A Quick Visit to Kuala Lumpur

There were no direct flights from Hanoi to Sandaken so I figured it would be fun to spend two nights in Kuala Lumpur. It really was only one full day, since we arrived at 8:30pm on Friday night and were leaving 6am Sunday morning.

Getting through the airport was a feat in itself. It was a mall inside a mall. It took some time to figure out how to go to the taxi stand.

So our plan was to visit the Batu Caves and walk around the city and see the Petronas Towers.

Our hotel was about 45 minutes from the airport but it was very nice. It was under the Marriott Umbrella Autograph Series called a Hotel Stripes.

After we checked in, we went to the rooftop bar for something to eat and to check out the view and the pool.

In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel. They offered a combination of Eastern and Western foods. No rush today because we didn’t put a lot on our agenda.

We decided to take a cab rather than the train to the Batu Caves. I think our stamina is wearing thin and if we can do it the easier, softer way we will. If we didn’t need to change trains, I would have done it but our cab fare was only $5. We arrived at the Batu caves along with hundreds of other people.

I was one of the few women not wearing a hijab. However, I did need to wear clothes that covered my knees and shoulders.

The Batu Caves are limestone caves discovered and visited since the 1800’s. The Batu Caves are a Hindu shrine and there are 272 steps to climb to reach the temple cave. There are several other caves but they were closed the day we were there.

The large golden statue of Lord Murugan holds court above the plaza in front of the cave entrance.

Macaque monkeys patrol the staircase as well as the caves. They are everywhere and will grab things right out of your hands. Someone lost a bag of chips.

Someone didn’t hold onto their umbrella.

And another one grabbed more food.

I saw this monkey actually twist the cap off this water bottle and drink. They are very smart.

This poor little guy, I don’t know what happened to him.

It’s a bit of a hike up and you can take a break and different sections on the stairs, but remember the monkeys on your way up.

Up above the cave was quite massive.

Inside the entrance to the cave were vendors and little Hindu shrines.

We walked around the cave looking at all the Hindu Temples while fighting off all the monkeys running around the place.

We took the descent slowly and carefully since the steps were steep and I didn’t want to risk getting bitten by a monkey.

There were many vendors around the Batu Caves selling fruits and spices. It was fun looking at all the different types of foods they had.

The rest of the day we walked around the city, where there are so many skyscrapers.

We finally ended up at the Petronas Towers.

We found out it was the eve of their Independence Day and all kinds of activities were going on. We ate dinner in the courtyard at the towers at Chinoz on The Park. We had sushi and hummus and Pita.

They were getting ready for a concert in the park while we were eating.

As we walked away the towers were brightly lit and very festive.

The streets were lit up as well. It was really fun to walk through this city but we had to get to bed early because we had to catch a 6am flight to Borneo. Even the telecommunications tower was festively lit. I kept calling this their space needle.

one final shot!

Next stop Sandakan and onto Sukau Rainforest Lodge.