately this part of our flight was not full and we are able to stretch out across 3 seats, but it is still not enough room to get comfortable enough to actually sleep :( I am so tired and we are only here (note the night and day "bell curve"):




Earlier, they passed out these:





It's the little things :)

There are lots of movies to choose and you can only watch the lightning for so long (thanks for pointing that out Brian) so in the middle of my sleepless night I took advantage of some interactive language lessons. Thought it might be helpful to learn a few useful words and phrases in Malay. We'll probably be using this phrase a lot (gotta love the accompanying illustrations):




And how contradictory is this one? This'll be a tough one to remember...



I'm sure this will come in handy at some point (although hopefully they will just point because otherwise we'll then have to revert back to phrase #1):



And we won't get very far without this one:



Not particularly useful but the picture was nice :)



I did very well on all the post-quizzes:




Hours later I am now regretting not getting that Magnum ice cream bar this afternoon! I missed my window of opportunity :( Although my Indian vegetarian dinner was again -very good- I found myself (with 5 hours left on this flight) digging into our snack bag...this will surely hit the spot:




Ok 3 more hours still...really?! ARE WE THERE YET??



Getting closer...





My vegetarian Indian breakfast was delicious as was Brian's frittata. Since I haven't really slept it seems appropriate to eat "dinner" for "breakfast". This morning I noticed that their juices are named after my childhood nickname "albi" (Joe/Jul- is that how you spell it?). We'll be landing in Singapore soon and then will need to pick up our bags, go through customs and then take our last flight to Kuala Lumpur...soon we will be at our destination. We are just hoping to have some energy left when we get there!

Special thanks to Haim and Shalva Klement, Mary Jo and Zave Smith, and Yetta Brinks and Patrick Most for sponsoring our "best ever" international flights on our honeyfund :)


- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:T2 Link North,Changi,Singapore