Kuala Lumpur
Blog: By Way of the World - 20 April 2009
By: Erin
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur and were immediately struck by how modern the city was. The contrast to Cambodia was stark. The roads were smooth, the buses comfortable, and we were cruising down the highway at - gasp - highway speeds! We've been joking that you don't really understand how vital good roads are to a country's economy and general health until you've spent time trying to get around a place with terrible roads.
KL reminded us a bit of New York City, with its magnificent skyline, which we viewed from the Manara Tower.
It is also a very diverse city. Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country, but they are very tolerant of all other cultures. In addition to the ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indian communities abound. Apparently (so says our guidebook), they all live in relative harmony.
We found a great Indian restaurant near our hostel, called Nagasari Curry House. It was one of the cheapest restaurants in the area, with huge portions of the most delicious Indian food we've had in a long time. We must have eaten there five times in four days! We even took our new friend, Matt, there.
We also did a bit of shopping, both in the mall (also reminded us of home, except for the veiled women), and in Chinatown, where I finally bought a pair of jeans. We decided not to bring jeans with us, after reading other travelers who said they were too heavy for hot weather and too slow to dry. But, we've met many a backpacker who ignored the advice and seemed oh-so-comfortable, and we've been pining after them ever since. Dan bought a pair in Vietnam, and I finally succumbed in KL.
We also visited the infamous Batu Caves. Outside the caves, there is a 270-step staircase and a giant statue of Murugan, the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati in Hindu mythology.
The caves contain Malaysia's most important Hindu shrines. Apparently over 1.5 million people visit this site each year for the festival, Thaipusum, where they undertake extreme acts of self-mortification.
The staircase is crawling with monkeys, eating tourist's trash and coconuts. We took about a gazillion pictures of the monkeys since they were so cute!
It was also a fantastic view of the area, including KL.
KL reminded us a bit of New York City, with its magnificent skyline, which we viewed from the Manara Tower.
It is also a very diverse city. Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country, but they are very tolerant of all other cultures. In addition to the ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indian communities abound. Apparently (so says our guidebook), they all live in relative harmony.We found a great Indian restaurant near our hostel, called Nagasari Curry House. It was one of the cheapest restaurants in the area, with huge portions of the most delicious Indian food we've had in a long time. We must have eaten there five times in four days! We even took our new friend, Matt, there.
We also did a bit of shopping, both in the mall (also reminded us of home, except for the veiled women), and in Chinatown, where I finally bought a pair of jeans. We decided not to bring jeans with us, after reading other travelers who said they were too heavy for hot weather and too slow to dry. But, we've met many a backpacker who ignored the advice and seemed oh-so-comfortable, and we've been pining after them ever since. Dan bought a pair in Vietnam, and I finally succumbed in KL.
We also visited the infamous Batu Caves. Outside the caves, there is a 270-step staircase and a giant statue of Murugan, the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati in Hindu mythology.
The caves contain Malaysia's most important Hindu shrines. Apparently over 1.5 million people visit this site each year for the festival, Thaipusum, where they undertake extreme acts of self-mortification.
The staircase is crawling with monkeys, eating tourist's trash and coconuts. We took about a gazillion pictures of the monkeys since they were so cute!
It was also a fantastic view of the area, including KL.Comment on the original post at By Way of the World
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