Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Why I Will Never Go Back.

6:43 AM Jmo 2 Comments

     I walked a bit further up through the atrium and looked on as a group drummed and prayed at the base of the shrine. The drumming became more intense and I think they were starting a prayer mass or ritual. Past the main shrine was another small flight of stairs that led to another atrium of the cave. This room of the cave shot upwards and opened up the sky. Vines and shards of light cascaded down the rock faces and little monkeys, almost camouflaged against the color of the rocks, scurried about to collect more fruit. The air was muggy, yet cool, as it was pulled up through to the sky. This area was truly breathtaking. Magical, maybe. I felt a dose of peace here, purely based on aesthetics. (I chose not to include a photo of the cave's interior because I don't want to ruin the surprise!)

     We returned from the caves and booked an impromptu fireflies tour far on the outskirts of KL for later on that evening. I wasn't too keen on booking this tour. It was expensive (300MYR, appx. $80USD!) and the content didn't really interest me much, but my travel partner was all in. It was the first leg of her backpacking trip and she was also feeling down about the state of Kuala Lumpur. We both needed a defibrillator jolt to get this trip back on track. I went along with it though on the thought that, yes, it would be nice to get out of the city and see the countryside. But, for $80... Gah! No, No, No! If I only I had known what my $80 was getting me..
     We were picked up in a van and were introduced to the two young, barely 18 year old, German guys joining us on the tour. The drive out of the city was over an hour so we had plenty of time to chat. They had already been in KL for five days and were decidedly fresh out of things to do, hence the tour.
     Our first stop, approximately and hour and a half outside of the city, was Kuala Selangor. The drive out was relaxing and the scenery quickly changed from concrete to palm leaves. Reaching Kuala Selangor, our van climbed up a small mountain and parked to give us a view of the surrounding countryside and some exploration time. We hopped out of the van and walked along a ridge lined with cannons from the abandoned Fort Altingsburg. Further up the path the rolling hills gave way to open power lines that were covered in monkeys. Our guide warned us that most were friendly, but some were "naughty" and to stay away from the brown ones. The grey ones could be fed by hand and were quite used to being so. You could purchase a bag of fruit from a local vendor and have at it. There were a few groups and families already taking part in the feeding frenzy and it was great to watch them jump when an overzealous monkey decided he didn't want to wait for his food and would rather climb up your arm and take it directly from the source. haha!
     

Baby Silver Leaf monkey. In infancy, Silver Leafs are bright orange compared to the dark grey of the adults. So cute~!

     We climbed back into the van and continued on to our dinner destination as pre-packaged in the tour. We ate at a Chinese restaurant along the sleepy Kampung Kuantan river and watched the sunset. The food was unmemorable and the drink prices were through the roof but the setting and conversation made up for it. Subtle pinks and yellows painted the tops of glasslike ripples as they moved down the stream. It was silent and beautiful and all we could do was sit and wait for the sun to disappear.
     Once the sun was completely gone from view, we boarded a small longboat with another group of local tourists and took to the river. We cruised in darkness for a few minutes then paused along the mangrove line to watch a large group of sleeping cockatoos. We putzed along further and came across the mission of this trip. A blinking curtain of tiny pinholes poked in the black curtain of darkness. Fireflies! They twinkled, they fluttered, they pulsed rhythmically. It was enchanting to see. But. This awe-inspiring moment was quickly ruined by camera flashes. Yes. People thought you could photograph light with... more light. Not the case and you just end up ruining it for the rest of us, not to mention disturbing the fireflies who then become shy. C'mon people!
     Nature is beautiful and it happens to be %90 of why I venture off and travel. But there are far better ways to experience it than this. This trip was definitely not worth the $80USD. I felt duped and down and slightly broke. But, that happens sometimes. You don't know until you try it!
   (In comparison, I only spent $30 for a guide to the Jinshanling portion of The Great Wall of China, a bucket list destination. This $30 included breakfast, lunch, a guide, and round trip transportation three hours outside of Beijing. Yah.)

     The next day I had my heart set on going to Little India, a sub-city within Kuala Lumpur composed of a high population of ethnic-Indians. I was destined to find yummy paneer, a samosa or two, and was eager to bask in the beautiful colors of Indian dress. Little India, also know as Brickfields, was a short tram ride and walk away on the other side of town.
     A lot less crowded than I'd imagined, Little India's empty streets were offset with shop after shop of costume jewelry and embellished fabrics. We sat down at the first restaurant that looked good and did away with lady like facades and ordered anything and everything we wanted off the menu. I believe we ordered three curries, two types of bread, and two different appetizers. Split between the two of us, there were few survivors and more than full bellies as a result. Amazing.
     We walked about Little India for the better part of the afternoon to take in its atmosphere before settling back in and preparing for our flight the next day. I was relieved to be leaving Kuala Lumpur and to be heading to Borneo. Borneo was a childhood dream destination of mine. And, if I had to complain to my spoiled self about having to stay a few days in Kuala Lumpur in order to get there... then so be it. I let this city get the worst of me.

Bangles! So many bangles in Little India!

    

     After Sabah, Borneo (Borneo post out next Thursday!) I returned to Kuala Lumpur and had two days to myself to explore the city once more. To, give it a second try. I did some touristy mumbo-jumbo like seeing the Petronas Towers and what not but I still wasn't buying into it.
    Overall, I think Kuala Lumpur is trying really really hard to be a SE Asia backpacker destination. It's trying hard, but not quite hard enough. The atmosphere is a bit unwelcoming, prices are high, and what you do get for your money here is a bit lackluster. It's not that anything incredibly horrible happened. I am glad that I went and experienced it. It was unlike any place that I'd been before and have no doubt grown because of it.  But. It just wasn't for me.
    One last word of advice: If you do find yourself in KL, use it as a jumping-off point. I don't recommend spending more than a few days here:  Five at the max.

     I apologize if this post was seemingly routine, bland, and overall bad.  But this leg of my trip was difficult to write about. I didn't have the best time so getting around to writing about it was akin to going to the dentist. It has to be done but actually getting up and going is the main battle. I can attribute this to three factors:
                     1) Not feeling safe.
                     2) A big city with little to do.
                     3) Costing the big bucks.

Required Kuala Lumpur Tourist Photo: The Petronas Towers