The Adventures of Bruce and Ian

Next, we visited Kuala Lumpur’s two most famous architectural landmarks: the spire of the KL Tower and the sparkling Twin Petronas Towers. We’d heard that the view of the city from the KL Tower was unparalleled, and decided to ride up to the top to get a bird’s-eye view of the city we’d been roaming around.

We were hustled into an elevator, which began to shoot skyward and whose LCD didn’t give us our height in floors, but in 50 meter increments which whizzed past at an alarming rate.

Getting off at the observation deck, we were afforded a fantastic panoramic view of KL city from 276 meters up. We spotted plenty of buildings we’d driven and walked past, but whose impressive design we could now see much more clearly.

Throughout the KL Tower I kept noticing posters for a race or marathon of some sort which was named after the tower. Initially I assumed it was just a course through the city that started or ended at the tower, but then I realised the race wasn’t to the tower, but up it. Craziness. I suggested to Ian that he register for the next race up all 335 meters of stairs given his masterful summit of the Batu Caves steps. He did not take kindly to said idea.

Back on terra firma, we walked to the Petronas Twin Towers, which held the record for tallest buildings in the world between 1998 and 2004. The steel and glass of the towers’ facade seemed to pulse with energy and activity, and made for a powerful contrast with the Batu Caves which we’d just visited: the latter a symbol of the ancient religious traditions still maintained in the country, the former the face of Malaysia’s recent ascendancy in the global business world. Unfortunately public access to the Petronas Towers themselves was very exclusive – you had to line up as early as 6:30am to acquire tickets to the Skybridge – which were still limited to only 30 tickets a day! Fair warning if you’re planning on hitting up the Petronas Towers on your own trip to Malaysia.

We didn’t let that keep us from exploring urban KL, and instead we made do with wandering through Suria KLCC, the massive, six-storey shopping mall housed in the base of the towers. We checked out camera gear and passed by KLCC’s Louis Vuitton outlet…where we noticed a significant markup in price from the fabulous deals on the same LV merchandise we saw at Jalan Petaling. Go figure.

We had an early flight to catch the next morning, so we bid adieu to KL for the time being and started preparing for our next Malaysian adventure on the sandy beaches of Langkawi.

Our next stop was the Batu Caves, a series of tunnels and chambers set into limestone cliffs just outside of Kuala Lumpur.  The caves are one of Malaysia’s most famous attractions, and are a holy site for the country’s Hindu population.  We’d seen plenty of photos of the statue of the god Murugan while preparing for our trip, but neither of us were prepared for just how massive it was in real life.  Reading about a 42 meter high gold statue is significantly different from standing in front of a 42 meter high gold statue.  We were in awe.

We started the climb up the 272 steps to the entrance of the caves themselves, passing reliefs of scenes from Hindu mythology.  I don’t think I’m bragging when I say that I managed the climb better than Ian, who was out of breath and more than slightly sweaty by the end.  Halfway up, the stairs became populated with dozens of the cynomolgus monkeys which have made their homes in the trees growing on the cliff faces.  They’re well accustomed to the hordes of tourists who visit the caves, and have no interest in posing for the camera if you’re not offering them a snack of some sort.

Once at the top of the stairs, we entered the massive and majestic Temple Cave, the natural walls of which stretch up over 100 meters.  Intricate shrines to and statues of Murugan and other Hindu gods were nestled along the walls amongst stalactites (or are stalagmites the ones which grow up from the ground?).  The air was still and calm, and the occasional waft of incense which crossed our noses added to the tranquil and reverential atmosphere.  At the back of the Temple Cave, the roof opens out to the sky, casting sunlight down on the cave’s visitors, and allowing trees to grow along the cave’s inner walls!

See more of our climb and read more about the caves here!

Getting to the caves took some sweat and effort, but the payoff of seeing such gorgeous scenery and cultural icons was well worth it. Luckily for Ian, climbing down was easier than climbing up.

After breakfast, we walked a short distance to Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur’s open-air Chinatown market. Attracting a mix of locals and tourists, the market offers a full range of Chinese cuisine, handicrafts and clothing, in addition to peculiarly low-priced DVDs ... [Continue reading this entry]

You'd be suprised that even after a night of feasting, we still woke up rarin' to have a go at some good ol' Malaysian breakfast foods. Sarah picked us up at our hotel and we soon found ourselves walking on a ... [Continue reading this entry]

We’d just finished a hearty dinner on Jalan Alor when I was confronted with one of Malaysia’s most dangerous inhabitants: the durian. Some quick history: durians aren’t just one of the most popular foods found in ... [Continue reading this entry]

After getting settled in our hotel, we met up with our friend Sarah, who'd graciously agreed to act as our guide during our stay in Kuala Lumpur.  In addition to driving us through the city's crowded streets (it took us ... [Continue reading this entry]

And with that we were off! Our Malaysian mission: see as many of the country’s beaches and jungles, experience as much of its culture, and cram ... [Continue reading this entry]