Monkeying Around in Malaysia

Aaron and I left cold, gray Korea dreaming of fresh mangoes, curry, and emerald beaches. After our 7-hour flight from Seoul, Aaron and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Immediately we were so excited and eager by our surroundings. Compared to Korea, we felt as though we walked into a steaming hot, diverse melting pot of people and unique architecture we had never experienced before.

The train system in Malaysia made visiting Kuala Lumpur very convenient. We took the express train and a subway to get to our hostel. We got off our subway and looked out at the red sunset overlooking the mosque.

Our hostel was very cool. It was called Explorers' Guest House  near Petaling Street. There were beautiful pieces of art on the walls and the expats looked like bad-ass adventurers with lightweight elephant parachute pants and dreadlocks.  

Curious about Malaysian cuisine, that night, we searched for a traditional Malaysian restaurant. But, much to our chagrin, we could only find Indian food.  It looked very authentic...a traditional vegetarian Indian place that probably didn't get too many tourists. We ordered delicious mushroom masala, mango lassis, and naan. We polished it all down and we were in food heaven...it was one of the best meals on our whole trip, I'd say. The curries had the perfect amount of spice and so so much flavor.  I was so excited about all the mangoes, I even ordered myself a second mango lassi! (You only live once!)

On Sunday, we did all the things. We started off the day with toast and tea at our hostel. Then, we walked to the train station and road towards Batu Caves. I noticed that there were "Women Only" cars on the train and "No Indecent Behavior" signs. We felt very aware that we were in a conservative country.  The train stations had lots of arches and Muslim art designs, too.

I liked the architecture of the train station!

"No Indecent Behavior"

When we arrived at the Batu Caves there was an enormous golden Buddha and behind it were lots of stairs going up to some caves.  Aaron and I climbed up the stairs covered in monkeys. Monkeys were running up and down the railings, looking for food and trash.

On our way back down the stairs, I stopped to try my very first fresh coconut juice. There was a man chopping them open with an ax. It was pretty cool.

I saw some Indian women giving henna tattoos on your hand for 5 Ringgit. I've got to admit, ever since I saw henna tattoos at the Minnesota Festival of Nations as a little girl, I've always wanted one.

We rode back to the city and visited the National Mosque. In order to enter the mosque, non-Muslims have to wear robes and a head scarf. Honestly, it was a fun part of the experience. They dressed us in lilac robes and gave me a head scarf.

Malaysia's National Mosque

Inside the mosque we had to dress up!

The mosque was very open-air and clean and white. There were lots of geometric designs in the walls, pillars, and beautiful gardens with fountains. Only Muslims were allowed in the prayer room, but we were able to look inside.

Prayer Room: Muslims only

Check out the clock with Arabic numbers!

After experiencing the National Mosque, Aaron and I walked to the Islamic Art Museum. It had 3-D miniature models of all the famous mosques, a little history about them, and what country they are in. You can compare the different architecture of the Taj Mahal and the Alhambra in Spain, for example. They also had beautiful weapons, armor, and clothing.

Later we walked to the National Aviary/Bird Park. On the way, we saw a lot of monkeys goofing around on the OUTSIDE of the zoo.


It was fun to see tropical birds scurrying around, bobbing their heads and proudly displaying their colorful feathers.

We had been walking all day and we got hungry. We headed towards our last destination, the Petronas Twin Towers, took a picture, and then found another restaurant called the Curry House. We ordered WAY too much food and devoured most of it.

By the time we finished eating, it got dark out. We looked out at the Petronas Towers and they were all lit up. They looked much cooler and we were glad we got a chance to see them at night.

We had a full day of sight-seeing and eating! The next morning we headed back to the airport and flew an hour to Krabi, Thailand.

Both of us agreed that Malaysia was very exotic, exciting, and had amazing food. We would like to go back again someday.