Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

National Palace in KL

Old style buildings mixed with the new

Petronis Twin Towers

Looking down from the 88th floor of the Petronas Towers

Looking up at the Skybridge

Eating on the street

272 stairs leading up to the Batu Caves

Lots of monkeys

Spectacular caves

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

April 5 to 8, 2016

Another holiday within the holidays! We didn't have a chance to visit KL as we passed it going through Malaysia. It seemed a shame to be so close and not visit. On Tues we took the early ferry again to Banda Aceh and got a flight for $105 each return with Air Asia. (Not counting taxes etc) The boutique hotel was right next to all the shopping, eating, nightlife etc. For $55 a night, it had all we wanted as well as breakfast. Mind you, the closest we got to the night life was a 5 am cab to the airport. The streets, cafes, message parlours still had quite a few people from the night before.

The city is a real mixture of the old and the new, as were Bangkok and Singapore. We didn't find it as organized as Singapore so it was a bit harder to get around. It had an elevated train from the airport that took us to a central city stop. From there, there was an extensive train and bus system.  As we only had 2 days, we spent Wed traveling on the "hop on hop off" bus and listening to the commentary, a relaxing way to get your bearings. As most cities, there is a China town and little India and a central market. Although a democracy, there is a huge palace with extensive grounds for the monarchy. The local government offices like to have lavish spots, also.

We took a stop at the Petronas Twin Towers, which, when they were finished in 1997, were the world's tallest office buildings. They are linked at the 42nd floor by a skybridge. We took the tour to the 86th floor to enjoy the view of the entire city. They have a labelled diorama to help you identify spots. The towers were designed according to Muslim geometric principles and are quite beautiful-mostly glass, and well lit and sparkling at night.

On Thurs we took a commuter train to the hills outside the city. It was a highlight of the visit to see the Batu Caves. There are several huge limestone caves that have become places of worship for Hindus. The main one has 272 steps to climb to reach the entrance. Once a year pilgrims come to climb, and then pour milk on one of the goddesses at the top. We were happy it wasn't that crowded. We already were sharing the space with tourists, birds, chickens and monkeys. The scenery did put you in a worshipful mood. Another cave was filled with statues depicting stories from Hindu epics. A third cave was being protected for science research. It was kept dark for the animals who make it home. The first section can be toured with a guide, but the rest is only for the researchers.

We had to fit in some shopping but didn't buy much. There was a 7 story electronics mall, Low Yat. Rob bought some more chargers, and a GoPro knock off, and a back up smartphone. Two things need repairing on the current one-but repair estimate was more than the phone cost.

The trip cost more than anticipated, however. We didn't pay the $30 for a checked bag online as we did carryon going. When we decided to check it on the way back, we found out that the price is $100 if done at the airport. Also found out that the 90 day visa that we took so much time and money to get in Penang is a one time use visa. Therefore, it expired when we left the country. As we had gone to Singapore from Batam in Indonesia in Nov we thought it wouldn't be a problem. But they have different rules there! We landed up paying an extra $100 to get a 30 day tourist visa. The trouble is we can't leave until Bob arrives in 31 days. They assured us we could pay for an extension in Padang but we aren't convinced Padang will have the same rules.

Today, Sat, we checked out of the Sabang harbour which involved two hours visiting the harbourmaster and quarantine. We had to pay for a health booklet-the first place to require it on the  Indonesian stops. Also the harbour masters' fee to pay which has been different for each boat. We only moved a few miles to a mooring ball in the tourist/diving area of the island. We weren't planning on staying but may do one more day as it looks really nice.