Chilling in KL, On to Langkawi

Oct 14-17, Kuala Lumpur; KL to Langkawi

As we fled Singapore's prices early we have many days in Kuala Lumpur so the next few days are gonna be about relaxing, strolling around, taking Malaysia in.

We are moving Hotels today so relax in the first one until noon and then try to find a Taxi to take us across town. Not so easy but it's Asia, just be patient and you'll find a way. The Hotel Rae is close to Jalan Bintang, the major shopping area in KL. Our friends that have just been here recommended a cheap mall – some really complicated name - to go to so that's where we are headed.

Once again shops are 'Same, Same' as in most of Asia. No surprises here. Shoes are till maximum size 40 and small cut. No shopping for me anyways. What I do discover are Kaya Balls. Kaya is a Malaysian Coconut Jelly and is put between dough and baked right there. Uuuuh and so delicious. And with 10 Balls for 2-3 R (less than 1 €) really cheap too. Reminds me of the tiny pancakes the lady in NY's Chinatown made for 1 $.

Strolling through one mall after the other we run into a Cure Breast Cancer Flash Mobs. A bunch of Indonesian Ladies are grooving in their pink T-Shirts in front of one of the Malls. To the side the shoot gigantic Pink soapy ribbons in the air to be seen far and wide.

The Mall itself is once again more luxurious with expensive labels. They do have a nice food court though a bookshop where I stock up for onward travel and a movie theatre next door where we'll spend the evening watching Mila Kounis and Justin Timberlake going at it. Never thought a J.T. Movie could actually be enjoyable but it was.

Next day is spent a bit sightseeing again. I've read that there is a bus going from Chinatown directly to the Batu Caves outside of Kuala Lumpur, which are a famous Hindu pilgrimage site and the biggest Hindu statue in the world (?). After walking 20 minutes to Chinatown and searching for the bus stop for another 20 minutes and asking numerous people each one sending us in a different direction we decide to just take the easy way and get a cab. Negotiating brings the price to 20 R which would have been similar to the metered fare.

At Batu Caves you get through a gigantic main gate, past a huge Hindu goddess and up 273 steps until you are in the caves. Beware of the monkey though! They are cheeky, plentiful and dart through the air with an incredible speed. That's the scary part walking up. Trying to avoid the monkey and the idiots feeding them. The caves itself are a spectacular sight too. Big limestone caves with Hindu signage and temples and shrines everywhere.

There is another Cave, called the Dark Cave which you can walk through on a guided tour. But prices are steep and you would have to wait until they have enough people to conduct the tour.

Back to the city we are determined to take a bus this time. People point us to the 'bus stop' which is a spot next to the road with no signage and nothing. Surprisingly though the bus does show up and stop there as well. The trip back takes longer but is way cheaper and more interesting watching all different people get on and get off. We alight near Central Market again and I get some souvenirs there and at Pedaling Street. This looks very different during the day. Many shops haven't even set up yet and you can watch them carrying and rolling their goods in the set up for the much bigger night market there.

I visit another Hindu Temple nearby (Same, Same) and we meet in the Hotel to get pretty for the concert tonight at the Twin Towers.

Early start to have enough time to take pictures of the Twin Towers at night time. Since there is no time for a proper dinner we sit down for street food in our dresses. Quite a sight to behold. The Twin Towers look amazing it's hard to focus on anything else. The concert hall is very much like the ones you see in New York or anywhere else. The music is great too and my Finnish friends just love it since they know the songs. Especially Finlandia moves them. I enjoyed the Sibelius concert too but was surprised that it took only an hour and a half. I am used to classical concerts going on for much longer. This gives us time to go for cocktails in an Irish Pub near our Hotel where I get the best Apple Mojito I've had so far. Hands down!

The next days are mainly spent with sleeping, shopping and eating. For some sightseeing we are trying to find Lake Titiwangsa which has a recreational area. Despite our best efforts in finding it, all people send us in the wrong direction and we end up near a mosquito laden river, it starts raining and the mood is down since we've been walking around not finding what we're looking for. I need an Apple Mojito to relax.

Last day in Kuala Lumpur is spent getting my nails done and eating. And then a loooong interesting Taxi drive to the airport. The driver himself is South African Malaysian from Indian decent. He tells us all stories of where his whole family is around the world and how horrible he thinks India is. It's dirty and disgusting and Indians are just dirty people. Interesting viewpoint. The drive to the airport is about 90km. Luckily there's not too much traffic.

Laura, who is meeting us for the last week of vacation in Langkawi and Penang, is delayed. Her flight had to detour from KL to Penang because of rain and is now waiting to fly KL so she can catch the onward flight to Langkawi with us. Luckily she makes it and the four of us take off to Paradise island Langkawi.

Except... our Hotel is not paradise-like at all. We are greeted by cockroaches on the bed, with plenty of other bugs around which makes for a sleepless night for us. First order for tomorrow. Check out of Langkawi Green Village Resort and find another place to stay.

Pics to follow....