Well it’s certainly been a fun packed weekend. On Saturday we finally got a chance to do a tour of Kuala Lumpur. We all met at 9am, which was quite tiring but Alice and Caitlin came prepared with water and some breakfast for us which was really nice. We were taken to our tour bus and greeted by a friendly man called Tan. We first visited a mosque which was really pretty especially with all the water fountains and it being really sunny. We then went to see Independence Square which was also really nice to see, especially seeing all the flags lining the pavement.
We then went onto the Batu Caves, which was really interesting. I loved seeing all the monkeys roam free up the stairs. The caves are made of limestone and there is over 250 steps up to the top. I must admit I was very tired once I reached the top! The statue was also very beautiful, it was over 42 metres tall, making it the world’s tallest statute of Murugan, a Hindu deity it also cost around 24 million rupees to complete.
The monkeys were quite manic! I almost fell down the stairs a few times – they run around quite a bit and they were stealing coconuts off everyone which was quite funny. There was also some monkeys with babies which was really sweet especially seeing them cling onto their mums.
For lunch we went to a Thai restaurant on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur- it was clearly traditional Malaysian food. They served us sweet and sour fish, fried chicken, sweet chilli fishcakes and lots of rice! After lunch we went to visit a fabric shop which used wax and paint to create lovely spreads of material. When we arrived a gentleman was painting a 4m piece of fabric in lovely shades of purple. Once they have finished a piece the wax is removed using a special machine and the fabric can be made into several scarfs or even a top. There were a lot of lovely pictures on the wall- and if I hadn’t have struggled to get one home, I definitely would have brought one. Once we had finished here we went to the Royal Selangor base factory where they make pewter which is used to make a variety of products. The museum was also home to the World’s largest pewter tankard which has been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records and stands at 1.987 metres tall.
Once we had finished here we went to another museum called ‘Muzium Negara’ which serves as a great part of Malaysia’s rich cultural and historical heritage. The museum had 4 rooms which all worked through the phases of Malaysia’s development. It was especially interesting to learn about the split from Britain in the 1960’s and learn about the challenges they faced as part of the independence. For example at the time, it seemed like it had great economic advantages- it was a world leader in rubber, tin and palm oil. However more and more competition decreased the need for Malaysia, which meant wages decreased and this perpetuated rural Malay poverty. I also found it interesting to learn about the clothes of Malaysia- all the stunning dresses.
Finally we went to the Menara Tower, we didn’t actually go up the tower, but we did have the option at an extra price. We did have chance to look around all the lovely cultural shops within the tower, and it was nice to see so many happy locals in their jobs. I was also very intrigued by the revolving restaurant there which has a panoramic view of the city- I can’t wait to go back and try this! It made me laugh a little notice on the wall- it described races that are held annually where participants have to race up the stairs to the top!
The tour was a great opportunity to see Malaysia, especially when being shown by one of the locals. It was a very packed tiring day but it was good fun at the same time. For dinner we went to a Reggae Bar close to China Town and it was nice to sit down and have a couple of drinks. I really don’t want to leave!