Kuala Lumpur Day 3

June 1, 2018

Today we took a short trek just outside the city to visit two very interesting sites & then back to KL for some shopping.

Just north of the city in the district of Gombak are the cave temples.

Batu Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India.
The temple is dedicated to marked by this 140 foot tall statue of the Hindu diety, Lord Murugan.

Beautiful limestone hill

272 steps to the top

Monkeys everywhere-
and not shy to the camera.

The interior-
known as the "cathedral"

Look at that little face!

Peanuts for the monkeys

Some politely waited their turn...
others did not!

Colorful Indian market at the foot of the hill

Next stop: Royal Selangor Pewter Factory

Tin mining is one of the oldest industries and a major part of the economy in Malaya beginning in the 1800s with the  arrival of Chinese immigrants.
Kuala Lumpur started as a small tin mining town.

Comparing the weight of our family to the weight of pewter

All of the designs are still done by hand-
tougher than it looks!

We really enjoyed our visit to the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory. The history was very interesting and the pewter is turning into beautifully crafted pieces.  Ask Ross to show you his souvenir!

Back to the city for lunch-

Many people travel to KL to shop-it has been called a shopaholics dream.
We are not really shoppers but chose to visit a few places for the experience of it all.

The "food court" at the sprawling Suria KLCC mall at the Petronas towers was our lunch spot.

This is just a view from the food court... there are water fountains, an adjoining 2 acre playground,  an oceanarium, a science discovery center, a concert hall and an art gallery.

On a much smaller and older scale, the Central Market-
This is a cultural heritage site where you can find local handicrafts and batik prints galore.

Locals say that the goods here at the Central Market are "authentic"

Just a short walk away is Petaling Street, a.k.a Chinatown

In these crowded corridors are row after row of booths selling "inauthentic" goods.
Still a great way to end a very full day!

Kuala Lumpur Day 2

May 31, 2018

After some good rest and good food, we began our second morning with a tour of the city.
First stop, a Batek factory.

Each piece of cloth is hand drawn and hand painted.

This artist is outlining the flowers with a melted wax solution that will later dissolve during the processing of the fabric and leave a white outline around the design.  It was amazing to watch how quickly he worked!
(*Interestingly, they did not allow photos in the factory of the beautiful and colorful finished pieces.) 

Iconic Kuala Lumpur skyline with the twin Petronas Towers and the KL Tower 

The "new" Royal Palace- (built in 2011) 

Palace Guard

Similar to Britain, Malaysia has a parliamentary system of government with the Prime Minister as the head of the government and the monarchy as the head of state.  Here, they are called Sultans instead of king and are the head of state as well as the head of the religion of Islam.

The National Monument-Tugu Negara

This bronze structure commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom-
it was designed by the same sculptor who created the Marine Corps War (Iwo Jima) Memorial in the US.

The National Mosque-
It was closed to non-Muslim tourists when we visited as they were having special prayers during the month of Ramadan.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building & clock tower-
one of the oldest landmarks in the city and the former seat of the British colonial government, now houses the Supreme & High Courts of Malaysia

Directly across from the Sultan Abdul Building is Merdeka (merdeka means independence) Square-
It was here, at midnight on August 31, 1957, where Malaysia celebrated its independence and raised the Malayan flag for the very first time.
*Our guide explained to us that any Malay child born on this date gets special "payments" from the government for the rest of their lives. 

Where the two rivers meet...
Kuala Lumpur actually means "muddy confluence" or "muddy river junction"
Right here at the mosque is where the Klang & Gombak rivers meet & the city got it's name.

Close up of the impressive gleaming Petronas Towers-
tourists can book a ticket to the skybridge on the 41st floor for a view of the city but we  had other plans...

We met dear friends Pradip & Judith for a a very special dinner...

...atop the KL tower at the 360 revolving restaurant!!
We enjoyed a delicious buffet of local specialties with a marvelous view of the city.

It was a wonderful evening and a very special way to end our day-
Thank you Pradip & Judith for traveling to the city to join us!

On the Road Again-

May 28-30, 2018

Although our blog does not tell it, we did in fact complete our travels in eastern Europe last summer and returned to the US for another school year and to plan our next journey.  Just shy of a year later, we are on the road again- this time to explore some of Southeast Asia by the way of Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore, Indonesia and a to spend a couple of days in Seoul on our way home.

Just 2 days after celebrating both boys' graduations (from 8th & 6th grade) we headed to Kuala Lumpur via Toyko. It was a LONG journey!  Leaving home at 4:45am on Monday, we finally reached our destination on Wednesday around 2am...

Early am departure-
wet hair & barely awake

N watched FIVE movies & 
R played his new Nintendo Switch for nearly the same number of hours!

14 hours of flying later...we arrive Narita airport in Toyko-
we have a 3 hour layover until our final 7hr leg to KL

After closing in on 20 hours of travel they couldn't keep their eyes open any longer...

2:30am Wednesday morning- time for real rest.

First Malaysian breakfast-
sushi, Nasi Lemak, dim sum & roti canai with green guava & dragon fruit juices

For our first day we just wanted to be outside & stretch our legs...
the Botanical Gardens seemed the right place to start.

We knew we were traveling to a place as hot and humid as Memphis in August...
 so to avoid overheating, we found a shady spot to have a respite from the sun & a family game

From this angle you cannot see the iconic KL tower or the twin Petronis Towers, however,  there is no shortage of tall buildings in  Kuala Lumpur

We also visited the Butterfly Gardens-

The second decision we had to make is where to have dinner our first night...

Our preference is to eat like the locals when we visit somewhere so we decided to venture to the previous red light district now turned favorite foodie street, JALON ALOR, known for the best hawker food in Kuala Lumpur.  At 6pm the street transforms into one big open- air restaurant filled plastic chairs & food stalls.  It was just a short walk from our hotel.

Taking in the sights and smells...

Dim Sum

Proved to be a great first course!

You pick the protein & they cook it...
R is not so sure about this squab and frog...

Turns out to be delicious!

Meat we are a little more familiar with- Lamb-
(favorite for N & me)

Satay anyone?

With full stomachs, we walked back to the hotel-
Highly recommend a visit to Jalon Alor if you are ever in this part of the world.