In almost every city or town the world over, there is a park which memorializes the people, battles and fallen of the conflicts that built that place. Kuala Lumpur is no exception. On the second morning of my touring with Bala, we started at the war memorial in KL Park.
The area begins with a memorial to all who fought for Malaysia. It honors the veterans of WWI, WWII and the war for Malaysian Independence. The memorial sits on high ground and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The peace and calmness surrounds each of the visitors and the memorial becomes an oasis in the midst of the city.
Behind the war memorial is another honoring the fallen heroes of each of these conflicts. A shaded walkway surrounds a beautiful pond with lily sculptures. This forms the backdrop for a very moving memorial. The sculpture is bronze on a marble pedestal and is truly a fitting piece. In reading about the monument, I discovered that the sculptor is an American artist who was commissioned to do this piece. He should be very proud of his work.
The thought that is most compelling when standing in front of this memorial, is how very much alike we all are. The borders are different and the languages, but we all honor our heroes and in that we are very much alike.
On a free evening we decided to see Pirates of the Caribbean. On the recommendation of May Lene, we went to a small theatre in the mall attached to our hotel. The tickets were a bit pricey, but she promised us a unique experience. She did not lead us wrong.
The theatre seats 50 guests and you definitely feel like a guest. Your admission includes a beverage and you place your order for that and any additional snacks you may want. Seats are sold by number so your place is reserved. When you enter the theatre, it is extremely cold. However, each luxury recliner comes complete with a down comforter to keep you cozy. Prior to the show, the staff delivers your snacks and it is just like watching in the comfort of your family room. If you choose, you may dine at a buffet in the lobby following the performance.
Just to make sure everyone would want to see Pirates, the Mega Mall built a near life-sized ship in center court and had a display of props and costumes from the movie. The music played and everyone gathered to watch the little children making pirate hats. It was quite fun and certainly "Pirate" was the word of the day.
No, I did not spell that wrong.
FRIM stands for Forest Research Institute Malaysia. It is a huge tract of land that is dedicated to botanical research and the indigenous Malay culture. It is unlike our national parks in that people live and work within the confines of the FRIM. To live there you must be of pure Malay heritage. Part of the work of the FRIM is to preserve this heritage.
The cottage above is a true Malay house that was preserved and moved to the FRIM. The early houses were built on stilts to keep out the daily rains. And believe me, there are daily rains. It is usually around late afternoon or early evening. The rains usually do not last long, but lots of water falls in a very short time. One evening the rains and winds were very bad and yet it is also very beautiful. It seems that every day the city is washed by Mother Nature.
Back to the house. You can see in this photo that cooling was done by the overhung roof and all of the panels that open to the breeze. Beautiful decorative painting surrounds the door and side panels. It is an elegant structure and reminiscent of many of the island homes in the Pacific Rim.
Much of the FRIM is vegetation and hiking trails. There is even a guided tour through the treetops complete with rope bridges. Since no one told me about that part, I was definitely unprepared shoe and clothing-wise. Also we were at the FRIM in the afternoon. Not a good time for hiking in Malaysia. Afternoons are very hot and very humid. Walking down the street can feel like aerobic exercise. We did, however, spend a wee bit of time hiking to a waterfall not too far off the road.
It was a cool (relatively) and beautiful spot with water cascading down over the rocky terrain. If there were time, I would have loved to just sit and enjoy the sounds of the forrest and the bubbling water.
Hiking this part of the trail was made much easier thanks to the path laid down for visitors. Logs are used to delineate steps. At this point the slope was gentle and easy to traverse. Bala and I enjoyed the quiet time before getting back into traffic just outside the gates.
What is difficult to imagine is that all of this is just at the edge of the city. And wait till you see the parks within the city! One funny note, when you enter the FRIM, you pay a small fee (less that $1 US) for entry per person AND per camera. It was well worth the fee.
One of the most mentioned spots to visit in Kuala Lumpur is an area just outside of town known as Batu Caves. The people of Malaysia are from three major ethnic groups - the Malay, Chinese and Indian. Batu Caves is representative of the Indian culture and houses Hindu Temples set into the natural caves of this area.
I was quite aghast as we drove up to the caves. The first view you see os of the giant statue pictured above. It is breathtaking. If you look beside the statue to the left, you will see the other significant feature of Batu Cave - the steps. There are 272 steps from the base to the entrance of the cave. We climbed them all!
My driver and tour guide for my KL exploring was a wonderful man named Bala. Bala is Hindu and therefore the perfect guide for this location. He was able to tell me about the culture and beliefs that are reflected in the various temples and shrines within the cave. Once a year members of the Hindu community begin at midnight in downtown KL and walk to the caves. It takes about twelve hours of constant walking and then there are the stairs. There are thousands who participate and the scene must be amazing.
The gates are decorated both front and back with images of the gods and other symbols which relate the stories. This particular temple is dedicated to the younger son who provides aid to those with physical ailments.
As you climb, the view down is as amazing as the view ahead. Part way up there is a Dark Cave which can be toured for a fee. We did not take that tour as I was in a dress and it is a fairly rugged tour. (You also have to like bats because they line the ceiling.) We did go into the entrance of the dark cave and see the structure of it.
After finishing our climb (whew!), we entered the main part of the cave and were surrounded by various shrines and temples. The one pictured here is the main temple inside the cave. There are several (and more steps) and Bala told me that he and his wife were married at one of the other temples in the cave.
Each shrine is topped with very colorful statues and all have great meaning to the Hindu religion. I was very lucky to have a guide who could tell me all of the beliefs and stories and make the experience even more meaningful.
The Cave is somewhat different than you might expect since you go up into it rather than below ground. Because of this, there are natural skylights which cast quite a bit of light into the center of the cave as seen the the photo above. The steps there are not part of the 272. These are the inside steps and I didn't count them. I didn't want to know.
After finishing our tour of the temples and shrines inside the cave, we began our trek back to the bottom. The steepness of the stairs is most evident on the way down.
And did I mention the monkeys? Dozens of them scamper all over the stairs and chase each other around as you climb and descend. One visitor was carrying some fruit in a bag and one of the monkeys stole it from her. Another was ripping apart a Pringles can he found. They follow the food. Luckily, we didn't have anything with us.
When you reach the bottom, there is a beautifully landscaped pond along with some market stalls, smaller caves and more temples. We walked this area and at the end came upon the Monkey God.
His job is to protect the parent gods and he looks to be quite adept. The sights, the smalls, the colors are all so rich. It is a wonderful culture to explore and we finished our exploration with a traditional lunch. It was a wonderful experience.
We have finally arrived back in Hong Kong. I am so far behind in posts that I will be putting up one or more a day for quite some time. Our stop back after Kuala Lumpur was just for a short overnight and then off to Beijing. Once there we discovered that certain websites (blogs, facebook, twitter, etc.) cannot be accessed in mainland China. That combined with our very full tour schedule has put me behind. So I have lots of catching up to do. I will finish up with Malaysia first and then move on to Beijing.
The sights are so amazing and I have lots of photos to go through. So I will get to work and start posting as soon as I finish unpacking and get our mountains of laundry started.
As promised, here is a post on food. Since we have arrived in Asia, two things have happened. First, we have been exposed to almost every kind of cuisine imaginable. Second, Ken has been replaced by a robot who will try almost anything. In Hong Kong we have eaten food from Nepal, Morocco, China, Mexico, Japan, American burgers and dogs, pasta and much more. Since arriving in Malaysia our horizons have both expanded and become very authentic.
With May Lene as our guide we had Indian food on our first night. Tuesday was our tour of KL and it was a tour of more than the scenery. We began with breakfast at an Indian open air restaurant which made the best roti kanai. (I apologize for any spelling errors to those who know the correct forms.)
Food is served on palm leaves and pots of dipping sauce sit on the tables. There are many types of food to order, and we tried three different kinds of roti kanai. My favorite was the one with bananas fried into it and the coconut dipping sauce. After eating we walked around the space and watched the various forms of bread being prepared. One variety even gets tossed like pizza.
Following breakfast we began our tour (covered in the post Kuala Lumpur) and at lunch time we found ourselves at the Petronis Towers mall. We ate at a Malaysian cafe and guided by May Lene we tried several Malay favorites including mixed fruit in sauce, a rice dish with cockles and prawns and a third selection that I cannot remember the name of but it tasted good.
While we were in the Chinese market, we loved looking at the fruits that we cannot get easily in the US. The vendor let me try the one on the left with the spines (sorry, name slips my mind - it may be rumbala) and it was great. We bought some fresh lychee fruit (on the right) to save for later.
Dinner was definitely the high spot of the day's cuisine. We went to a part of town that reminded me of a cross between Little Italy and the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ. This long street was lined with restaurants and open-air food booths with tables and chairs spilling into the streets. It was very much a carnival atmosphere. We washed at an open sink and our chef came over to take our order. The specialty of the house is bar-b-qued chicken fish.
That's right, chicken fish. When May Lene first told us about it, we were a bit skeptical. She said it is a fish that tastes like chicken. She was right. It is coated in some spices and then grilled and it is delicious.
Chicken fish along with lemon chicken, fried rice and asparagus with garlic comprised an amazing dinner in an amazing setting. We ate leisurely and May Lene chatted with the chef. We told him how much we enjoyed the meal.
Along with our food from the restaurant, we enjoyed the fresh lychee fruit we had purchased from the market earlier in the day. For those of you who have never had a lychee, the outside is a shell which is quite firm and must be cracked. Inside it is a pure white soft globe about the size of a small plum. It is sweet tasting and aromatic. I love Lychee. There is one other fruit we tried that night.
It's name is durian and it is known as the king of fruit. You know when someone nearby has a durian because of the scent. Actually, that is putting it delicately. The king of fruit smells something like a natural gas leak. It has this pungent odor which stops many people from even trying it. The shell is very hard and spiny. If one fell on your head it would hurt - a lot. Inside there are three chambers filled with fruit pods. The center of each is a hard seed and the fruit itself is a creamy covering that is also somewhat gooey. I actually ate one seed's worth of durian which May Lene says is very good for a westerner.
With our meal finished, there was only one thing left to do. Go for a drink at the Skybar and get a night time view of the Petronis Towers (see KL post for photo). The bar is on the 33rd floor of the Traders Hotel and the center of the bar is a swimming pool. It is actually the hotel pool during the day and is transformed each night into Skybar. Lights float on the water and windows are open to let in the warm evening air and fantastic views. May Lene and I had mojitos to help our breath after our encounter with the king of fruit. Ken had a Tom Collins and our three drinks equaled the cost of all of our meals for the day. But the view was worth it.
Driving back to the hotel was like driving through a party. The streets of central KL are all lit in white and blue. For blocks on end you can see trees festooned with lights making the drive most beautiful. So our holiday in KL was also a holiday in culinary heaven. Now to plan tonight's dinner!
Kuala Lumpur is quite an interesting city. Perhaps the most easily recognizable landmark is the Petronis Towers which dominate the skyline both day and night. They shine and glow and it is hard to take your eyes off of them. At the base of the towers is a shopping mall and the convention center. Outside the mall is a huge green space with dancing fountains and a swimming pool and playgrounds for the children.
We were very lucky in that May Lene, who works for Steelcase, graciously gave us her holiday for a 14 1/2 hour tour of the city.I will do a separate post on the food for the day, but suffice to say it was all local and all tasty. Following breakfast we did a driving tour of several areas and saw some of varied architecture that gives this city so much of its interest and character. We then headed downtown to enjoy the 2nd biggest passion of the Malay people - shopping (the first being eating). We have the Steelcase KL Annual Dinner on Saturday night and I needed a dress. The theme is Hollywood Glam. (Photos to follow after the dinner.)
After shopping we strolled the area around the Petronis Towers. One of the other landmarks downtown is the KL Tower which has a viewing deck. We did not make it up this day. Perhaps another time.
On our drive one of the most interesting areas we say was Little India. The main street through this part of town is lined with the most decorative arches and street lamps. It is hard to keep up just looking from one sight to the next.
After covering the area around the towers, we took the train to the local markets. City Market has been operating since 1888 and is filled with local wares and all sorts of enticements. Pashminas and scarves are everywhere and they are beautiful. After leaving City Market we proceeded to the Chinese Market where stalls are crowded together selling everything you could imagine (real and faux) and bargaining is the key. We spent time wandering and bargaining and then headed for dinner. Think Asian Little Italy. Following dinner we went back to center city to the Traders Hotel and the Skybar on the 33rd floor looking out on the Petronis Towers.
It was a great day and there is so much more than I can report here, but it is definitely a day Ken & I will never forget.
