SOUTHEAST ASIA PART II : MALAYSIA

Hello again :) thank you all for the love on last week's post, much appreciated! Our next destination on our journey through Southeast Asia was Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. I have always wanted to visit this amazing city. Between the famous and impressive Petronas Towers, the world renown street food and the clashes of different cultures, Malaysia is definitely a unique country within Southeast Asia. 

Malaysia is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, with the population being made up of Malaysian Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. However, the predominant religion is Islam. Since its independence from British rule in 1957, Malaysia has grown to be one of the strongest economies in Southeast Asia, fuelled by its pool of natural resources. Coming to Kuala Lumpur after Thailand was a different experience. The city is very developed; a sprawling metropolis with skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, filled with company headquarters and mega-malls. 

Power, wealth and luxury are very apparent, and it was here where we stayed in the nicest hotel of the entire trip: The Face Suites. We stayed in an executive two bedroom apartment suite on the 19th floor (there's 51 floors overall). On the rooftop, there's an infinity pool overlooking the skyline and this is what sold it for us. And best of all? We only paid around 140 euro for 4 nights... (Disclaimer: this is not sponsored).

View from our executive apartment suite

With so many cultures and religions within one city, there are of course many places of worship. One of the first things we did was visit Batu Caves. Just about half an hour from the city, the Batu Caves are a series of caverns on limestone hills. They're home to one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India, which is dedicated to Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of War. The caves themselves are around 400 million years old and there are 272 steps leading up to them. Just before climbing the steps, you can see the world's tallest statue of Lord Murugan, gold and looking over the city. Watch out for the monkeys! When entering the caves, you immediately understand why they're used as a shrine. They're extremely expansive and impressive, with tall ceilings, lush plants and light comes in through an opening at the top and illuminates the whole cave. The caves are adorned with colourful and ornate Hindu deities and decorations, and there is a strong smell of incense and humidity, you really feel how ancient it is. It also just happened that when we went, there was a Hindu ritual taking place. Bells were ringing loudly at a strange pace, and groups of Hindus worshipped at an altar, removing their shoes and chanting. The whole experience was surreal.

Having really enjoyed Batu Caves, we decided to visit another temple, this time a Buddhist temple called Thean Hou Temple. This is a 6-tiered temple dedicated to the Chinese Goddess of the Sea, Mazu and it's built on a hill overlooking Kuala Lumpur. The front entrance of the temple features a multi-arched gateway with red pillars, the colour symbolic of prosperity and good fortune. The temple also houses a Chinese medicinal herbs garden, a wishing well and a tortoise pond. The twelve animals of Chinese astrology can be seen dotted on the roofs of the structure. This temple felt very different to the caves, with total serenity and tranquility, but was just as amazing. The Chinese lanterns hanging from the structure really add to the magic.

Now that we got our fix of temples, we began exploring the more modern KL, including the Petronas Towers. The Petronas Towers were designed by an Argentinian architect called Cesar Pelli. Standing at 450m, they were once the tallest buildings in the world, and now remain the tallest twin towers. Located in the heart of KL, you can see the Arabic influence in their design and they stand as a pinnacle of strength and power in Asia. You can't miss these when you're in the city, they're visible from wherever you are and they manage to take your breath away every single time. Being a bit of a skyscraper geek, these along with the Chrysler Building in New York are some of my favourite pieces of architecture, and not just because the towers were built by an Argentinian!

However, we did not go up the towers. Our logic was, if we went up the Petronas Towers, what would we be looking at if we couldn't see the towers? Instead, we went up The KL Tower. The KL tower is a communications tower standing at around 420 metres and it's the 7th tallest freestanding tower in the world. The tower also acts as the Islamic Falak observatory to observe the crescent moon which marks the beginning of Ramadhan. In the observation deck, there are two glass boxes which protrude from the tower and you can stand here and get your picture taken. Having climbed a few skyscrapers in my lifetime, I never thought I had a fear of heights, but standing barefoot on a glass box in the sky proved otherwise. This was terrifying! The views from the tower were incredible, with the Petronas Towers being visible and also our hotel. You can really see how large the city is.

When it comes to food in Kuala Lumpur, you have to go to Chinatown and get some street food. KL is known for having some of the best street food around. It's all fresh, and you pick out what you want and they cook it right in front of you. No food poisoning here! I can't tell you how good the food tastes, and you pay around 3-4 euro for a meal that's complete with rice, barbecued meat, vegetables and a drink. You can also shop here. There are multiple stalls selling fake designer products, and they shout out compliments as you walk by trying to get you to buy something. Regardless if want to buy anything or not, go there for the ego boost. If you are buying something, be prepared to haggle!

Satay chicken, pork skewers and crispy shrimp wontons

Cendol: green jelly noodles, coconut milk, palm sugar, kidney beans and ice. I know what you're thinking, but this is surprisingly delicious!

That's it for Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. I absolutely love the paradoxes in this city, you have old and new, multiple cultures and religions and food from all over Asia; it's a pretty unique place and I would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and stay tuned for my final post next week: Singapore! 

Tom.