We had a fabulous evening in Kuala Lumpur. We dined on the bamboo patio at the very hip Bijan, enjoying cold Tiger beer and typical Malaysian cuisine like mango leaf salad, chicken curry and fresh fish. The spice was excellent and just enough when combined with the other exotic flavors. After dinner we walked the city for several hours, passing by busy Times Square and thousands of people out enjoying the evening, as many as if it was the middle of the day. Kuala Lumpur has the dressings of a typical booming modern city, but also with a funky Southeast-Asian flair that is all its own. Curtains of electric blue light strands hung from the many towering trees in the city, draping in places over the above-ground metro that was a silver snake slithering past massive electronic billboards and skyscrapers of all shapes and brightly lit colors. There were several remarkable buildings ablaze against the skyline, but the most impressive by far was the Petronas towers.
Completed in 1998, the twin towers stand 1, 483 feet tall. They were considered the tallest structure in the world until 2004 when their incredible height was surpassed by Taipei 101, but they still remain the tallest twin buildings in the world. They are built on the deepest foundations of any building in the world, an astounding 120 meters. Eighty-eight stories tall, the towers are connected by the highest two-storey skybridge in the world on floors forty-one and forty-two, 558 feet above the ground and 190 feet long. I was surprised to learn that the bridge itself is not attached to the main structure, but designed to slide in and out of the towers to prevent it from breaking during high winds. The bridge was also the setting of the climax of 'Entrapment' when Catherine Zeta-Jones scaled across it. Even though the numbers and measures above used to describe its proportions are incredible, they are no comparison to the splendor of setting one's own eyes upon it. We saw the tips of the sparkling white towers peeking above the skyline numerous times as we walked toward them, but it wasn't until we were directly at their base that you could truly appreciate their fantastic construction and beauty. The circular, rounded part of the tower reminded me of a stack of intricately-painted bangle bracelets, the windows and metals of the towers reflecting like blue precious stones and gold. The rounded part then joined with the alternating square and triangular shapes that ran from the ground to the lofty spire at the top. It was a modern creation of contrasting geometric mastery that flowed together in impossible beauty. The entire thing was luminescent, radiating a pure white light that made the twin giants appear ethereal against the night sky. We all laid on the concrete for a long time gazing up at the Petronas tours, listening to Landon marvel at the engineering it must have taken to build them and then just laying their in captivated silence. Seeing the towers was the finale of the night, and we caught a cab back to the guest house and went to bed.
The morning we woke to was bright and sunny, and we made toast and coffee in the guest house kitchen and packed up our bags. We took a cab to the central train station where we stored our bags and hopped on a train that would carry us to the Batu Caves. Julie was especially excited and visiting the caves was her idea after she met someone during interview season who had been to them and highly recommended seeing them while in Kuala Lumpur. They were only a thirty minute ride from the city centre, and even from the train windows the height of the cliffs into which the caves were carved were impressive. The Batu Caves are a holy place for Hindus, and the world's largest statue of Lord Murugan, standing 140 feet tall, guards the bottom of the flight of steps that lead up to the cave entrance. Along the way to the steps stands another statue of impressive height, a 50 foot statue of Hanuman, the noble monkey and helper of the god Rama. His pastel green figure I had often seen in Indian temples. He greeted me like an old friend as we stepped off the train and immeadiately began sweating in the blazing sun. The golden statue of Murugan was indeed impressive, as were the 272 steps that led up to the entrance of the cave at the top of the cliffs. We started up them, stopping intermittently to take photos of Kuala Lumpur below us and to catch our breath. The view of the city when we reached the top was stunning, and we stood a moment to gaze upon the urban landscape before going into the cave entrance. The caves were enormous, and several separate caverns connected to form a tunnel several stories wide with stalagtites pointing their gnarled fingers into its vast interior. There were altars and temples in everywhere inside the cave, smiling Ganeshas and Vishnus peering out from every recess and cranny, recreiving offerings and prayers made by the worshipers who knelt before them. The light from the flames burning outside one temple cast a warm glow over the cool interior of the cave as we climbed yet more steps to reach the main temple which was guarded by hordes of monkeys. As monkeys go, these were the cute but mischevious ones who like to steal your stuff, and we watched in fascination as one grabbed a bottle of juice from another tourist and scurried up the rock, stopping to unscrew it then tilt it back for a drink.
Descending the same 272 steps we reached the bottom and got back on the train to head back to the centre station. Julie and Cristine were taking a later flight to Bangkok, so we hugged them goodbye and took the KLIA Express train to the airport. We had wonderful views of the city and its surroundings of dense tropical forests as the train sped to the airport. After arriving in Bangkok, Landon and I had some time to kill in the airport before our flight to Chiang Mai, so we sat in Starbucks awhile to sit and read. I couldn't help but think of sitting in a Starbucks with him two months ago back in the U. S., planning the very trip we are on now. We had our first Thailand meal at the airport, which was actually quite excellent and spicy. I am hoping to up my threshold for Thai chili and spiciness while I'm here! We met up with a sweaty Jules and Cristine who had ran all the way from immigration after their flight was delayed. Back together again we boarded the Bangkok Airways flight to Chiang Mai and touched down around 10 PM. Landon had arranged an airport pick-up by our hotel, the San Pee Seua, and we were warmly greeted and transported to our hotel in a beat-up pickup truck by our welcoming and grinning driver. The hotel is incredible! Located on the outskirts of Chiang Mai along the Maeping River, it has beautiful gardens and a green lawn that slopes to the river. We stood on the wood floor of the open back porch, gazing out past the colorful hanging lanterns of the trees that swayed in the breeze coming off the river right below. Our accomadations are a gorgeous two-bedroom apartment with beautiful wooden floors and ornate dark-wood furniture. There's a balcony overlooking the river, and I know the view from it in the morning will be lovely. So excited to be in Thailand for the next six days!
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