We had already passed Kuala Lumpur in the middle of the night, when we broke down just outside the city under dire circumstances during the aforementioned ‘Journey From Hell’. Now it was time to double back on ourselves for a flying visit, before bidding farewell to SE Asia and embarking on our next big adventure: Australia.
With the clock ticking and the countdown to our flight to Melbourne well and truly on, we didn’t have a huge amount of time to explore Malaysia’s capital, and had to prioritize the attractions we most wanted to see. The rest of our time was devoted to preparation for our big move to Australia, where we would both be starting a year long Working Holiday Visa, and after 4 months in our Southeast Asia backpacking bubble, we suddenly felt most unprepared. Australia would be the first foray into solo travel for both of us: I would be moving to Melbourne to work for a few months and Annie would be off on another two month trip up the East Coast.
Visiting the Batu Caves
One place we were certain we had to make time for was the Batu Caves. Situated just north of the city, the caves are a world famous sacred Hindu site. The Temple Cave (largest of three caves in the limestone rock face) is home to one of Malaysia’s most visited Hindu Shrines.
Ros had visited the caves the day before, which had turned out to be the date of the annual festival, Thaipusam, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flood into KL to visit the shrines and celebrate Lord Murugan, a 42m statue of whom stands majestically outside the entrance of the caves. The festival involves ritual body piercing, a walk to the temple in a trance like state and celebrations until the early hours of the morning.
The caves were just a short train ride away, and when we stepped out of the station and headed towards the mountain, we were greeted by … a bit of a mess to be honest. Visiting the day after the Thaipusam festival was like turning up after the mother of all house parties. Rubbish and plastic bottles lined the walkways and there were a few people gearing up for an epic clean up job, as well as, amusingly, some stragglers that were sleeping on benches having not returned home. It had clearly been a lively affair and we were a little disappointed to be visiting during the messy aftermath rather than in the thick of the celebration.
Although we were not seeing it in its very best light, we could appreciate the beauty and the sheer scale of the caves. The exterior is magnificent with its 272 rainbow steps up to the mouth of the cave and the colossal gold statue standing guard, but the inside of the cave is where you are truly amazed. Worshipers, tourists, monkeys and chickens congregated in their masses to view the colourful, decadent shrines – or just pinch a few bananas leftover from last night’s festivities. The combination of natural and man made beauty really is a sight to behold and it was well worth spending our one touristy day in KL on this day trip.
Shopping and a Cheeky Nando’s
KL is home to a fair few Western clothing brands and food chains. 4 months into our travels we were craving some familiarity and jumped at the chance to visit one of the large shopping centres with many shops we recognised. Keen to upgrade our now very bedraggled backpacker wardrobes before touching down in Aus, we spent our last day in KL in air conditioned shopping bliss, purchasing some new work clothes for me and some travel essentials for Annie. My absolute delight at finding a Marks and Spencer food court and all its familiar snacks was downright excessive.
Rather than opt for some authentic Malay street food on our last night, we convened with Ros and some new pals from the hostel to sample the KL branch of Nando’s. We entered feeling slightly ashamed of ourselves but left with absolutely no regrets, having enjoyed a full peri-peri banquet for around £7 each. Sometimes the call of treats from home is too hard to ignore.
Before taking a grab taxi back to our hostel, we had time to wander over and marvel at the iconic Petronas Towers to see them all lit up and beautiful by night.
Farewell, South East Asia
Our last night had us reflective about the last 4 months exploring this fascinating, beautiful part of the world. We were sad to be saying goodbye, but in equal measure we were more than ready to start the next part of our adventure in Australia. Once again we would be jumping into the unknown, as this was where we would part ways and each experience traveling alone for the first time. We had a week staying with Annie’s family friends in Melbourne ahead, and we couldn’t wait to explore a whole new city on a whole new continent. Boarding the plane we once again had those familiar pre-travel jitters and excitement. The last four months had taken us to 6 new countries, given us countless experiences and memories, and introduced us to amazing people we’ll now count as friends for life. This is where our little blog ends for the time being, but as has become the most important phrase on this trip: it’s not ‘goodbye’, it’s ‘see you later’.
Chloe x
Pint-Sized Adventurers 