Once again, we had a wonderful time with the recent visit of Brooks and Ruby to SE Asia. We did all the tourist things in Singapore and Malaysia like we had with Aimee the month before, but we also had a business trip to Kuala Lumpur thrown in the middle of their visit. (Business for Jeff, sight-seeing for the rest of us!) Our host put us up at Trader's Hotel, directly across from the Petronas Twin Towers. We were on the 17th floor and you just opened up your blinds and were looking across the park at the BEAUTIFUL towers. Needless to say, we all took A LOT of pictures of these both day and night! The first night we went up to the Skybar, a restaurant and bar located on the 33rd floor of the hotel, and it offered an even BETTER view of the twin towers (yes, more pictures).We also had a tour guide for 2 days who took us to all the beautiful locations in and around Kuala Lumpur. The Batu Caves are located north of KL and are part of a beautiful Hindu temple site. There are 272 concrete steps that lead up to the limestone cave--yes, Brooks, Ruby and I walked them all! (However, our tour guide pointed to the gift shop she would be in when we came DOWN from the climb:) The inside of the main cavern, known as the Temple Cave, is a huge vault with stalactites pointing downwards 20 feet. Light streaks down from gaps in the ceiling high above and create a lovely setting. There were monkeys EVERYWHERE. These were not your normal, shy monkeys, but animals that are used to being around people and just come right up to you and snatch any food or drink from your hands. Ruby and I took forever to get back down the stairs--we kept stopping to take pictures of monkeys with babies, monkeys stealing food...just lots of monkeys!
Next we took a tour of the Royal Selangor pewter factory. Jeff and I have purchased several nice pieces of pewter from one of their retail outlets in Singapore, so it was a real treat to get the 30 minute tour of the factory. We were allowed to watch (and try ourselves) as they hand-made various styles of pewter cups. The tour ends in the huge gift shop of Royal Selangor, so of COURSE we had to each buy souvenirs of our experience:)
For dinner Thursday night we went to the Kuala Lumpur Tower, a revolving restaurant where you can eat a lot and see the entire downtown KL area at the same time. The structure is 1380 feet high and designed with Islamic architectural features. It was raining, but the view was still very nice. Our guide took us to Chinatown or "Petaling Street", where you could find knock-off everything, along with food, jewelry, herbs, etc. It was quite a feast for the eyes (and nose, I'm afraid). A great shopping area was Central Market, housing artwork, batik, foods and souvenir shops that were local in flavor.
One of the highlights for me was seeing the "Tugu Kebangsaan" or National Monument, located in the Lake Gardens as a tribute to those who died in the communist insurgency of the 1950's. The monument is modelled after the famous Iwo Jima Monument in Washington, DC, and is really a beautiful piece of art. We also saw the outside of the Masjid Negara (National Mosque), but it was closed to visitors. Many other places were visited--needless to say, we saw A LOT in 2 short days! Dinner Friday night was at the Ming, a very nice Chinese restaurant, where our host had reserved a private room for a 9-course meal. Very good food!
On the way back to Johor Bahru on Saturday, our host took us to Melaka, a historic area with a wonderful story. Melaka is considered the birthplace of Malaysia, the site of both the first settlement on the peninsula in the 1400's, and of the declaration of Independence in 1957. We were taken to a local diner for lunch, featuring fish, vegetables, seafood and a very interesting ice/bean dessert. There is a strong Portuguese influence in Melaka, along with Chinese and Japanese from the years of trading goods along the Straits of Melaka. After lunch we went to the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia, founded in 1645, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (or Temple of Bright Clouds). When you step through the massive hardwood gates you feel you are stepping back through several centuries! The carved roof, ridges and eaves are decorated with Chinese mythical figures--animals, birds and flowers of colored glass and porcelain. Our tour guide was a volunteer at the temple and really gave us a "guided" tour of this beautiful building.
After returning from Melaka one evening, we all left the next day at 5 a.m. for Tioman Island and some MUCH needed R&R on the beach for a few days. The snorkeling was great and we all slept well at night after spending so much time looking at sea turtles, fish and coral. Brooks is such a fish--he would dive down and chase the sea life with his underwater camera until he got the picture he wanted!
Brooks and Ruby were such troopers and just kept their suitcases packed most of the 2 weeks they were visiting. We kept them VERY busy, but had a wonderful time showing them Singapore and Malaysia. Can't wait for their next visit!
