Adena fell down those stairs…

After a few hours on a bus and a “random” passport check later, we arrived in Meleka. Once the capital of Malaysia, modern day Meleka is marketed as a quick stop on most Malaysia tours due to its historical significance and its ideal location between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. We visited several of Meleka’s preserved (or lack thereof) colonial government buildings and churches from the British and Portuguese occupation. The main drag in Meleka is Jonker Street, a mish mash of small restaurants and tourist shops. In the evening, the night market came to life with dance performances and vendors pedaling a variety of food options, souvenirs, etc. More importantly, this was our first Southeast Asian experience outside of Singapore and it was certainly an eye opener (more on this later).
The next day we hopped on a bus to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur (KL as the locals call it). We weren’t really sure what to expect in KL; however, after visiting Singapore I assumed we’d find something similar. Boy was I wrong. In contrast to Singapore’s cleanliness (outside of Hawker stalls), seamless transportation options and ubiquitous English signage, KL was, well, quite different. While both cities boast several mega “lifestyle center” malls with a dozen or so floors of anything you can think of (and others you can’t, and several iconic office buildings, the two cities seem worlds apart. Most of KL appears to be in disrepair, with crumbling sidewalks (if you are lucky find one), exposed drains, horrendous traffic and a transportation system that was obviously built over several decades and was not well integrated. It’s a much more aggressive environment than Singapore, but that was to be expected. With a well-diversified population of Malays, Chinese and Indian, the food options were fantastic and we took full advantage of curry puffs, Chinese Hot Pot, kaya, stink fruit and much more.
We visited the iconic Petronas twin towers, Chinatown’s central market and toured the colonial district. Since we found the city a bit lacking, we ventured up to the Batu Caves located north of the city. Located up 272 stairs within the limestone caves is one of the oldest Hindu temples outside of India. We ascended the steep steps to find a small temple inside a rather large open area lit only by the sun peering in through the opening above. We were joined by other tourists, hungry monkeys scampering and climbing about, a squawking rooster and some very slick floors. Maybe one of us took a bit of a spill and our butt is a bit black and blue, but you didn’t hear it from me.
Next up the island of Penang (it doesn’t appear that the infamous curry was created here); however, don’t fret, we will make sure to research all of the local curry houses to confirm.
Tips: If you ever have a desire to visit KL, one day and one night is more than enough time to explore.
Also, bring an umbrella, religiously, once a day the sky opens and down pours for about 3 hours and floods the sidewalks.