Cycling into Kuala Lumpur is a nightmare and I can see why so many people with bikes take the train! I however decided against that and to cycle anyway. It soon became a nightmare and took an extra half an hour to get to Batu Caves. I have seen many Hindu Temples on my travels through India but the Batu Caves are another level! The statue of the god Murugan, the Hindu god of war, looms over you as you enter. Guiding you to the steps, oh sooo many steps after cycling.
But you also start to notice the hordes of tourists. Hindus come to worship and others, like me, come to marvel at the intricate and colourful temples. As you climb the many steps to the cave and the temples within you will find yourself coming face-to-face with the monkey troop which guards the steps. They expect offerings; the monkeys being the real gods here.
However, they do pose nicely for some beautiful pictures. Inside the cave you have the light coming through a small opening and many old statues of gods all over. People made offerings and prayed to their gods. On returning to ground level you can notice the touristy part kicking off. Several restaurants and cafes and of course the souvenir shops! I decided to get out of there.
Lunar/Chinese New Year celebrations
I stayed with my friend Eric, from my SCUBA diving days at Leeds Uni, and his family, wife Mei Chee and son David. Arriving just in time for the start of the Lunar/Chinese New Year. I joined Eric and his family at his partner’s parents. Lunar New Year is often a family affair with people meeting members of their family on days off from work. There are, of course, the obligatory firework displays and the setting off of many firecrackers. David enjoyed this bit and also the chance to throw pop-pops, small bags of gunpowder, onto the ground to make a bang.
The next couple of days are a chance to rest the legs, get writing, visit the Buddhist temple, Thean Hou, and enjoy the Lunar New Year festivals. This is where the dragons come out and have a dance and in the case of the temple pray to the gods. Once the performance is over everyone clamours to touch the dragons or make an offering to them. As is customary the Dragons will also be handing out mandarins, a traditional gift for New Year’s.
Kuala Lumpur is not built for bikes or walking!
We managed to get some time visiting some of the other attractions of Kuala Lumpur. Namely, the Central Market and Chinatown, which had both become a bit touristy and I felt the originality had disappeared. We also visited the national mosque of Malaysia and the only mosque I have ever seen the use of stained glass. It gave a lovely light feel inside the mosque, unlike many mosques which have very little natural light in them.
I did get to view the National Museum of Malaysia, which I can wholeheartedly recommend. It covers a large range of Malaysian history from the dinosaur period to their independence. I decided to walk back to Eric’s house and found myself struggling to get around the city. It seems as if almost everyone drives or takes the metro!
The next day I got to visit the botanical gardens to meet a fellow cyclist, Patricia from Poland, going in the opposite direction. We exchanged the best bits of our journey and the highlights we shouldn’t miss.
It was time to leave and this is when I realised getting out of Kuala Lumpur is terribly complicated and dangerous. KL has been designed for cars and cars alone. There are motorways everywhere and quite often no places for cyclists to go. Sometimes, there might be a separate road for motorcycles, which you could use. In the end, I think I had to do an extra 20km to get out of the city versus a car.
The Fast Way to Singapore
I was hoping to reach Singapore to say goodbye to Fredrik, whom I had cycled with for a couple of days in Thailand and briefly met again in Langkawi. This meant covering 430km in about 4 days. However, on my first day, I only covered 80km and second 100km. Leaving me two very big days! But I managed it and made it to Singapore and grabbed drinks with Fredrik and friends on his last day there.