Passport Envy: Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, more commonly referenced just as KL, is an interesting city. After hearing mixed reviews about the city we were all pretty skeptical. Our side adventure started out interestingly enough and we were shocked when arriving at 5 am to a dead city. Once the sun started to come up and the city came to life we were excited for the day.

We booked a tour with Reggae Mansion that would take us to the seven main site (minus the towers) throughout the day. Our driver was named Ong and he was a cheeky fellow. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was so knowledgeable in everywhere we went.

1. The National Mosque

This was the biggest shock to me! Since I was not planning on coming to Malaysia I had very little knowledge of the country, besides Bali, and its history or religion. I was shocked to learn that nearly 60 percent of the city is Muslim.

We were dressed in appropriate clothing and allowed to tour the beautiful mosque. This by no means can even compare to other mosques that I have visited such as the Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi or the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul but it was still very nice. It was recently constructed and has a very modern twist to the architecture.

It is always fun to dress up!

In the back is a grand room that houses the bodies of past leader.

2. Kuala Lumpur City Gallery

This may have been one of the best stops because it was full of information. Kuala Lumpur sounds like a beautiful name but we found out that it actually means muddy estuary. The city was built on the discover and mining of tin. They have a fabulous city model show that shows the past, present, and future of the city.

3. The National Palace

You can not go in any further than the gates but it is a pretty impressive house. I mean who would not want to live there? It was only recently constructed in 2011.

The entrance gate.

The guards stand at attention in four places blocking the gate. If you are lucky you can even get a little smile out of them!

4. The National Monument

This monument seemed so out of place to me. It looked like something that I would find in Washington D.C. Like many other things in the city it was confusing to think and remember that I was halfway across the world, or that it was in the same city. It was constructed to remember all those who fought in the World Wars.

5. Batu Caves

We stopped for an amazing lunch at a little Indian restaurant at the base of the caves. I was thrilled to have some wonderful Chapati which I have not had since Nepal!!! They brought out big tin jars of curry and you could choose whichever you would like to put on your food. The best part, the entire meal was under 3 dollars! During lunch we were told about the caves and warned about the monkeys on the walk up the stair. They will steal your food, they will grab your stuff, they will scratch you if you resist. GREAT!

After lunch I bought a bag our sour skittles. Sour Skittles! I am half way across the world and I am eating SOUR SKITTLES!!!!!! Although I was far from the stairs and the monkeys would you believe that I look up from my glorious bag of skittles and here comes a monkey running straight for me! AHHHHH. Without evening thinking I chuck the bag of skittles right at the monkeys face. He rips through the bag and sat there in front of me eating MY skittles. Turns out even monkeys like them!

The hike up the stairs is interesting as you pass monkey upon money. When you turn around you are greeted with this view.

Once you arrive at the top you enter the Batu Caves and Hindu prayer sights. I am going to hold back my full rant but I will say this, it was very sad. So many beautiful and mysterious caves have been discovered around southeast Asia and they are being destroyed. I understand tourism brings crowds and I am a tourist myself but that does not mean we have to destroy these beautiful wonders. Upon entering the cave you are not hit with the awe of the cave but rather the giant pole lights, carts selling ice cream, and people trying to sell souvenirs. The cave was spectacular but we all had a hard time getting past how it was being destroyed.

6. Theon Hou Temple