Malaysia: Round 2!

When making initial plans for our trip to SE Asia, we intended to stay in Bali for a month or so, living in a rented house somewhere on the island.  When we were unable to obtain Indian visas in Canada before our departure, we decided to return to Malaysia after our Bali trip and submit our applications for visas there.  We were lucky and very thankful to have a place to stay while in Kuala Lumpur for a week.  Thanks again to our wonderful hosts, Shannon and Mike!!  We had such a great time visiting them! 

We were back in Malaysia just in time for Thaipusam (pronounced Tie-poo-sum), a Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon month of the Tamil calendar, usually in January or February.  Individuals who have personally overcome some type of calamity in the previous year, or have a close family member that has, will observe the festival by dressing in yellow, shaving their heads the morning of their pilgrimage, and carrying some type of offering to the gods.  Near Kuala Lumpur, celebrations begin in KL and finish 15 kilometres away at Batu Caves.  Over one million devotees and thousands of tourists descend on Batu Caves each year during the week of Thaipusam to show their thanks to the gods and observe the festival.

Devotees will show their gratitude in the simplest of ways such as carrying a canister of milk on their head all the way to the top of the caves, while others practice mortification of the flesh by piercing their bodies with hooks.  Others may choose to be rolled by family members along their pilgrimage path (like the first picture), or even walk up all 272 steps to Batu Caves on their knees.  It was really neat to witness such strength and devotion by the devotees; it seemed to be a deeply personal and spiritual journey for each individual or family participating. 

In the middle of our time at Mike and Shannon's, Guillaume and I decided to take a little two night trip up north to the Cameron Highlands.  Famous for their tea plantations, the Highlands offer a nice, cool reprieve from the hustle and bustle (and heat and pollution!) of Kuala Lumpur.  Picture above: making plans during dinner for our hike the next day. 

Unfortunately, I got sick our first night there, so we were unable to visit the tea plantations or any other sites.  The most activity I was up for was a little walk around the village of Tanu Ratah where we were staying.  At least they had beautiful flowers everywhere!  And, luckily, they had a Starbucks with WiFi and I had one of my 'Hunger Games' books with, so a majority of our day was spent surfing the web and reading. 

By evening, I was up to trying some food again, so we made our way to a restaurant that caught our eye earlier in the day.  They didn't have any tables left for us, but two Swiss girls invited us to sit with them.  We had a lovely dinner with them! 

Once back in KL, Guillaume decided to take a tour of the Petronas Towers.  Can you tell he's a civil engineer? 

The tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers are even taller than the Willis (Sears) Tower.  The towers offer spectacular views of Kuala Lumpur! 

Near the top...during his tour.  He had a great time!

  

So even though our original plans changed, our time in Kuala Lumpur was very relaxing...maybe just what we needed before heading off for the rest of our trip in SE Asia and beyond.  Thanks again to Mike and Shannon for hosting us!  We can't wait to return the hospitality back in Canada!