Guest Post: Exploring Kuala Lumpur
Steve is back with another update from Kuala Lumpur. Catch up on what he did his first few days in the capital of Malaysia here.
I started the day off by grabbing a cab outside the hotel to the National Museum. Once again, they tried to overcharge me, but I haggled them down to RM 15, even though that’s expressly prohibited. They’ll try to take you for everything you’ve got, so don’t trust cabbies as far as you can throw them.
The National Museum is like the Emperor’s bathing vessel in History of the World, Part I
Next up was the undisputed highlight of the day, the KL Bird Park. They bill themselves as “Asia’s Largest Walk-in Free Roaming Sanctuary,” and I can’t imagine anyone stepping up to challenge them.
I have never seen anything even remotely close to the Bird Park. The whole thing is enclosed in netting, and some birds (like the eagles) are in separate enclosures, but aside from that, the birds have pretty much free reign.
It was surreal to get a bottle of water from the concession stand, then realize the next one in line was a big blue peacock.
The Bird Park was the most expensive spot of the day, by far (RM42, or $16 for adults) but it was also the most value without question.
I then went to the Orchid Park, just up the street. The price was right (free on weekdays, RM1 on weekends and holidays,) but most of the orchids were not in bloom, so it was kind of a waste.
If you have someone in your group who loves the creepy crawlies, the Butterfly Park is in the same area. At about RM18, you can walk around a smaller, but still enclosed park filled with various beautiful butterflies. There’s also a small indoor section where you can learn about different bugs, like Hercules beetles and walking sticks. Good for families with little boys, no question.
It was quite a hot and humid day, and I’d gone through a few bottles of water just to stay upright, so I grabbed a cab to Little India for dinner – the first one in KL that actually quoted me a fair price! – and decided to find a hole in the wall to crawl into.
I’ve learned that in Asia, the more scared you are to eat somewhere, the better the food is, and this was no exception. Tasty curry chicken and ghee rice was about RM15, and I only had a few sanitary issues to worry about. Hey, if I’m saving money, I’ll take what I can get.
I returned to my hotel room afterward, walking the rest of the way, and decided to finally tackle the big one tomorrow – Petronas Towers.
The next day, I woke up what seemed to be early enough to snag one of the 1,400 free tickets allotted daily to visitors to the Petronas Towers. Unfortunately, between breakfast and a surprisingly busy Thursday at the towers, I missed the last one by about 15 minutes.
As it were, all I really missed was the chance to go up onto the sky bridge (about 40 floors up) and take pictures. The KL Tower was higher, and I got a good picture or two from the outside, so I don’t consider it too much of a loss.
In any case, the towers are majestic – a shining example for a city that seems determined to build as much as possible. Looking out over a very nice lake in front of Petronas, I counted around 40 skyscrapers, 13 of which were under construction of some kind.
Not buildings, mind you, but full-fledged skyscrapers. KL is a city on the rise, no doubt about it.
In addition, I was able to get some shopping done, and fulfilled one of my goals for this trip – trying durian. For those who don’t know, durian is the infamous “stinky fruit” of Southeast Asia. Its odor is so pungent it’s currently banned in Singapore, but it has its devotees.
However, I am definitely not one of them. While it was better than the garlic ice cream I had in Gilroy, California, it was absolutely foul. I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for hours, even after mints.
Walking back towards the hotel, I could see it was starting to rain, so I ducked into the nearest place I could, a small stall offering Hainanese chicken rice. It was decent, especially for the price (RM7, plus another RM for a Tiger beer,) and it kept me dry for a little while. Eventually, I was able to head home and make plans for the last few days.
***
As I finish up this leg of the trip and head to Singapore, I’m starting to reflect on things I could have done differently to make this a better trip.
I’ve found my chief problem was to lock myself into a hotel beforehand, and cut out my flexibility. Since many of the major excursions from KL (the National Forest, Melaka, Penang) essentially demand a few days each, I couldn’t stand the thought of simply letting a hotel room I’d already paid for go to waste. I may run into this problem in Singapore as well, but as things tend to be a lot closer to each other there, I think I’ll be OK.
Another big change I’d make is to schedule out my time better before the actual trip. A few days I spent the morning in the hotel, simply trying to figure out what to do with the day, and it cost me valuable time.
Despite this, I’m still very proud of what I’ve accomplished over the last week, and I’m in awe of what I’ve seen and experienced.
Malaysia may be a tough place for a novice traveler, as it’s still very hard to get around, but if you’ve been around the block and are tired of the usual hot spots, I definitely recommend it.
Some of my friends experienced misgivings about me going, as Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, and I’m not only American, but Jewish as well. To be fair, I kept my religion quiet, but I never saw anything remotely close to anti-Americanism or xenophobia in general.
The biggest reminders you’ll see in KL of Islam’s reach are the clothing on women (from simple head scarves to full-on burqas) and a few influences architecturally. Because of its inherent multiculturalism, Malaysians are tolerant of all cultures, far more than many Americans, and there doesn’t appear to be a foothold for any radical thoughts here. It’s just not that kind of a place.
***
On my last day in Kuala Lumpur, I woke up and packed. It’s strange to think that after all the time I spent here, I’m leaving not for home, but to more vacation. It’s been kind of a drag the past few days, and I hope a change of location will do me good.
In any case, I wanted to make the last day special, so I grabbed a cab and headed for the Batu Caves, about 15 km outside of town. The cabbie jerked me around again, but it was nothing new.
Anyway, the Batu Caves was nothing short of exhilarating. A Hindu temple build to honor Lord Muruga was built into limestone caves, with water dramatically dripping off stalactites and various shrines to different gods.
The Caves, however, are famous for quite a few very different reasons.
First, upon reaching the caves, it’s impossible to miss the giant gold statue of Lord Muruga. It is truly an awe-inspiring sight.
Next, to reach the main shrine, you have to climb what seems like an endless flight of stairs. Lonely Planet insists there was 272, but I counted 278. The realization that I was at eye level with the statue at stair #230 kind of threw me off.
A far more interesting subject for the cameras are the numerous monkeys that inhabit the temple. They have free run of the place, and the monks like to feed them bananas and coconuts. I would have gotten more pictures, but my camera was nice enough to run out of battery partway through.
On the whole, Batu Caves is a moving site. The level of devotion it took to carve not only the statues, but the shrines is simply unfathomable. I actually felt weak in the knees taking it all in, although that may have been the walk down the stairs.
As I headed back to the city, I couldn’t stop smiling. It’s refreshing to know that something like this exists, and I hope as many people as possible get to experience it.
Now, for my last night in KL, I thought I’d be going to a club or something, but I tried it last night, and going out and drinking alone is just too depressing. So, I was thrilled when I found a strange show happening tonight only in the morning paper.
It was the “3rd International Pyongyang Arts Festival”, with a tagline of “Weapons of Mass Adulation.” I assumed it was some sort of eye-opening look at North Korean propaganda. It was nothing of the sort, but it was a very fun night of independent performance art.
It involved a fire breather that almost burnt the place down, a stirring rendition of “Ronery” from Team America: World Police
…and the highlight, a performance from a man named Joe, described to me as the “godfather of Malaysian punk,” broadcast live on ChatRoulette for the fun of it.
Hanging out with all of the people there made me really sad that this was my last day, especially as I had gone almost the entire trip by myself. We all exchanged information, and hopefully we’ll be able to stay in touch.
The next day, I boarded the plane, ready for the next and final stop on my trip – the cosmopolitan Mecca of Singapore.
Tags: Animals, Attraction
Wed, Jun 9, 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia