After a couple of full nonstop days walking around and exploring Kuala Lumpur, my girlfriend and I were understandably tired. Now it was the final day of our trip and, feeling exhuasted, we couldn't resist spending a good portion of the morning lounging around our accommodations. Even though we had traveled to a foreign land to sight-see and experience a new culture we were still technically on a vacation, so I don't think taking some time to enjoy a little relaxation was out of the question.
When we finally felt up to it we walked to the Petronas Towers and reserved evening tickets to visit the observation deck on the 86th floor of Tower 2. We then stopped by a supermarket to do some shopping; I wanted to pick up souvenirs for friends back in Korea as well as some exotic seasonings for my kitchen. I've grown a little tired of cooking and eating the same Korean dishes so I thought I could learn to cook with a few Southeast Asian flavors to spice up (literally) my diet. My girl and I also bought durian pastry puffs at a small bakery. Durians are famous for being a delicious but extremely smelly fruit local to Malaysia; though I had yet to try a durian, I'd often seen signs while traveling through other cities in Southeast Asia prohibiting the handling and consumption of the odorous fruit. We figured eating a durian pastry would be a good way to get an idea of the fruit's taste without jumping straight into the deep end.
Several hours later, after eating and drinking anything I could get my hands on, I still couldn't get the smell and taste of durian out of my mouth. It wasn't bad, it was just... memorable.
In the afternoon we summoned up the remainder of our strength to make one last expedition to the outskirts of the city so we could see the Batu Caves. We hired a taxi; the drive was about half an hour and relatively inexpensive, and along the way our friendly taxi driver told us of the cultural and religious significance of the caves, explaining they're a pilgrimage site for Hindus. The driver, a Hindu himself, said that these days the caves are more or less a tourist attraction but that they were still host to major religious festivals throughout the year. My girl and I toured the caves and marveled at their size (I had never been in caves so large before) and we watched as Hindu holy men performed their prayers and threw rocks at monkeys who came too close. The monkeys were a sight all on their own: they gathered trash and pestered tourists, and one monkey laid himself out on the steps while he was groomed by his friend. He looked so still I thought for sure he was dead until he looked up to see if anyone was watching him.
In the evening we went to an upper scale Chinese restaurant for dinner and afterwards headed back to the Petronas Towers just in time for our reservations to visit the observation deck. Of course the view was fantastic, and looking out over the city from the top of one of its tallest buildings was truly the best way to spend our last night in KL. We reluctantly came back down to the ground and returned to our hotel to prepare for the flight home.
About a month before our vacation I had suggested to my girlfriend that we go to Kuala Lumpur simply out of convenience: tickets to KL were some of the cheapest online at the time, and while we hadn't heard as much praise for KL as other major Southeast Asian cities we assumed it would be fun for at least a few days. However after visiting, I'm completely satisfied with our choice to go. Kuala Lumpur is a marvelous city, full of some of the friendliest people and most delicious food I've encountered during my travels. I hope someday in the future I'll have a chance to go again, and when that time comes I'm looking forward to exploring more of what Malaysia has to offer.
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