Visiting Malaysia -Day One -9.10.2011

The plan was set into motion some months back when we got wind of a promo tour for Malaysia for only 2 days. The day was set and here I am chronicling the first day.

Like any other trip, all of us were excited from the get-go; not to mention the excitement we had in getting to the airport. It was a Friday and so traffic was expected. Baby had to go straight to the airport and wait for me there while I had to take a cab to Terminal 3. Badet, Charm and with husband Jun followed suit. Meanne was the last to arrive. And when she did, we were queing up to the check in counter. Our flight was 10:50 in the evening and so we had a lot of time to catch up on our own excitement from the Friday traffic trek to the airport, the weeks quest to find the proper rate and money exchange center for our respective Malaysia Ringgit, to which I only was able to find 200 and the prospect of awesome purchases in Malaysia when we get there.

We call ourselves the Kurimaws, a name that Baby called his fun loving and rowdy group of dentists and nurses. And so it was that the Kurimaws got into Malaysia at 1:00am with apparently no sign of our tour guide Mr. Bell. We were surprised to find out from him as we got into the van some 30 minutes later that the airport we arrived at was a low cost airport. But considering that the airport was well lit, well equipped technologically with finger scanners at the immigration, it was for us, a far cry from a low cost airport. And because it was low cost, we could only imagine how the real Malaysian international airport is going to be.

Now since 1pm is the check in time for our hotel, Swiss Inn, in Chinatown, Mr Bell, who is a resident Malay and has been doing this for 17 years took it upon himself to check us in at Guest Hotel where we stayed for the night. As we were at the outskirts of the city, the hotel did not have the glitz and charm of most 3-star, much less 5 star hotels but had the basic necessities we needed that night, which was a good bed and good bathroom to freshen up and be ready for gruelling day ahead.

The day started with rather unusual and non-satisfying breakfast choices consisting of only toast bread with egg and the Malaysian staple called Nasi Lemak. Baby, being the adventurous one in tasting new food and vowed to immerse oneself in Malay went for the unconventional choice. When we were served, I got the better end of the deal with the toasted bread with preferred scrambled egg and coffee. Nasi Lemak as it turned out was just white rice topped with egg and with a side dish of some spicy concoction that we never got the name for. I know, bummer. Later when Jun and Charm came down for breakfast, the server saw the result of our choices and changed both their toasted bread selections to the standard American breakfast with additional sausages. Lucky.

And with those choices, we set off for the first stop of the morning which was the Royal Palace. And like the UK, the Royals were just figure heads and do not hold true lawmaking power. The Prime Minister is the one who does. The Palace was off limits for casual visitors and tourists.  People hoping to catch a glimpse of Malaysian royalty were only relegated to the gates, where sentries, like UK’s Buckingham Palace, were posted and riding atop big horses and in full Malaysian military regalia. The high gates reminded us of our own Malacanang Palace in Baguio to which we were also forbidden to enter. Second stop of the day came next by way of the Batu Caves.

The cave itself is a limestone hill, which is a series of caves and cave temples, located in Gombak district. I remember seeing a documentary about the cave some months back on the Lifestyle network. The cave itself is truly a wonder of massive rock formation and although may seem incongruent in the middle of a bustling city, it is that quality that makes it a wonder to behold up front. I can only imagine the same awe that Malaysians in history had when it was discovered and formed. The sight itself was something to behold with a gigantic golden statue of Murugan, the son of the Hindu God, Shiva at the mouth of the cave.

We had to climb some 300 steps to get to atop the big cave and some 50 or 60 more to get to the heart of the natural wonder and reach its innermost core which consisted of an altar, a statue of the many handed goddess Parvati and more picturesque rock formations beautifully lighted and preserved. Truly, only nature could do justice to the beauty of the caves. By the time our photo op within the caves and evading pesky monkeys that would grab your bag and belongings, it was time for some Malaysian lunch. Lunch, at a local eatery below the caves consisted of Squid in curry sauce, Kang-kong, Chicken in Pandan leaves, a very spicy fish omelette dish and my favorite, some fried wrapper called Paparam along with more curry for our rice. Yum! Oh and to top that, we got free ice cream after the meal. Per person that is. J

The after lunch challenge was to burn the calories we took in with the next stops we had after and the first afternoon stop was the National Mosque where the rain got the best of us and a National Monument commemorating war heroes where it finally cleared out and made way for some of our quirky shots and poses consisting of Baby hamming it up for the cameras each and every time with the borrowed red umbrella from Mr Bell. With 2 stops and still no good Ringgit changed in our hands to show for, we moved onto the Tower which had us go more than 421 meters above ground and bask in the Malaysian sky and look down at the expanse of the city. Sadly it was foggy and we didn’t see much.

That didn’t stop us from enjoying the personalized video tour of the different sections and parts of Malaysia courtesy of the portable video player and headset that each and every visitor is given upon reaching the observation deck. But after that, we got our fill of an indoor zoo that had us cringing in our wet clothes with big yellow and gray slithering snakes, furry tarantulas and a few poses with parrots and cockatoos on your shoulder for 5 Ringgit. I just wanted to speak Parseltongue the moment I got in there. Help me, Harry Potter.

 Although, Meanne had the better end of the deal with more than several shots to show for, Charm for me wins the Best Reaction award for heightened voice raising and loud protests when we started to put the animals on her shoulder. She was so afraid to have all 3 perched on her and actively protested to only have one. We love you Charm but we had hoped that you had given the animals the chance to love you back. LOL!

Following the zoo, there was a quick stop at a handicrafts store and to Beryl's where we feasted on their bestseller, Tiramisu  almond chocolate. Needless to say it was divine and we were hooked.  I wonder if our very own, GOYA, has factory tours such as this one. It would be good for Tourism as well. (Hint, Hint)

After the chocolate feasting, it was time to make our way to Chinatown where our hotel was and have some Ringgit changed. There we feasted on Chicken Sate by the vendor on the street. After that, we all took a power nap, woke up at around 8pm and ventured off into the downtown streets for dinner and some bag hunting for Badet.

The evening ended with some heavy rain, the search for Meanne’s coffee and “Hopia”, a forgotten order at a small eatery and 2 plates of Thai noodle (the best one so far) before we called it a night and slept soundly in anticipation of our 2^nd (and unfortunately) last day in Malaysia.