After weeks of seeing nothing but beaches & bamboo huts, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 5am after the most luxurious bus ride of my life. There were only 3 seats to the width of the coach and each one was practically a 'lazy-boy.' Just a pity that the driver felt most comfortable in arctic temperatures and turned the air-con on full for most of the night.
My time is KL was only intended as a stop over, as I had other, more traditional, places to see. Nevertheless, a visit would not be complete without the obligatory Petronas Towers, 'Skybridge' viewing. My early arrival into the city obviously ensured a single number ticket for the opening and I was one of the first tourists that day to frequent the 41st floor. The buildings were indeed very impressive, but I found you obtained a much greater appreciation from the outside, rather than from a bridge which is only half way up. I mean, what's the point of looking out of the tallest twin towers in the world, if you're not the highest person in the city?
After the tour, I killed time but wandering as aimlessly as only a traveller with two hours sleep does and found I was still in the gardens near the base.
Finding city life too much for my country-boy upbringing, I jumped on a bus to the Batu Caves, situated 15km outside the city centre. I had hoped to witness the 'Thaipusam' festival where up to a million pilgrims visit the caves every year and subject themselves to masochistic acts in the name of religion. Apparently, a simple prayer before meals and bedtime is not enough for some people these days. Unfortunately, my timing was late by a few days and I was only left with seeing the usual temple tantrums of monkeys terrorising tourists. The most impressive feature of the caves, not including the 100m high caves themselves, was the new(!) largest religious statue in Malaysia, that guards the entrance to the caves. I gave the standard 'oohs and ahhs', then went back to the hostel for an early night before my next journey.
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