Miller round the world Day 13

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Up at 7 am. Breakfast at the hotel, another fantastic spread. We have a mixture of Western and Asian food. On the bus and off on our city tour, animated by Clarence. We first attempt to get to the royal palace, but unfortunately there is some kind of political visit going on and the police have closed the area off. So we are off to the next stop, the Malaysian national museum, which traces the country's history from early kingdoms and sultanships through a succession of dominations by foreign powers: Portuguese, Dutch, British, Japanese, British again until the country gained its independence in 1957.

Next was a photo stop for the Petronus towers, the famous twin towers that have become a symbol of Malaysia's modern development. They are indeed striking. Apparently there is not enough time to visit inside and go up. Next stop was Independence Square, situated at the the very heart of KL, in that it was here at the confluence of two rivers that a group of Chinese started a tin mining operation. The current square was largely built by the British and was the focus of their tenure here, with living quarters, offices, clubs and a cricket field. But it was here that independence was declared in 1957 and it boasts the "largest flagpole in the world" (claim to be verified) flying the Malaysian flag.

Lunch at a local restaurant with an immense buffet of Western and Malaysian food. The dessert station was particularly mouthwatering.

Our group then split in two, one group returning to the hotel for a free afternoon and the other group opting to visit the Balu caves outside of town. Violet, who now had an appointment with a doctor to assess her ear, returned to the hotel, while David joined the Balu group.

The Balu caves are a series of natural limestone caves with the main entrance halfway up a shear rock face in the mountains just outside the city, about a half-hour drive. On the way there, our guide Eddie explains their history as well as some of the different traditions of the muslim, hindu and chinese populations. The caves are sacred to Hindus, who have been making pilgrimages here for centuries. The bus deposits us in the parking lot, which is heavily commercialized with many small shops and fairly aggressive vendors. Monkeys are everywhere and we are cautioned not to feed or bother them.
 
There is a staircase of 272 steps to reach the cave entrance. The foot of the stairs is dominated by a gigantic 40-meter gold statue of Vishnu (?). The climb is steep and fairly arduous and not everyone makes it. Once at the top you descend to the cave floor, which is paved. This is an immense room that extends to the top of the mountain but does not break through. It is blessedly cooler.  There are Hindu shrines in every available crevice along the walls, as well as some more booths hawking Hindu-themed merchandise. Very interesting stalactites, many in fantastical shapes.  Another flight of stairs at the far end leads to a second slightly smaller room that is open to the top. We enjoy exploring the various nooks and crannies, then eventually descend again. Even though descending is easier than ascending, the afternoon heat has now reached its zenith and I for one am drenched by the time I reach the bottom expanse of asphalt, which I'm sure you could easily cook a turkey on. Happily the bus is there and its air conditioning is on.
 
Back to the hotel.  Violet has seen the doctor. Her experience was a bit interesting in that she was taken through the lower levels of the hotel  behind the veil of opulence where she witnessed the crowded, hectic, dirty and extremely hot conditions where many service staff operate. The doctor's office, however, while cramped, was fairly clean and professional. He diagnosed a fungal infection in the middle ear and prescribed (and filled) two oral drugs and one ear drop. Hopefully this will clear things up in short order.

We have a couple of free hours. Vi stays at the hotel while I strike out for the Petronas towers on foot, about a 10 minute walk. It's very hot. It occurs to me that we sometimes have days like this in Ottawa (32 or more degrees; 100 per cent humidity) but it's a weather advisory and reported on the news. Here it's just normal.
The main entrance to the towers is via a third 6-story building between the two main towers. These 6 storeys plus a below-ground concourse level coupled with the same 7 levels in each of the two adjoining towers make up a gigantic shopping mall. About half the stores are names we know (Gap, Addidas, Apple, etc.). The anchor store is called Senas. I observe an interesting contrast between the typical western sex-appeal-oriented posters in the vitrines and the predominantly Muslim attire of the shoppers. Despite wandering around for about an hour, I don't find anything of interest to purchase. The prices seem fairly high. I return on foot to the hotel.  
At 7 pm we are taken by bus to our restaurant, which is a bit bizarre given that the establishment is literally across the street! However, they were worried about shepherding so many people across a very busy thoroughfare. The restaurant is called Salome, after a singer/actress of the same name (1935-1986) who seems to have Elvis-like status in Malaysia.  The meal is a mammoth buffet, mercifully indoors with AC. It was very good, suffering only by comparison with the outstanding meals we have enjoyed elsewhere. Nice selection of tempura.

After the dinner, we are entertained by a show of dances and songs representing Malaysia's many different cultures, with a emphasis on how all Malaysians are part of a happy family where everyone gets along, culminating in a maudlin song to that effect. The performers are excellent, however, and audience members have an opportunity to participate in the bamboo dance we saw earlier in Sabah. 

Back at the hotel after another thrilling bus trip across the street, we invite Robert and Judy to our room since we still have a bottle of wine to polish off before crossing the next border. But we're all in bed early.    

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