Day 4 : Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday 11th June 2024
Partly cloudy / hazy / showers, 31°
Up 6:30, headed down for breakfast at 7:30am ( nothing flash, toast, cereals, sausages, no bacon ). Back up to the room at 8, packed some bags and out at 8:30am.
We were heading to Batu Caves first today, so we walked to Pasar Seni station, passing by some street art on the way. We bought a 3 day train pass for the metro system ( MYR40/$13 each ) then up to the platform ( rush hour again ) and squeezed onto a train heading 1 stop south to KL Sentral, then switched to the KTM Kommuter Line for Batu Caves ( we didn’t realise at the time that the KTM was not covered by our unlimited travel passes, so when we used this line it deducted the stored credit in the card, which it didn;t do when we used the metro system ). The train left at 9am and arrived at Baru Caves at 9:35am.
We left the station and walked the short distance to the temples / staging area for the walk up the steps. We passed by many monkeys and the tourists who feel the need to feed / interact with them.
Batu Caves is a series of large caves in the limestone hill which have Hindu Temples in them. They are also home to monkeys and bats. Batu means rock, not bats! There are various temples and gift shops etc at the base of the mountain, and a large gold statue ( largest in the world at 42m tall ) of Murugan, a Hindu diety.
We took some photos then climbed the 272 steps up to the cave entry at 9:48am and arrived at the top at 9:55.
After catching our breath / cooling down a bit, we walked down into the massive 1st cavern with a temple, and then through ( and up more steps ) to the upper cavern with another temple and an opening to the sky. There were monkeys in the top cavern and we watched them chase a young girl to try to get the plastic bag that she had in her hand ( they have learnt that plastic bags = food ).
We looked around then back down at 10:20am. The whole complex is very impressive.
Went to a café for a drink then to the souvenir shop; we bought a Murugan statue ( MYR18/$6) ( not 42m tall ) then back to the train at 11am. This is when we realised that the train we caught out was not part of our unlimited travel pass as we couldn’t get through the gates. We went to the ticket office and he said that we needed a separate ticket. So we bought a ticket to Kampang Batu station.
We then had to wait for he next train which wasn’t until 12 ( 1 hour wait, but thankfully we could sit on the airconditioned train ). Took the train to Kampang Batu and then to the Kampang Batu MRT station next door ( one annoying thing about the metro system in KL is that there are more than one operator, so things don’t always connect easily and often involve walking between stations ). We tried to go through the gate in the MRT and it rejected us ( no credit on the cards), so we talked to the lady at the ticket counter and she said that because we used the KTM train to Batu Caves we had no credit left, so we added another MYR10/$3 each onto our cards, and they worked again.
Took the MRT to Persiaran KLCC station (Persiaran is Malay for Promenade, but also for travel ( Persiaran Bas is a Tour Bus ), and KLCC is Kuala Lumpur City Centre ), then out onto the street and walked around to the entry to the KLCC Park. Walked through the park ( very nice, clean and green ) to the lake and then into the Suria KLCC Mall, under the Petronas Towers, at 1pm. We found a food court ( every shopping mall has a food court, and normally the food is good and cheap ) and grabbed some lunch ( Ban Mi and coffee, MYR25/$8 ).
Walked around the shops a bit ( mix of hi end and ‘normal’ shops, over 5-6 levels ), then walked through to the adjoining Petronas Towers ticket counter and bought 2 tickets for tomorrow mornings tour up the building ( all sold out for today ) for MYR196/$60 for 2. We left the building, took some photos of the towers then along the street to the next mall to Decathlon ( bought a small backpack ( MYR25/$8 ), then across the road to another mall. Liz went to H&M ( the start of an ongoing H&M saga that continued through the rest of the trip ) and bought dress MYR75/$25 and hairclip MYR25/$8.
Back to MRT in the basement of the mall, and back to Masjid Jamek station. We then walked down the river past Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek mosque, back through the Central Markets next to our hotel, stopped at 7Eleven then back to hotel at 3:30pm.
We started to look options for trains online to Butterworth / Penang for the next leg of the trip only find no seats on were available on Thursday ( the day we were planning to leave KL ) or any day until next Tuesday ( this weekend is Fathers Day but otherwise nothing special AFAIK, so we are not sure why there are limited train tickets )! But there were plenty of seats for tomorrow ( Wednesday ). So with a quick pivot we booked tickets to Butterworth on 1:30pm train tomorrow ( MYR160/$55 for 2 ), booked a hotel in George Town for 3 nights ( Citadines Connect, MYR950/$317 for 3 nights, including breakfast ). We have already paid for 3 nights in KL, so we will forfeit the last night.
Up to the pool at 5:15pm ( raining a bit ) then back down and relaxed.
Out at 6:45, tea at Pak Jen ( MYR51/$15 for 2 dishes and soft drinks ( no beer so far in Malaysia )) then walked to River of Life for some photos. The River of Life project was a clean up of the Klang River and a light/steam display which runs each night. We waited until 8:15pm, and other than some coloured lights nothing happened so we headed back to the hotel.
