continuation from Part II
We decided to head upwards and see the view of KL from the Twin Towers - you can get one of t
he limited tickets up t
o the Sky Bridge - literally a bridge connecting the two towers, 170m up. It gives an amazing view across the city, but it felt especially surreal once our group had been ushered into the lift lobby and we had the bridge almost to ourselves - and all of a sudden we felt every bit of 170m up - it was definitely time to get in the lift and head down! The Petronas Towers complex is also home to a huge shopping centre, where it'd be very easy to come away with various expensive watches, silk scarves and clothes - we however settled on some bubble tea which was about as far as our budget stretched! Danielle was able to take advantage of the shopping and buy a dress to wear to her brother's wedding in a month's time.
We decided to head upwards and see the view of KL from the Twin Towers - you can get one of t
he limited tickets up t
o the Sky Bridge - literally a bridge connecting the two towers, 170m up. It gives an amazing view across the city, but it felt especially surreal once our group had been ushered into the lift lobby and we had the bridge almost to ourselves - and all of a sudden we felt every bit of 170m up - it was definitely time to get in the lift and head down! The Petronas Towers complex is also home to a huge shopping centre, where it'd be very easy to come away with various expensive watches, silk scarves and clothes - we however settled on some bubble tea which was about as far as our budget stretched! Danielle was able to take advantage of the shopping and buy a dress to wear to her brother's wedding in a month's time.Whilst in KL, we caught a local bus to the Batu Caves, home to the biggest place of w
orship for Hindus in Malaysia. Every year the Thaipusam festival is held here, where upto a million devotees congregate to worship - including some who serve penance by piercing their skin with large hooks to either hang fruit or even pull cords attached to frames, including some who skewer their cheeks with large rods. The festival happens every January and it seemed hard to imagine how claustrophobic it must feel with so many people climbing the 272 steps to the cave. The area is also home to lots of monkeys who make a grab for any food that they think you have and once you've reached the top, you're greeted by a beautiful cave system with various Hindu paintings and effigies hidden in the rocks.
orship for Hindus in Malaysia. Every year the Thaipusam festival is held here, where upto a million devotees congregate to worship - including some who serve penance by piercing their skin with large hooks to either hang fruit or even pull cords attached to frames, including some who skewer their cheeks with large rods. The festival happens every January and it seemed hard to imagine how claustrophobic it must feel with so many people climbing the 272 steps to the cave. The area is also home to lots of monkeys who make a grab for any food that they think you have and once you've reached the top, you're greeted by a beautiful cave system with various Hindu paintings and effigies hidden in the rocks.On heading back to KL, we made our way over to see the National Mosque, although we completely mistimed it and realised it was Friday and of course, closed for prayers. Ah well, it gave us an opportunity to wander around the bustling market nearby. Various hawkers yelled out to the throng, anxious to sell watches, food and even miracle cures for disfigurement and erectile problems. Backed up by pictures of disfigured faces, powder was sold that could be taken as a cure for all kinds of ailments, accompanied by pictures showing the resultant "transformation". One stall sold VCDs and DVDs showing grainy pictures of military action - Chechen rebels and fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Saddam Hussein's beheading.
From the mosque we wandered over to Merdaka (Independence) Square, a nice combination of British and Muslim architecture - domes and minarets overlooked a cricket square in the city entre. From there we made our way back to take the obligatory night-time shot of the Petronas Towers from every imaginable angle, finishing up by watching the latest Rocky film!KL turned out to be one of my favourite cities so far - I think it was because it was our first city for a while (Bangkok was too smelly, hot and humid) and it just felt good to have a bit of a change - to see western names on shops and treat ourselves, maybe it became more of a holiday destination for us - and it felt good for that. The people in KL also seemed to stick in our minds and we met a fair few people on the streets who would stop for a chat. One such character was a Hindu who we nicknamed Cosmic Ray. Whilst we were waiting to cross the street, he came up to tell us which way Chinatown was. Although this was very friendly, we were actually on our way to Little India and sensing he had an audience (the road was very busy and we couldn't get away), he seized his opportunity and told us how important it was to carry a little Buddha with you at all times. Luckily for us, he happened to have a collection of just such Buddhas with him as he sold them down the road - and we'd be doing him a huge favour if we brought one from him. In return, he'd be selling us something that, via cosmic rays that come from the sky, we'd have such good luck that we'd want to come all the way back to Malaysia to thank him. Indeed, some American tourists had done just that, when after rubbing the Buddha's belly, they'd won the lottery and come to tell him. After parting with what turned out to be at least double the cost of a normal little Buddha and finding out how to get somewhere we didn't want to go, we headed off on our merry way, rubbing the belly and waiting for the cosmic rays to hit us.
to be continued in Part IV (final)
Texts and photos in this posting are copyright of Andy Horsman - Andrew Horsman. Click this link for more adventures of Andy Horsman.
No comments:
Post a Comment