So the past couple days have been pretty uneventful. We bussed from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday
and arrived at our first hostel: The Eclipse Carnival. We unanimously agreed that this has been the
WORST hostel we have stayed at to date.
Our rooms were essentially dirty closets with bunk beds thrown in. Our beds had hair and dirt on them. All of the amenities that they boasted online
turned out to be false advertising. They
did have a computer with internet and plasma television; however, they forgot
to mention that monitor and tv were both broken. Moreover, the complimentary breakfast turned
out to be bread. Slightly
disappointing. Throughout the duration,
Katy and Joey came up with different taglines for the hostel: “ The
Eco-friendly Eclipse Carnival conserves energy; we don’t wash your sheets or
stock toilet paper!”
We ended up moving after the second night to a different
hostel which is 5 kajillion times better for only a dollar more a night. It has hot water, air conditioning, fan, and
better beds; not a bad deal at all!
On Monday, we explored the city and checked out a few
mosques, an orchid garden, and a few other random spots. Since we were all wearing shorts, Joey and I
were given sarongs to cover up our knees and Katy and Chiara were given full
body robes, complete with hoods, so that we could enter one of the
mosques. It was definitely an
interesting experience for sure.
On Tuesday, we went to the Batu Caves, which is a pretty
iconic place where Hindu temples were constructed inside massive caves. At the entrance of the most famous cave,
there is a 140 ft tall golden statue of Lord Murugan which is quite impressive. To get to the cave, you have to climb a steep
264 step-staircase with monkeys strewn about trying to snatch your water
bottles or spare food that you may have.
A precarious environment indeed.
The statue and stairwell were really cool and the caves
themselves were really beautiful too; however, all in all we felt that the Batu
Caves were a bit of a disappointment. As
soon as you conquer the stairs and monkeys, you are greeted with souvenir shops
selling an assortment of random stuff: some of it Buddist and some of it Hindu;
there were beer openers and beer cozies; anything that would sell. It really cheapened the experience. Moreover, there was really cheesy music
playing over loudspeakers in the background.
I guess when I started this trip, I had the expectation that
I would be going to all of these awesome places that weren’t tourist traps,
where no one else would be around. I
have learned that this was an unreasonable expectation. haha.
However, I really want to experience authentic culture and go to cool
places that aren’t surrounded by 5,000 souvenir shops. I don’t know if this is unreasonable as well;
I sure hope not. I guess my time in
Tonga has spoiled me.
After Batu Caves, Chiara and I ended up heading back to town
while Joey and Katy went to the movies.
(I am sure there will be a blog post about that as well). We all met this super cool guy, Tristan, who
is from Quebec and Chiara and I had a few drinks with him. This one bar has a drink called An Around
the World which is made up of a shot of whiskey, gin, tequila, vodka, rum, and
beer. Tristan and I went around the
world a few times and we three had a blast.
All in all, things are going well. We are all safe, healthy, and happy!
Michael
Katy at Eclipse Carnaval
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