Above are some of the pictures from our trip to Kuala Lumpur. If you'd like to see more, click on the link below, then click the yellow button ("VIEW SLIDESHOW")....you do NOT need to sign in.
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We took a bus to get there after work on Friday. Derek thought it would be super nice with a tv and an attendant who serves drinks and snacks. No such luck. The bus wasn't bad, but none of the workers (bus driver and travel agency worker) spoke great English. The bus was FREEZING! There were thin little blankets, but they didn't do much to keep us warm. Luckily Delaney didn't have to go potty, since there wasn't a restroom on the bus. We had her go when we stopped at customs. We stopped at some roadside restaurant/store about halfway there. Derek took Delaney to the bathroom and most of the toilets were of the squatter variety which she didn't like one bit. When we got to KL, we were dropped off in the middle of a street with tons of other buses and were instantly accosted by a taxi driver wanting to take us to our hotel. We needed one anyway, so we took him up on his offer to drive us for 30 ringettes (about $10 American---it wasn't till we went to the water park on Monday that we realized we'd been had. The 30km trip there only cost about 40 ringettes! Oh well, live and learn.) The area where we were dropped off (we found out by our cabbie we were close to the bus terminal, but Fridays are very busy with lots of bus traffic) was full of litter, so we were pretty nervous about the weekend. We got to our hotel around 1 am. Derek's Visa wouldn't work when he tried to check in. Luckily he had another card with him. We got to our room and were impressed...things were finally looking up. It was huge, with windows on two wall, a great bathroom, and mandarin oranges (it was, after all, the Mandarin Oriental...get it???) You'll see the view from the room in the pictures.
We weren't quite sure what to do Saturday. We ate an incredible buffet breakfast - choice included everything from pancakes to fresh fruit to eggs made to order to steaks to rice and beyond. In honor of Brett, I tried chocolate chip pancakes and now love them (Thanks Brett!). I think Derek tried everything and Delaney ate a great breakfast. We headed over to the Petronas Towers (see description from Wikpedia below), which were practically next to our hotel, to get tickets for the skybridge which connects the two towers. Our tickets weren't until 4, so we set out. We went to a park near the hotel and towers. We took photos and had photos taken of us by complete strangers. Well, Delaney was the main attraction. One lady stopped us and asked if she could take a picture of Delaney. They absolutely love her blond hair and blue eyes here. Lots of people stopped to say hi and talk to her throughout our trip. Delaney played at the park. We then headed to a mall in the same vicinity for water, as it was quite hot outside. We went back for a nap and then headed to the towers. The view was great. The skybridge is between levels 41 & 42. We could see our hotel and the KL Tower (which is used for communication purposes). We then swam in the pool and ate dinner at the nearby mall. The whole meal cost around 45 ringettes...we had lasagna, chicken cordon bleu, cheese fries and cheesecake. This equals about $15! Needless to say, Derek was really happy with that bill. After dinner, we walked around the area. We found the busy nightclub strip. It wasn't too crazy, but then again it was only about 9 when we walked through.
We decided to do the "country tour" on Sunday. On our way to the destinations, the foreign embassies were pointed out (the US and Iraq are next door neighbors!) as well as the sultans' palaces. We headed to Royal Selangor (a world-renowned pewter manufactuer and icon of Malaysia), the Orang Asli Museum (dedicated to the aboriginal people of Malaysia), a leather company, a batik company, and the Batu Caves (wikipedia description below). The pewter factory was fun. They had us try to "design" one of the beer steins...none of us were successful. They had the largest beer stein in the world made of pewter. There are pics of us there. The trip to the museum was pretty, and we got to see how the suburban or "country" people live as we were riding. The museum itself was fine, but there weren't enough English translations to make it worthwhile. The leather company was not that exciting. At the batik company we got to see how the painting is placed on the fabric. The word batik refers to a wax-resistant dyeing technique. Batu Caves were definitely the highlight of the trip. It was incredibly busy, as Hindus were preparing for the Thaipuism festival which was to take place February 1st. In a nutshell, for Thaipuism, devotees are doing self-sacrifices to earn favors from the gods. By looking at our pics, you'll see some of these. We made it up all 272 steps. Not an easy feat with a 3 year old, but we were all troopers. We saw lots of monkeys on the way up, which Delaney really enjoyed. The monkeys liked all of the food that they were given. Thankfully, they sold water at the top.
When we were done with the tour, we went to the hotel and swam and then headed to dinner. Not very exciting, I know.
Monday we went to a water park/theme park and stayed at a hotel there. We all had fun there. It was really strange because there weren't many people there. Maybe I'm just used to Cedar Point, but still..... Delaney loved the little roller coaster that we rode on. She really got into the screaming and actually put her hands in the air. It was quite cute!
There are no pics from that portion of the trip due to the fact that neither of us wanted to be responsible for the camera all day, so we apologize. For dinner that night, Derek had a $14 filet, which again, made him happy! Laney was soo tired that she fell asleep at the restaurant when we were done eating.
Phew, that's about it! Will post more later!
Petronas Towers:
The Petronas Twin Towers (also known as the Petronas Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were once the world's tallest buildings when measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural or architectural top.
The Petronas Twin Towers are the tallest twin towers in the world, and they lay claim to being the world's tallest high rise of the 20th century. Critics point out that this applies to only one of four height categories defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat - although the three additional height categories were only introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996, as opposed to the original category which had been in use since 1969. [1]
Batu Caves:
Batu Caves is a limestone hill in the Gombak district about 13 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which has a series of caves and cave temples. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village.
The first cave temple was established in 1891, and wooden steps up to the Temple Cave were built in 1920. Of the various cave temples that comprise the site, the largest and best known is the Temple or Cathedral Cave, so named because it houses several Hindu shrines beneath its 100 m vaulted ceiling. A 42.7m high statue of Lord Murugan was unveiled in Jan 2006, having taken 3 years to construct. There are 272 steps that a visitor has to climb in order to access the temple at the summit of the hill. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over Soorapadam. An audio tour is available to visitors. At the base of the hill are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. The site serves as the focus of the Hindu community's yearly Thaipusam festival. A procession begins at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, KL and lasts eight hours. In 2006, the festival attracted more than 1.5 million pilgrims, making it one of the largest gatherings in history
Thaipuism:
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). Pusam refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Lord Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (lance) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting. On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common. The most spectacular practice is the vel kavadi, essentially a portable altar up to two meters tall, decorated with peacock feathers and attached to the devotee through 108 vels pierced into the skin on the chest and back. Fire walking and flagellation may also be practiced. It is claimed that devotees are able to enter a trance, feel no pain, do not bleed from their wounds and have no scars left behind. However, some of the more extreme masochistic practices have been criticized as dangerous and contrary to the spirit and intention of Hinduism.
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