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Published: March 6th 2020
What a surprise! I never expected such a modern city filled with skyscrapers and air conditioned mega malls! Thankfully it is juxtaposed against the narrow winding streets populated with little shops, tiny houses and street food markets everywhere. It has a big city feel with wonderful modern and old architecture sitting side by side, with many featuring viewpoints of the city from the higher levels of the towers. The Menara Kuala Lumpur and the Petronas Towers being 2 of the most famous and iconic. The subway is very modern and extensive. Easy to navigate and connecting with some of the older train lines and destinations. A highlight for us was taking the subway from the Petronas towers (we were staying nearby in a lovely high rise apartment building that only took us 3 hours to check into!) to KL Central then transferring to a train that took us to the Batu Caves. What an incredible experience. It is the last stop on the train line and once out of the station, you soon become surrounded by the numerous monkeys begging to be fed. They were as cute as they were bold. They would come pull the little banana right out of
your hand if you didn't give it to them quick enough! You are forced to trek through a great market selling everything from clothing to souvenirs to food and drink as you make your way to the caves. The fresh mango juice was to die for!
We arrived a couple of days after Thaipusam, the annual Hindu festival where a huge procession travels from the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in ChinaTown (the oldest Hindu temple founded in 1873) all the way to the Batu Caves (about a 11 kilometer walk). Devotees carry milk in containers that are nestled on their heads to offer to Lord Murugan, the youngest son of Lord Shiva and conquerer of evil at the Batu Caves. During the festival there are tens of thousands of devotees, so coming a few days later was an opportunity to experience this wonderful site without the hoards.
A huge 20 foot statue of the Monkey God is followed by colourful buildings with statues of stories from Hindu culture. After a 10 minute walk through the market and shops we stand at the base of the 272 steps that take you up to the caves.
A huge gold statue of Lord Murugan marks the entrance to the caves. Many worshippers are still arriving with offerings of milk and other gifts to be blessed at the alters in the caves. There were monkeys everywhere. We spotted a mother with her baby. She would run and swing like all the other monkeys while the little one just had to hang on for the ride. This is truly a not-to-be-missed sight!
In addition to all the shopping opportunities a fun excursion is to the Bukit Bintang area where the nightlife is busiest. Jalan Alor street is filled with restaurants and colourfully lit up at night. Worth the trip. Eating out is so cheap that we rarely used the kitchen in our apartment.
One night we treated ourselves to a drink at Sky Bar so that we could take in the view. The lounge surrounds a swimming pool dotted with floating lights that was built in on the
33rd floor of Traders Hotel KL. It overlooked the city park with a stunning vista of the Petronas towers. The drinks were incredibly expensive but not as expensive as the lovely Vietnamese circus performer who
Sky Bar Lounge
Floating colored lights in pool!approached us. Her first job was dancing with snakes and now WE were her new job, she said! Sorry darling, wrong tree!
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