Visiting Kuala Lumpur was very much like our visit to Singapore, so amazingly first world and so cosmopolitan. What a wonderful city.
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| Statue of Lord Murugan |
This was another tour that the rally offered. We were collected early in the morning by a luxury bus which took us about an hour and a half along first class roads and stopped initially at a Hindu temple in a fabulous cave structure, the Batu Caves, set into limestone hills on the outskirts of the city. The temple is dedicated to Lord Murugan and guarded by a 42,7 metre golden statue of him.
In order to get up to it, we had to climb 272 steps into a gigantic chamber of high-roofed caves dotted with prayer areas plus another 70-odd steps once inside. Quite spectacular. And up the steps were many rather mischievous monkeys ready to grab any bags from unwary visitors.
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| Cynomolgus monkey at Batu Caves |
Our next stop was to a batik factory, but unlike the one I visited in Java, this was using a more free-hand style and there was more emphasis on trying to get us to buy the products than there was on the technique. However, our following stop was more my cup of tea. We visited the Royal Selangor pewter factory which I thoroughly enjoyed as I've always been a fan of this metal and all things pewter. Tin is readily available in this neck of the woods and many generations ago, a Chinese gentleman set up a small workshop to make traditional serving utensils out of pewter and it has now grown into a huge industry but still a family business to this day. I would have loved to buy so many of the goodies on display.
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| Model of KL |
A quick stop to the City Museum was next on the agenda which included a massive model of the city. It looked quite spectacular when the main lights were turned off and the entire city lit up.
We drove through the city past numerous interesting buildings then off to the famous twin towers. What an incredible structure; covered in stainless steel and glass and very very impressive. For a short while, the towers were the tallest structures in the world but has been superseded by a few others. From what we saw at the City Museum, it appears that KL will be trying to regain that record by building yet another ridiculously tall skyscraper in the upcoming future. What's with this compulsion to have the tallest, longest, widest, deepest, whatever in the world? Must be a man thing.
Anyway, it was a wonderful day and a great outing. So far, we're really impressed with Malaysia having never expected it to be so vibrant and diverse. We look forward to the remaining few weeks to experience more of this intriguing country.
PHOTO ALBUM:
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| One of the temples inside the caves |
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| One of the entrance gates |
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| Silk batiks |
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| Batik in progress |
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| Beautiful pewter cups |
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| And even some of my favourite characters |
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| Hammering pewter |
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| Gigantic pewter mug |
Scenes around the city:
Our next stop was to a batik factory, but unlike the one I visited in Java, this was using a more free-hand style and there was more emphasis on trying to get us to buy the products than there was on the technique. However, our following stop was more my cup of tea. We visited the Royal Selangor pewter factory which I thoroughly enjoyed as I've always been a fan of this metal and all things pewter. Tin is readily available in this neck of the woods and many generations ago, a Chinese gentleman set up a small workshop to make traditional serving utensils out of pewter and it has now grown into a huge industry but still a family business to this day. I would have loved to buy so many of the goodies on display. 
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