Yes I finally made it to Kuala Lumpur and was exhausted by the time I got here. I Worked out I had been awake since about 5.30am the previous day and didn’t sleep until the next day so was awake for 40 odd hours before I went to bed. Then the Muslim prayers woke me up during the night and early morning. They sing prayer through loud speakers all over the city especially is now the time of Ramadan.
Anyway Kuala Lumpur was Ok. Walked the streets and enjoyed an array of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Thai food. During my stay I went to the Batu cave which is on a limestone cliff 13 km’s from the city. Along the way I teamed up with an Australian girl who was the only Farang on the bus - http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/farang.
The Batu cave is a dedicated Hindu shrine to Lord Murugan- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murugan and was formed around 400 million years ago.
There is no entry fee which is a bonus for backpackers. To get into it you have to climb 272 concrete steep concrete steps which can be a little exhausting in the sweltering heat of the day however the view from the top is impressive. Inside the cave are a few small temples and monkeys that provide further entertainment with the usual antics they play on the tourists.
On the way out of the cave a bloke and his girlfriend had just reached the top, all sweaty and gasping for air. Seizing the moment I asked if they had paid there fee at the bottom. The reaction on there faces was priceless. ‘Shock Horror’. I proceeded to tell them it was along way down and back to get there ticket, with a smirk and they soon got the joke much to there relief.
After the cave on the way back I decided to get off early near a market and then walked a few km’s through the city with my eye on one of the skyscrapers’, the Menara tower or KL tower as it is known. It is not the tallest in KL that going to the Petronas twin towers which were once the tallest towers in the world being at 451.9 meters. The Menara tower which is at the top of a hill, was difficult to find the entrance as I came to it via a jungle walk trail from behind the hill as I didn’t know how to get to it from the city street entrance. Anyway the trail had some extremely steep steps and then a wooden suspended boardwalk. So we had to walk a few Km’s up hill, and needless to say we were buggered by the time we got there.
The Menara sits at 421 meters in height and apparently has a much better viewing deck than the Petronas towers. From here you can look all over the city and I grabbed a few good pics including the Petronas which you can see opposite. Below the tower is an animal sanctuary which has python snakes, spiders, monkeys and a renowned two headed tortoise which is supposed to bring good luck. We then went on a formula 1 grand prix car racing simulator. It was included in the price of the tower.
Next day I roamed the city in some of the huge shopping malls but there is nothing of any real interest unless you’re a Farang on a large budget and into the shop to you drop syndrome. The malls are impressive with The Bukit Bintang one of the largest I’ve ever seen. I actually found Harvey Normans from Australia here where I bought an adapter for my camera and usb charger. There are many other well known shopping giants in this mall from all over the world. I stopped in a American restaurant here and had one of there burgers and a beer which all went down well before heading off back to my digs.
