My Week in Malaysia Pt. 2

A friend of mine from my TESOL program went to Kuala Lumpur today. I was so excited to direct her to my KL post, because I know she's an eater like me. I then realized, oh yea, I never posted part 2. There are so many things to do beyond eat, so I wanted to share a few highlights of my trip.

I had a week in Kuala Lumpur, so I took full advantage of my time. When I wasn't stuffing my face I was busy sightseeing and having fun catching up with Allison. I'm pretty sure I only scratched the surface of all that KL has to offer, but from what I saw I'm a fan.

So small compared to the statue!

Batu Caves: Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, however it is also home to the largest and most popular Hindu Temple outside of India. The Batu Caves feature a massive gold statue of the Lord Murugan, and about a million stairs that lead to the temple, situated in the caves above. The site is really impressive, and I imagine it's an incredible temple to worship in. The caves also feature one of my favorite animals - Monkeys! They were everywhere and were so cute! I'm wary of getting too close to wild monkeys, but I definitely took about fifty-leven photos of them. The Batu Caves are home to the annual Hindu festival Thaipusam, which if you happen to visit the caves at that time would definitely be a sight to behold. Take a look at the hashtag #thaipusam on Instagram, you'll see what I mean. Note: If you visit, bring a sarong to cover your legs or be prepared to rent one. Uncovered shoulders are allowed here though!

Oh hey cuties!

Batu Caves

I need to invest in a tripod for these long exposure shots!

Petronas Twin Towers Water Show: The twin towers can be seen from almost everywhere in the city, and are so pretty! They basically glitter in the evenings. There are several parks near the towers for touristy photos, as well as a fun water fountain show in the evenings. You and your selfie stick will be in good company here. The show is set to music, and while it's not quite on the level of the Bellagio in Vegas, it's entertaining. Definitely worth grabbing some coconut ice cream and hanging out in the KLCC park for the nightly show. 

KL Bird Park: I have mixed feelings these days about zoos and wildlife parks. On one hand it's so sad to see these animals cooped up; on the other hand I do believe that exposing people to animals in such an up close and personal way helps to promote interest and conservation efforts. So, as long as the animals are well taken care of and not made to perform, then I'm on board. With the exception of dolphins and whales, but that's a rant for a different day. The KL Bird Park is primarily a "free-fly" park, with most of the birds just walking around at their leisure. I saw so many beautiful species of birds that I've never even heard of before! The tropical setting was really pretty, but holy moly that heat and humidity was a struggle to endure.We probably would have stayed longer had it been a bit cooler. There were several peacocks wandering about, but I couldn't get any of them to shake their tail feathers for me. Le sigh.

Nightlife: My first night in KL we went to Allisons end of year school party. Afterwards we popped by Jalon Alor Street to pretend like we were about that life, but after about ten minutes we were tired of standing in heels and listening to the unce unce unce, so we decided to head to Suzi's corner. Did a quick pit stop to check out the wares of the street vendors, where I was tricked into sampling some durian. If I had to describe the taste of durian, I'd say they taste like the smell of stinky boys feet after a day at the gym. So gross. It is a favorite fruit among many SE Asians, but I'm inclined to think it must be an acquired taste. Yikes. The street itself was super cute with all of the latnerns, and it was packed! We went back again later that week for dinner and it was just as packed on a Wednesday as it had been that Friday. 

Jalon Alor at night

Muscular frog legs anyone?

THE MONKEYS AT SUNSET ON THE KDE LOOP!: Can't believe I almost forgot this one. Definitely a highlight. I've never seen so many monkeys at once, even on Monkey Island in Thailand! There were so many different types of monkeys there. Needless to say the Facebook album I posted from Malaysia is full of monkey photos. So apparently the KDE Loop is a popular running route in KL. Every day at dawn and dusk the monkeys show up, and take over the top of the hill. They literally run those streets. I saw one woman power walking by holding a huge stick, apparently to beat off any monkeys that might harass her. Not everyone took her stance though, there were some locals who brought stools and monkeys sat on their laps as they fed them! There were monkeys all over, fighting each other in the streets, wrestling on cars, stealing license plates right off of cars, and even a few who really should have gotten a room. If I lived there I'd definitely go see the monkeys at least once a week. So cool! 

BYOSAB (Bring your own stool and bananas. Obvi.)

SO PRECIOUS!

So there you have it! Kuala Lumpur, definitely worth a visit, for the monkeys alone! Oh, and all of the food, architecture, and other activities as well. 

Side Note: I have good intentions to update this blog regularly, I've just been a bit distracted lately. Between finishing up my certification course, exploring a bit more of Vietnam, finding a job, finding a place to live, figuring out the city, and actually starting to teach, my days have been full and EXHAUSTING! I'm slowly settling into a routine here, have gotten back on my yoga game, and building my network, so I should be more consistent with my posts from here on out. 

Goodnight Vietnam, Good Morning Portland!