Out and about

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I was awakened even earlier than expected this morning; not by my alarm but by one of the staffers who found it necessary to turn on the light to show a newly arrived guest his bed. I will never understand why some people insist on inconveniencing the lot for a few when so simple a solution as a cheap flashlight is could be bought.

With no hope of going back to sleep, I made my way out of bed around 5:45. Breakfast was already out downstairs so I was able to eat and get cleaned up before taking the metro out to the Petronas Twin Towers.

The towers’ skybridge is opened to tourists free of charge on a first come first served basis. Most advise getting there around 7:00 to ensure making it in the first groups to go up rather than having to wait a few hours until your allotted time. Plus, going too late could mean that tickets are gone. Not having much time here and having a few other things planned, I opted to sacrifice sleep to ensure I didn’t waste too much time during the day.

The advice givers were right: 7:00 seemed to be a good time to get there. By 7:30 the line was a couple hundred people long, which would imply a wait of over an hour once the tours started at 9:00 (each group has 40 people and groups tour every 15 minutes from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm). By 8:00 people were probably looking at a noontime visit.

Having almost two hours to wait between arriving and admittance, I was glad I brought a book along to read. I took my space in line and sat on the floor, reading The Jungle Books.

Around 8:45 a lady came around with a handheld device which printed off tickets for any available time a person chose. Naturally, all the early arrivers went in the first group. We were admitted and watched a short film on Petronas, Malaysia’s government owned oil company and namesake of the towers. It was strange to have people watch a somewhat lengthy advertisement for a company before entering. They attempted to make it interesting with the use of 3-D technology but the tacky ad’s length still seemed out of place where people would expect more of an overview of the building, its design and its status in the world today. Though since the tour was free we took the bad with the good.

Lacking much detail on the towers from the tour itself (other than what could be quickly attained from a waiting area before boarding the elevator) I later found some more information on the towers. At 452 meters (1,483 ft) above ground, the towers were completed in 1997. They were the tallest in the world at that time, surpassing the Sears Tower in Chicago. They remained the tallest in the world at the time the movie Entrapment was made, much of the reason they are so well known across the world. The towers have since been surpassed by the Taipei 101, which was completed in 2003. They currently are the fourth on the list of tallest buildings (Burj Khalifa, Dubai; Taipei 101, Taipei; Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai are top three) and the tallest set of twin towers. The towers are currently occupied by Petronas, along with other Malaysian and international companies.

Promptly at 9:00, we rode a large elevator up to the 41st floor at one story per second to the skybridge. The sky bridge is a double-decked bridge that connects the 41st and 42nd floors of the two towers together. It is 170 meters high and 58.4 meters long.

For the 10 minutes that we were allowed to be on the skybridge, we took in amazing views of the ground below and the remaining 47 floors above us. I could see many of the surrounding areas I had visited last night: the fountains out front and the pond and park in the rear. There were people walking on a marked pathway in the pond. From up here it appeared that they were walking on water.

After finishing the tour I headed out around the buildings to see the surroundings I first saw last night in daylight. I headed out the back to the pond and park, immediately noticing that the people were not, in fact, walking on water. They were knee deep in it. The view from the skybridge made an interesting optical illusion. I also walked around the front where I caught the metro back to the hostel.

My next activity was to head out to Batu Caves, about 15 km outside the city. The caves are a Hindu shrine. Since the 1890s, the caves have served as the site of the colorful Hindu Festival of Thaipusam, which occurs in late January or early February. The festivities last three days and see more than one million people attend.

The guidebook I have suggested taking a cab out to the caves. When I asked one of the staffers at the hostel about this (not the lights on guy from early this morning) she suggested taking a local bus for a fraction of the cost. One of the other girls at the desk was heading towards the stop so I followed her. Along the way she assisted me in getting change for a 50 ringgit bill (about $17) since the bus driver would likely not have change for this and the ATMs insist on giving out large bills. She pointed me to the stop and said “look for Metrobus 11”.

I stood at the stop for about 10 minutes, watching bus after bus go by; none of which were bus 11. Two of them that had passed had proclaimed a Batu Caves stop so I decided to check on the next bus that had the same. One came by but this bus was not going to Batu Caves, though the driver said to look for bus 6. Now I had two options, neither of which would appear for another 10 minutes. Finally, bus 6 showed up.

The 15 km ride took about 45 minutes as we sat in a lot of traffic within the city. The bus made numerous stops but with the amount of traffic it hardly made a difference. I think the traffic and related smog here is even worse than Los Angeles. You could get winded standing on a street corner waiting to cross the street safely.

We finally made it to the caves and the driver was kind enough to let me know this was the correct stop. I proceeded about 100 meters to the entranceway and a little farther to the staircase. The staircase is comprised of 272 steps that lead to the first large cave. Guarding it to the right (when walking up) is a large golden Hindu statue.

I proceeded up the stairs in a few minutes and came upon another entranceway with carved elephant heads on the columns, this entrance being to the first cave. Inside the cave it was fairly empty other than tourists looking up at the top of the great hole we were in.

Towards the back of the first cave, several steps led down to a long open corridor to another staircase. Along the sides were a handful of shops selling Hindu religious paraphernalia. I walked to the staircase at the end of the corridor and came upon the monkey guards. But these weren’t just statues or pillars; these were live monkeys that guarded the staircase. They weren’t the best of guards as they were more playing than working.

At the top of the staircase was the final cave. This cave was the highlight with Hindus engaging in prayer as incense burned and many monkeys played in the background. The monkeys served as the real attraction as most of us watched them; some feeding their young, others hopping about on the rocks and a few monkeying around (pun intended) on a light post, shaking it vigorously to hear the cords bang against the metal pole.

I descended the steps and left the caves after a few more minutes of observation. I wasn’t exactly sure where to catch the bus back so I went to the spot where the bus dropped me off. After a few minutes of waiting, I saw bus 11 (the one that I was originally told to take) across the intersection. I caught this one for the long ride back to the city.

It was mid-afternoon and I hadn’t eaten lunch so I asked the girl at the hostel desk for any recommendations for nearby Malay cuisine. She pointed out a place down the street where I went to dine. Much like the Indian place I went to in Singapore, this one was full of locals who ate a mix of meat, rice and sauces with their hands, though here it was less strict and many used both hands. The girl had recommended I get a Malaysian chicken. It came with rice and a host of other stuff that I couldn’t identify. I also had a freshly squeezed orange juice that was phenomenal. The meal itself was very tasty with a bit of spiciness from some of the dried chili peppers that were in the dish (and what appeared to be hot sauce that I poured on the top). On a scale of one to 10, with one being “I feel a slight tinge on my tongue” and 10 being “Put a bullet in my brain now” this was about a three, with just enough heat to make my sinuses open up.

The rest of the day I had planned to go to the National History Museum to learn more about Malaysia’s history and an Indian temple nearby. It turned out that the history museum was closed and its exhibits were elsewhere. I found this out after walking there. On a sign, they apologized for any inconvenience. That made me feel much better.

Instead of seeing these sights, I spent the bulk of the afternoon arranging my travel for the next few days. I ruled out Ko Pha Ngan due to lack of available accommodations, as well as a host of other renowned Thai beaches for the same reason. That left me with Phuket, maybe the most well known but also most touristy Thai beach. I found accommodations there but transportation proved to be a hassle. Several hours searching the internet and two trips to the bus station later I finally arranged for a bus to Hat Yai just inside Thailand’s border, a night there then another bus Saturday morning to Phuket. Flights were just outrageously priced. The discount airlines only seem to work well when you book far in advance.

My stomach adapting to the food and knowing I have a long bus ride tomorrow, I decided to take it easy on the local cuisine. Instead, I headed back to the towers where I knew I could find somewhat blander food, eventually going with some pizza. Plus, it gave me one last opportunity to see the towers at night, a great bonus.

Tomorrow I take a long bus ride to Hat Yai, Thailand.

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Photos

Petronas Twin Towers
Looking up from the back of the towers near the pond.

Skybridge
The inside of the lower level of the 58.4 meter long skybridge.

Out front
Looking down at the front plaza of the towers.

Skybridge legs
The legs were not in the initial design. They were later added because engineers feared a cable system would not withstand the winds.

Out back
The pond and park behind the rear of the towers.

Batu Caves
The stairs and giant statue at the base of the steps.

Monkey
One of the monkeys feeds a baby monkey.

Monkeying around
The monkeys shook the pole for fun. Pun intended.

Malay lunch
My chicken with rice and all sorts of other stuff (some a bit spicy) and a delicious fresh squeezed orange juice.