Batu Caves...BONUS!!!!!

MONKEY UPDATE:  A picture is worth a thousand words...so here are several...

This one was taken on my cell phone on the steps heading up to the caves.

The rest of the pictures are camera pics.  I couldn't keep up with both the phone and the camera.  These two were taken on our way up to the entrance stairs.

This little one was in the middle of the stairs on the way up.  The stairs are split into three lanes all the way up.  Notice how this one has been given a wide berth?  There is a reason for that...

So, as you can imagine there are plenty of opportunities to take breaks while climbing the stairs to watch all of the monkeys.  This guy is significant for a reason.  While we were stopped at one point watching the entertainment around us this one let us know he was there, too.  We were standing on the stairs just under this guy with our backs to him completely unaware that he was even there, until...for no apparent reason he just reached out and hit Patric on the head and started yelling at him.  What makes this so funny is that he didn't even run after doing it...he just sat right where he is and looked down on us like nothing had happened.  Needless to say, we moved on.  =)

Doesn't this one look like he is posing?

They really like their coconuts.  Actually, they really like any kind of food type substance that they can find.  We saw many an argument between monkeys over such items!  We even saw them chase a group of guys that sounded like they were from England over a water bottle...crazy!

Another one that looked like she was posing.

A mother and her baby on our way out.

So I have finally seen monkeys!!!  These were pretty interesting to watch but I've been told that there is a place not too far out of town that has better monkeys.  They will sit and hang out with you while you feed them.  I'm looking forward to going and seeing these monkeys!  But for now, the Batu Cave monkeys will do just fine!

See you next post!!

Batu Caves

As if hanging out with a new friend and going on a jungle walk weren't enough, the weekend held its own adventure!  Since that is the only time that Patric has to explore we sometimes get to do really cool stuff.  That weekend was no exception!

One of the most talked about attractions in the KL area are the Batu Caves.  We had heard that there was a Buddhist temple deep inside the caves.  Depending on who you talk to the caves are really great or they are not worth the time.  We decided to make up our own minds and seek out the temple within.

Entry into the caves was free and parking was only RM 2 (less than one USD).  Already I was enjoying this trip!  We parked and then started walking towards the entrance...

On our way in we met the nicest guys from New Zealand.  They took our picture in front of a temple that was on the outside of the caves.  It was a very bright and sunny day!

I don't know the story of this building.  It was across the pond on our walk in and I thought it was a cool looking set up...so I took the picture and now I'm sharing with you!

Then we got to the entrance...all 272 steps of it!

This is about half way up...

...and this is the top.  Overall the climb wasn't too bad.  It was sure hot though!

Here we are about to enter the caves.  It's amazing how many nice people you can meet when you just offer to take a group picture for them!  =)

These are shots of the last cave - there are two.  The first one is very plain.  It is really just a walkway into the second one which I found to be much prettier.  I didn't take pictures of the temple in here because there was some kind of ceremony with people praying so I didn't want to be rude.  The temple inside the cave is not nearly as nice as the one outside walking up to the caves.  It was very small and plain looking.  What made it cool was that it was inside the cave.

There are actually two temples in the caves.  This is a picture of the one in the walk-through cave.  I took this from the top of the stairs that go from that cave to the inner cave.

I took these from the top of the stairs as we were leaving.

On our way out Patric wanted to go through an area that housed snakes.  If you know anything about me you know that I have the most horrific fear of snakes so I just waited next to the pond for him to come out.  The first picture is of some ducks and the really huge coi that were in the pond.  The second picture is of a turtle on a lily pad.  Look really closely...you will just be able to make out his head.

So that was our adventure at the Batu Caves...most of it...

See you next post!!

Monkey update:    =)

Chai Replacement Therapy

I have two entries for this installment and they are both truly replacements.  I am noticing more and more that tea, in general, is a favorite here.  I'm sure this is remnants of the English occupation.  Since I don't drink coffee, despite my many efforts, I have been curious about tea in the past.  I'm thinking that now would be a good time for me to expand my horizons.

There is a restaurant in the Curve called Winter Warmers.  I'm not sure why they are called that unless it is a franchise from a chain that started somewhere that actually has a winter.  Anyway, as we walked by this restaurant one day I looked through the menu they have on display outside.  A drink caught my eye and I put it on my list of things to try.  I tried it this past weekend.  It is a Caramel Tea Latte.

I ordered the butter and chocolate cookies separately.  The drink wasn't too bad...didn't have enough caramel flavor for me.  It also still had the tea bag in the cup.  That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it.  This restaurant has a bunch of tea lattes but no chai...

Then yesterday (Monday) I found myself needing to kill time while I was in KLCC so I found a Coffee Bean with every intention of getting a chai.  To my utter dismay they were out of chai!  But, this gave me an opportunity to try something different...

This is an English Breakfast Tea Latte.  Very good!  I've been curious about the English Breakfast tea anyway so I figured a good way to try it the first time was in the form of a latte.  Now I think I might have to try it just as a hot tea.  It is in the black tea family just like chai but it is a little stronger.

And as a side note, I tried the green tea latte from Starbucks (I was with someone else or I would never had gone there) and I didn't like it at all.  I'm getting to a place where I like green tea hot but there was something about the latte that I just did not like!

So, there you have it - true replacements for my beloved chai latte.  Sometimes it may be easier to get these than the chai and now I know they are good, or at least decent, replacements.

See you next post!!

Jungle Walk

I woke up last Thursday very excited about the day ahead.  The SSA was hosting the jungle walk.  I knew there would be a lot of people I hadn't met before since that is how it usually goes with SSA functions.  I also knew there would be a few people that I had met before.

My taxi picked me up and took me to the Coffee Bean in Mont Kiara.  This is where I was going to meet the group of women I was riding with.  I had met the driver and one of the other women at the mosque tour the week before.  There were a total of five us riding in Laurie's vehicle.  Our destination was the zoo (this is now on my bucket list) so we could meet up with the rest of the people doing the walk.  The journey was one of the highlights of the day!  It's always a good thing when you can get in a car full of women you don't know and laugh most of the way to the destination.  That is a sign of a good life!

We made it to the zoo and in spite of a few wrong turns and recalculations of the GPS, we were only 15 minutes late and we weren't the last ones to show up!  So far the day is going spectacularly!  When our entire group showed up we caravaned to the starting point of the walk.  First thing, as soon as we started the walk, there was a really big hill to climb.  Hmmm...

Here are some pictures that I took while I was on the walk...

This is one of our guides.  He is showing us a plant that can be eaten.  This is actually the root of a yam plant but it needs to be cooked before it can be eaten.

This is most of our group of women (there were 13 total) along with our two guides.

Way back in the day rubber was the major export of Malaysia.  That's changed now but there are still rubber trees every where - this is one.  One of our guides cut into it so we could see the rubber that comes out of it...that's the white stuff dripping down the trunk.

Just a pretty jungle shot.

This is one of our guides cutting away growth so we can follow the path and the back up caused while waiting for him to finish.

This tree is over 100 years old - as are most of the trees in this jungle.  This one will most likely fall over in the next few years because of the insect activity that has caused a large hole near the base.

This is another 100+ year old tree.  Just off to the side of this tree it looks like there is a much skinnier trunk right next to it.  That is actually a root that grew out off the tree and down to the ground.

Here is another view of the root going up the tree.  It even wraps around the tree a far way up.  This root is helping to hold the tree up - it's kind of like a cane for the tree.

How pretty are these?

After the walk we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant that the guides knew well.  I did not eat - only drank water just because I was so overheated!

Overall the jungle walk was a good experience and I'm really glad I went.  I doubt seriously I will do it again.  We walked a little over six kilometers (about four miles) and as the day went on it got really hot.  There were also A LOT of leeches.  I had never even seen one in person - now I can say that I have been bitten by one.  But I'm glad I went so I can say that I have done it.  This was something I had never had an opportunity to do so I would have been sad to let it go by.

When it was all said and done I went home and took a very cool soaking bath.  I think I might have even dozed off in the tub.  Then I took a shower and chilled out the rest of the afternoon.  I knew I didn't have anything planned for Friday except doing laundry so I didn't have to get ready for anything.  I was looking forward to the weekend though.  Patric and I had already discussed some really cool plans.

See you next post!!

Monkey update:  I was certainly on the lookout since we were in the jungle.  Alas, someone must have told them we were coming because we didn't see a single one...

Getting to Know a New Friend

So last Wednesday was a very good day.  There were a few things happening that I would like to share with you...

First, Patric was able to go pick up our new car...

This is our Suzuki Swift.  We originally ordered it in blue but that would have taken three or four extra days for delivery.  So we decided to go with the red one since they had them in stock.  Isn't it cute???

I did say that Patric picked it up.  He went by himself because I had other plans.  That was the day that I was spending with my new friend, Sharon.  We planned to attend another Christmas bazaar that was being put on by the Manza Association.  There were many of the same vendors that attended the AAM bazaar but that was ok by me.  I didn't get to walk around much at our bazaar since I was working for most of it so I was able to spend time looking last Wednesday.

I did buy a few things but can only show one...

I fell in love with this necklace so I just had to buy it.  It is handmade but I can't remember what the stones are called.  Now I just need a reason to wear it.  =)

After we walked around the bazaar and bought all that we were going to buy, Sharon and I left and headed to find lunch.  Since we were in her part of town she started naming off places to eat.  The one that peeked my interest was California Pizza Kitchen...yay!  So I had pizza and Sharon had a salad.  It was nice to spend time with Sharon and get to know her a little better.

After that she introduced me to a new mall - BB Plaza.  I've heard about this mall but hadn't been there until now.  True to form, it was huge like all the other malls.  The difference with this one was that it seemed to be built more out instead of up.  There weren't as many floors as most that I have been to but it felt like it was more spread out.  Sharon took me to some of her favorite stores in this mall.  A couple of them leaned toward a wild and funky side which I liked a lot.  She also took me to a gown shop.  I really liked going here because in February I will be attending a ball that AAM hosts every year.  I've seen many shops that sell gowns but this one even does fittings and alterations which are all included in the price of the gown.  I can't wait to go back and do some serious shopping there!

By the time we were finished with the plaza it was time for me to head home.  I was supposed to go out to dinner with Patric and his group from work that night.  Unfortunately, I had to miss out on that.  When I got home it started raining really bad so when I tried to call for a taxi to take me to Patric's office there were none available.  This was really sad but ok...there will be another time.  I used the time to chill out and watch some TV instead.

Thursday promises to be full of fun.  I'm scheduled to go on a jungle walk!

See you next post!!

Monkey update:  yeah, not so much.

Nails...Round Two Update

After my China Town outing I was looking forward to the weekend!  Unfortunately, when I woke up Saturday morning I was feeling a little under the weather.  Patric had been sick with some sort of flu or virus and I was afraid that I had picked it up.  Needless to say, we didn't get out a whole lot last weekend.

We did go to the Curve for a little while on Saturday.  I needed to go by the nail shop to see about getting some nails that had started to lift fixed and we needed to pick up some things at the grocery store.  While we were there we ate lunch and looked around at a few other places but we weren't there long.  We spent the rest of the weekend at home.

When I went to the nail shop I figured the fix would be as easy as gluing down what was lifted.  This is what I had always done in the past.  When I asked the lady in the shop for glue she looked at me like I was an alien from outer space.  When it hit her what I was going to do with it she asked me, in a very baffled tone, if I was going to try to fix them myself.  I said yes and was given a small tube of glue.  Suffice it to say that the glue here is not like the glue back home so I realized quickly that this probably wasn't the best way to go about fixing the lifted nails.  The glue that they had was way too glumpy and sticky.  I'm used to a more fluid glue that will almost find its way to the spot that needs to be repaired.  I reluctantly made an appointment to come in and have the nails fixed by filing them down and basically doing a refill.  This meant another three hours of being worked on but the bonus was that they weren't going to charge me.  It was kind of like a warranty job.

Tuesday came which was the day of my appointment.  I went to the Curve a little early so I could do some shopping and get a chai at The Coffee Bean.  I wound up not buying anything but I did find some clothes that I might just have to go back and get.  I do need clothes even though I know I have some coming in about two weeks.  All of the walking I do here has me doing well with weight loss!  =)

I headed to the nail shop and got ready to spend the next three hours sitting in the same chair.  I'm grateful that I have the Kindle app on my phone.  At least I knew I would be able to read.  When I went in on Saturday to make this appointment there were only four nails that needed to be repaired.  By the time I arrived on Tuesday there were nine.  Crazy, huh?  I have no idea why this is happening.  I have them using the exact same product that Tracy used back home.  Every now and then a nail would lift after Tracy did them but it wasn't in less than a week and it was never this many at once.  So I had them try to use their bonding agent this time...maybe that will be the permanent fix.  I'll just have to wait and see what happens.  I sure would hate to have to give up my nails but it could become a reality...

Wednesday doesn't have much going on.  I'm heading into KLCC to go to another Christmas Bazaar with my friend Sharon.  But Thursday has a highlight...I'm going on a jungle walk!!!

See you next post!!

China Town Revisited

Last Friday I met a new friend for lunch in China Town.  If you've been reading with me you will know that I have been looking for a reason to go back to China Town since my first very brief visit.  Little did I know that this visit had the added bonus of a history lesson.  My friend, Brigitte, had taken a guided tour of this area and was more than willing to share some of her knowledge.

As we walked to the restaurant that Brigitte wanted to introduce me to we passed some of the landmarks that I had already seen and even taken pictures of.  The benefit this time was that I got to learn a little about them.

Remember this picture?  I took this one the first time I went to China Town.  Now I have information to share about it.  This is a Chinese Temple.  I went inside this time and here are some of the things I learned...

When you first walk in you see these hanging just inside the doorway.  These are incense coils with prayers of individuals hanging down in the center.  The way it works is the incense is lit from the bottom and as it burns up the prayer is sent up to the heavens to be answered.  Cool, huh?  Another cool thing is that all of the prayers are written in Chinese.  When you buy the incense to hang you have a person behind the counter write your prayer for you.  This particular temple is 100% Chinese.  Anything that is written here is done in Chinese.

This is an oven in the temple.  This is an alternative to the incense.  You can have your prayer written in Chinese then burn it in this oven if you prefer.  The thought being that as the prayer burns the smoke carries it up to the heavens.

These are offerings to the Gods.  At the end of the day all food that is left is picked up and donated to the poor.

In the brass bowl looking thing are a bunch of lit incense.  These are left by people that have come to pray.

Each Chinese temple has one God that it is dedicated to and that God has the biggest alter within the temple.  This is the God that this temple is dedicated to.  I don't know his name or if he has one.

This is one of the alters that has the other Gods on it.  There were two of these.  They have all of the Gods represented so that when you pray it is heard by all of them.  It is kind of like covering all of your bases.

We left the temple and continued our journey...

This picture was taken the first time I was in China Town also.  This is an Indian temple.  It is also the only temple that Indians can be married in within all of KL.  The Chinese have only one temple for marriages also but it is in another part of KL.  I didn't go in this temple even though I could have.  They were having their prayer and there were a lot of people there.  I learned that between 1:00 and 4:00 the Gods rested and there was no activity at any of the Indian temples.  At this particular temple there is a curtain that is pulled around the statues to signify their time of rest each day.

From here we headed to parts of China Town that I had not seen before.

This is one of the oldest buildings in China Town.  It is basically in ruins as are most of the old buildings - even the buildings that have been designated as historical.  There is no money in the KL budget to renovate these buildings and bring them back to their former glory.  Usually what happens is they let the buildings go until they fall (or are close to it) then sell the land to have new condos or other things built on it.  Kind of sad when you think about the history that is being tossed away...

Finally we made it to the restaurant.  And how fitting that it was a Chinese restaurant!  It was kind of small but the decorations were very cool!  It was mostly done with old pictures of China Town from way back in the day.  There were also two huge mirrors on the long walls.  It had almost an old western saloon feel to it.

As most people that know me will tell you, I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food.  Pei Wei was about as close I would come to it back home.  Well, there are no Pei Wei's here and the Teriyaki chicken bowl is pretty much non-existent.  So I am learning to try new things when I find myself at a Chinese restaurant.  This is what I had for lunch...

This is Beef Rendang and coconut rice and it is one of the best meals I've had here!  The coconut rice ranks right up there with some of the best rice I've had in my life.  It is tinged blue (not sure why) and made with coconut milk.  Yummm!!!  I've never had beef rendang and it didn't look very appetizing when I got it but the taste was really good!  It had just a little bit of spice to it.  They were good separately but every few bites I would mix the two and they were just as good that way.  I will definitely order this again and I will get back to this restaurant!

After lunch we walked around a bit and mostly Brigitte told me about the different stores.  We didn't take a lot of time to shop which was fine by me.  I was enjoying the history lesson and the little tidbits that were being shared.

LRT back out to my side of town and went home.  I'm looking forward to being able to go back to China Town and spend more time there.  I'm also looking forward to visiting other areas of KL and learning about them!

See you next post!!

Monkey update:  No monkeys on this day...I guess they are not fans of shopping...