KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – MARCH 7TH

 

In February of 2018, my Atlas Obscura desk calendar featured the “Batu Caves” in Kuala Lumpur.  Upon reading about the Caves, I discovered that they begin at the feet of Murugan, the Hindu god of war and victory and at 140 feet tall, the gold-painted statue of Murugan is the largest in the world.  In order to reach the trio of large caves, one must climb 272 steps and then an additional 100 steps inside.  I read that on the way up, it would probably be less challenging but for the hordes of long-tailed macaque monkeys that like to sit on the handrails and scurry up and down and sideways in visitors’ paths.

 

As soon as Princess released the excursions available on the world cruise, I immediately checked Kuala Lumpur and found that they did offer an excursion; however, upon reading the description, it would also include a visit to the Royal Selangor Visitor Center to watch craftsmen create items out of pewter, a buffet lunch, and a visit to the National Museum, none of which either of us was interested.  Considering the amount of time it takes to exit a bus, the expected time to walk up over 300 steps, walk down 300 steps and get back on the bus only to be taken to other sites of no interest, I wasn’t sure what to do.

Enter Carolyn, our fantastic travel agent at Tempo Travel Group, who suggested we consider a private tour (vs. a Princess excursion) since we would be in KL from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.   With over 33 cruises and almost 500 days onboard, we’ve never arranged for a private tour because we’ve always been concerned about the timing.  If you’re on a Princess excursion, the ship waits for you;  if you’re on your own, the ship may not wait for you.  Because of the length of time we’d be in KL, and because of Carolyn’s vast experience in these matters, she arranged for a tour of KL for six hours, which would include the Batu Caves, lunch and shopping at the Central Market.  The tour was set up with our wants and needs – no filler and no museums.  Although it might’ve been a little pricey (at least compared to the Princess excursion), it was worth every penny! 

The city of KL was established in 1857 and is located on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula approximately 24 miles from the Strait of Malacca at the convergence of the Klang and Gombak rivers.  As of 2010, it has a population of approximately 1.6 million people.  Bahasa Malay is the official language but English, among others, are widely spoken.  The currency is the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR).  Because we would be in Malaysia two days, I purchased Ringgits from our local bank before we left.  The MYR is worth approximately $.25.  I had my conversion table of US to MYR on an index card which worked out beautifully.  Much faster than using the conversion apps on the phone.  The name KL literally means, “muddy confluence” and the residents of Kuala Lumpur are known as KLites. 

In preparation of our visit to KL, we watched the movie “Entrapment” starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones a couple of days before our arrival.  Michael has some 300 movies on the computer so we thought it was only fitting to “get in the mood.” 

A lot of the passengers were already off the ship for early excursions when we left at 8:45 a.m. to meet our guide in the cruise terminal.  (No visa or immigration card needed in Malaysia.)  Razak, our guide, and driver, Azlan, were waiting for us as soon as we arrived in the terminal.  We entered their lovely air-conditioned vehicle and took off for the Batu Caves which are located north of KL and took an hour or so to reach because of the time of day. 

In the interim, we learned all sorts of information from Razak.  Malaysia, with a population of 32 million people, is divided into 11 states with 9 sultans.  Every five years, one of the sultans is appointed King of the country.  Although it is a democracy, the “King” is somewhat of a figurehead like Elizabeth II.  The population is made up of 68% Malays, 24% Chinese and 8% Indian.  The official religion is Islam but there are Catholics, Hindus and Buddhists as well and they are all free to practice their own religions.  Most people speak at least 3 languages including Malay, Mandarin, Thai and English.  The weather is sunny and hot and ranges from 30 to 36 C.  There are 21 public holidays, including Christmas, which make the workers very happy; not so much the employers.  We spoke about the water contracts with Singapore (which I wrote about in my posting about Singapore) and were based on 1962 prices, obviously not a beneficial position as far as Malaysia is concerned. 

There is a high import tax on cars.  Fortunately, Malaysia produces its own makes of cars – Proton (similar to Toyota, Ford, Honda) with a 2019 price tag of 100,000 MYR or $25,000.00 and Perodua, which is even less expensive.  We saw both on the roads and both looked very nice.  The Malaysians love cars and can own as many as they want; most people have two. A Toyota SUV costs between 250,000-350,000 MYR, much more expensive than the Malaysian cars.  Like all major cities, transportation and congestion is always a problem and a light rail system is, hopefully, in its future.  “Sour” gasoline, purchased from the Middle East, requires processing;  however, Malaysia’s own “sweet” gasoline, obtained offshore at the rate of 600,000 barrels per day, requires very little processing.  They sell their “sweet” gasoline to Japan, China, the UK and Germany. 

Keeping with Asian culture, approximately 50% of young people still live at home with their parents;  however, once they marry, they move to their own residence.  In KL, the average married couple has two children;  outside of KL, the average is four.  Our guide, Razak, is the youngest of nine children while Azlan is one of seven. 

KL is not without its problems of homelessness, drugs coming primarily from Thailand and illegal aliens. 

While on our way to the Batu Caves, Razak, who is Muslim, pointed out to us the “sexiest building” in KL.  It is designed after a traditional drum which is 36-24-36.   No time for a photo and I forgot to ask the name of the building but it is some type of financial institution where Muslims put their money to save for their pilgrimage to Mecca.  A bit of a dichotomy, I would say.

Health insurance is private but government subsidized.  If going to a government hospital, a person would have to pay 1 MYR or $.25 for treatment.  There is no compulsory military service.

There are two programs for people who wish to emigrate to Malaysia.  If you’re under 50, you must have at least 350,000 MYR deposited in a Malaysian bank and have a monthly income of 10,000 MYR.  Persons over 50 years of age, the deposit is higher and must leave 100,000 MYR in the bank at all times as “insurance” for your medical care, etc.  A “very nice” apartment consisting of 2-3 bedrooms can be had for approximately 1,500-2,000 MYR;  in KL, it could cost anywhere from 5-7,000 MYR.  

We arrived at the Batu Caves sometime after 10 a.m.  The square was teeming with people and on either side were multi-colored buildings which were probably different shops or temples.  Lots of souvenir stands, restaurants, etc.   There were shops for ladies to purchase scarves in the event they arrived at the caves not properly dressed.  Entry is not permitted with knees or shoulders exposed.  To say the statue of Murugan was big does not do it justice.  It was enormous and I would suggest anyone interested to look on the Batu Caves website to see the people walking up the stairs next to the statue to get a realistic idea of how big the statue really is.  I’ll try and do that on one of our photos.  It was amazing.  

After a very quick rest stop at a local Indian restaurant where the toilet was anything both clean (although not an “Asian” style toilet but rather a Western style one), we walked through the square, avoiding all the pigeons and the selfie-taking tourists that seemed to be everywhere.  Razak cautioned us about the monkeys that seemed to dominate the stairs leading up to the caves and told us not to engage them at all.  It’s their place and we’re the intruders so if one is sitting at the top of a landing on the handrail, we should move aside and keep walking.  We were also advised that the best way to navigate the first 272 steps is to simply look down and not up.   The risers of each group of stairs, separated by a small landing, were painted just six months ago in a different bright color so, from a distance, it really does look quite festive.  Up close, not so much.  The stairs themselves are not particularly wide and many are cracked and in major disrepair.  This is a major Hindu site so during religious festivals there could be thousands of people visiting the caves.  However, on the day we visited, the atmosphere was more of a touristic feel rather than spiritual. 

I was actually surprised that Razak came with us and he told us he makes this trek at least once a week with other clients.  He asked whether we’d prefer to make the climb alone but thanked him for coming with us.   Up we went, avoiding the monkeys (and being startled by one along the way), keeping our heads down, carefully negotiating each step, taking a breath on each landing (the weather was very hazy the day we were there because it hadn’t rained in over a week), until we finally made it to the top.  It was a smoldering day, both hot and humid, but we made it.  Thankfully, Michael brought along one of the towels from our cabin for which I was extremely grateful. 

The caves were comparatively cool and there was another “temple” or “shrine” where people entered, after removing their shoes.  Lots of altars and other buildings within the caves themselves and more monkeys.  Hindus or other pilgrims bring lots of fruit, flowers, etc. as offerings and, apparently, the monkeys love to steal the fruit, including coconuts.  The caves are not entirely enclosed so you can see the sky above.  Every so often, a security person within the caves would shoot off an extremely noisy bottle rocket that the monkeys hate and would cause them to run away.  Unfortunately, they would come back so the shooting takes place throughout the day.   We heard it a couple of times and because of the echoes in the caves, it’s a little disarming.  

After walking around, taking more photos and listening to Razak who had an abundance of knowledge of the Hindu religion, and the fact that the “first James Bond girl,” Ursula Andress, filmed the movie, Queen of Cannibal Island in the caves, which Michael has actually seen, we stopped to buy a magnet in one of the souvenir shops which Razak informed us was authorized by the caves;  private donations also go towards the maintenance of the caves.

Once again, Razak said it was best to look down at the stairs and not down in front of us as we descended the 272 stairs.   Going down, we encountered more macaque monkeys, mostly mamas and their babies for some reason, who seemed more docile and amenable to having their pictures taken.  Having successfully climbed up and down, I felt very good, having set this trek as one of my goals during this cruise.  My wonderful trainer, Loretta, said she “knew I could do it” and she was right.  

Back to the square, Razak showed us jack fruit and the infamous durian, which has a distinctive reputation of being the most horribly smelling fruit in the world.  It is considered so awful that, in some parts, you cannot bring them into a taxi or an airport.  Razak picked one up so I could smell it and, surprisingly even with my great sniffer, I didn’t think it was all that bad.  It didn’t smell like lilacs, but I really thought it was much ado about nothing.  Perhaps the one I smelled was too ripe, not ripe;  I don’t know.  

Jack Fruit

Durian

Practically melting in the square from the heat and humidity, we maneuvered amongst the pigeons and tourists, once again, and were brought back to our lovely air-conditioned vehicle where Azlan was waiting to take us back to KL. 

Our first stop was the Petronas Twin Towers, featured in “Entrapment.,” Reaching over 1,400 feet into the sky, it is the world’s tallest twin towers.  A sky bridge rising 557 feet above street level connects the two at the 41^st and 42^nd floors.  Upon alighting from our vehicle, Razak suggested I leave everything in the car, except my camera, because there was a concern, not about purse snatching by other pedestrians, but, rather, purse snatching by people on motorcycles/scooters.  While you may lose your purse, there’s always the possibility of being injured by being brought down trying to hold on to the purse.  It just isn’t worth it.  He brought us to a landing in the park across the street from the Towers and they are, indeed, magnificent.  The entire façade of the building is made with German stainless steel so the entire building shines.  There was an enterprising young man who tried to “rent” his wide-angle lens which could be attached to a cellphone in order to capture the enormity and height of these buildings. Michael has a great wide-angle camera and I took pictures with my cellphone the best I could.  We didn’t go into the building but our fellow passenger posted pictures on his FB page showing part of the interior multi-leveled shopping mall inside.  Although businesses occupy the towers, the ground floor features upscale retail stores, an art gallery, a theater, an aquarium and a science center.  It took six years of 24-hour construction to complete the twin towers at a cost of $1.8 billion.  There are 32,000 windows, also imported from Germany, with UV and radiation steel;  it takes two months to clean them all. 

Very reminiscent of Orchard Street in Singapore, we next drove down the main avenue (didn’t get the name) of KL which is the home to many high-end retail stores including Chanel, Tiffany, Gucci, Coach, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc.  A little out of our price range, we opted for the Central Market.  Before entering the Market, we stopped for a photo opportunity of the Jamek Mosque which is located where the Gombak and Klang rivers meet, and is the oldest mosque in KL built on the site of the city’s first Malay cemetery.  Walking across the street to the Central Market, I was expecting more of a vegetable market type place with crowded aisles and aisles of stuff and hundreds of people.  I was surprised that it was as modernized as it was.  There were probably hundreds of actual shops and looked like a smaller version of any American mall, with air-conditioning and vendors in the middle.  After telling Razak what I was looking for, a flight of stairs brought us to the second floor where I found Michael a wonderfully patterned orange and black shirt and a hand-painted silk vest for myself at very good prices.  The storekeepers were very nice.  With time running, we invited Razak and Azlan to lunch, but not before I bought another little woven box for $2.00 and a package of the world’s most expensive, if not the most interesting, Kopi Luwak coffee.  

This is the most interestingly produced coffee in the world.  The civet belongs to the cat family and they’re fed coffee beans which are then partly digested and when they exit the nether regions of the civet, they’re cleaned and roasted and produce this (hopefully) wonderful tasting coffee.  I bought a little pack of this extraordinary coffee and will French press it when we return home;  we’ll enjoy a small cup one day and reminisce about this wonderful city. 

The parking is terrible in KL, so Azlan had to remain with our vehicle.  We took Razak for lunch and we asked him to suggest something for us.  Before lunch, however, I was able to experience my first visit to a uni-sex bathroom in the connecting hotel lobby.  It did not have urinals, only stalls, with Western-style toilets (not Asian, thankfully).  Razak ordered “chicken chop” for us and I chose the one without spice while Michael ordered the one with black pepper spicing.    The Chinese created this dish for the English during colonial times because the English community wanted something “exotic” rather than their bland cuisine.  Our plates cost 15.50 R, my peach tea, 10 R and Razak’s glass of “Barly” 5 R.  He explained that “barly” is made from boiled barley in water and is used for cleansing of the body.  The chicken was very tasty and we bought Azlan a can of Coke and a tuna fish sandwich for 5 R.  The total came to $18.00 in US dollars!!!

Razak said we couldn’t leave KL without my trying a durian dessert (that “stinky” fruit I wrote about earlier) and for 5.90 R, I enjoyed an incredibly creamy, heavenly tasting dessert.  I heard someone referring to the durian as both hell and heaven.  “It’s smells like hell, but tastes heavenly.”  In the shop where I enjoyed my dessert, there were lots of products made from the durian.  I think the proprietor of the shop and the waitstaff got a kick out of my reaction to the treat.  

Closing in at 2 p.m. and expected to be back to the ship by 3 p.m., we met up with Azlan who navigated the streets of KL and headed back to the port.  Razak told us about “The Letter” from the play written by Somerset Maugham, movie starring Bette Davis and made-for-tv movie starring Lee Remick.  Although all set in Singapore, Razak told us the actual incident occurred in KL.  I have no idea why it was originally set in Singapore. 

The final bit of information we received from Razak is that West African trees were brought into Malaysia to produce palm oil, and rubber trees from Brazil.  According to law, 50-60% of forests must be preserved.  Today, Malaysia is the largest producer of medical gloves and condoms. 

We arrived at the port at exactly 3 p.m.  Aside from the stifling heat and humidity, the day could not have been more perfect.  Again, we thank Carolyn, for arranging this fantastic tour for us, and we gratefully thanked Razak and Azlan for making the day the best so far on this fantastic world cruise. 

That evening, while we were dancing in the Pacific Lounge, we noticed groups of horizontal bright white and green lights.  We thought perhaps we were experiencing a Close Encounter of the Third Kind, or some type of signal about nearby coral reefs or other hazards.  It turned out to be fishing boats, according to our waiter, Owen, because anchovies and squid like the bright lights – like moths to a porchlight. 

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:   It’s clear that Leona has done a great job relating our wonderful visit to KL.  This experience has made watching one of my favorite movie, “Entrapment,” more vivid now that I’ve actually been to this amazing building and this wonderful city.  Experiencing this private tour has spoiled me for life.  It’s wonderful to be able to have the time to focus one-on-one with a guide sharing his knowledge of his country.  I found it humorous that the locals call a particular building the “sexiest building” while it houses the financial mechanism for which to save for a spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca. 

Razak is a hard-working gentleman who was going to return to the city for a night walking tour at 5 p.m. and was meeting a group of Europeans the following morning at the airport.  I look forward to another private tour to a destination that holds particular interest for us.  Lastly, I am looking forward on my return home for movie night featuring Ursula Andress as Queen of Cannibal Island while I sip my cup of civet coffee.