The Batu Caves

Oh my goodness! Okay, this place was a MUST-SEE! Plus, it was the cheapest place we visited the entire time we were there! Ryan and I are really into history and very open-minded so it was a wonderful experience to visit such an important temple to Hindus.

To get to the Batu Caves, we had to take Malaysia's equivalence of the subway. We grabbed some Roti boys (of course) and were on our way.

Almost there! Earrings compliments of my sis who knows my style ;)

The limestone of the Batu Caves is estimated to be at least 400 million years old. Each year, there is a large Hindu festival held here. It is a very popular religious site outside of India for Hindus. All sorts of wildlife can be found here, including monkeys! Once we got to the Batu Caves, we snapped lots of photos almost immediately. There were Hindus entering the various temples right away. Tourists were allowed to enter and watch as long as shoes were removed to pay respect. Check out all the great pictures below that Ryan helped me take with my new camera! (Best Christmas present ever - well, besides his arrival!)

A Hindu god

Love this photo!

Hindu temple

Young boy getting ready to enter the shrine

Lighting of candles

I loved the purple and gold colors of her sari

Inside the temple

Getting ready to climb hundreds of stairs to enter the cave!

Beautiful entry way

I run 10K races and these stairs felt impossible..

We had some entertainment along the way though!

NANERZ

Two cute little monkeys ;)

Almost there.. step number 196

Once we FINALLY made our way up the treacherous stairway, we entered the caves. It had a moldy smell of course but there were SO many vendors and tourists! I cannot believe the vendors climb these stairs EVERY DAY to sell water and various trinkets for memories. They are probably in the best shape of their lives because there is definitely no elevator. I have never wanted to be a bird until I faced these stairs.. I found myself wishing I could fly.. (and feeling completely out of shape).

Such a beautiful limestone cave for such a religious site!

Each temple was so decorated

Opening in the cave

Such amazing limestone

People who may/may not have been Hindu sat on these stairs for a photo but I didn't want to offend

Ryan's attempt at being as fashionably posed as the god in the back

Such an ornate design!

So beautiful

There were also many bats in this cave

Chowing down

Meditation.. so good for the soul!

I just could not get enough of the elaborate designs!

As Cindy said, Ryan's hair was inspired from the bird park haha

After our cardio and religious site-seeing, we checked out the local shops and then got some authentic Indian food which was so FREAKING DELICIOUS! I'm not vegetarian but close to it as I have always been very picky about the meat I consume, especially while abroad, so this was the perfect cuisine -- all dishes are (and will forever be) vegetarian. I loved having delicious, fresh vegetables with all the right seasoning and spices. And it was so cheap! It was neat to see other customers eating their food the traditional way.. with their bare hands digging in the food to mix the various side dishes and sauces. Even women in the most beautiful make up and exquisite clothing were literally "digging" in. However, I requested a fork, being my usual high-maintenance self. Check out my meal below.

Best post-workout (read: stairs) meal everrrr

We enjoyed the little restaurant.. until we realized they didn't take credit cards. Our hunger got the best of us so we didn't think to ask if plastic was an acceptable form of payment before sitting down. So.. Ryan ventured off in search of an ATM.. for 30 minutes. No joke. I almost was like.. we are going to have to wash dishes..

Anyway.. it was a great trip! Hope you enjoyed the post! xoxo amber

Malaysia Bird Park

The Malaysia Bird Park was such a cool experience. It was probably one of my favorite places to visit besides the Batu Caves. Ryan is great and all because he was definitely not up for it at first with his allergies. However, I managed to persuade him and because he's a gentleman, we got to go!

The Bird Park in Malaysia is well-kept and the animals are taken care of. They are free to roam the grounds as they please. I loved that they were not in tight cages. If they were isolated from other birds, they were still placed in a large environment resembling their natural habitat. Those that were isolated had to be for their own protection (or for that of the other birds.) Peacocks walked through the park at their own pace, checking out the visitors and nibbling on plants when they got the chance. Birds that fly are contained within the grounds with a large netting that covers the entire park. They had scheduled feedings that you could attend if you so desired. We watched one worker feed the eagles. They would just soar to their food and grab it mid-flight.

It was common to see workers place various fruit on tree branches for the birds

Wristbands :)

The netting to contain the birds

Papaya?

This lil guy was handsome!

He was not going to share with anyone

I love the outdoors and being surrounded by animals. I have always found them so fascinating but have a hard time appreciating and/or supporting businesses that do not take care of their animals properly. However, the Bird Park did a wonderful job and has been recognized for its excellent maintaining of its grounds and animals. I highly recommend you go if you ever get the chance. It's very family friendly too.

Some of my favorite sightings at the Bird Park were the ostriches and the Scarlet Ibis (Ryan's favorite too).

Scarlet Ibis

Hanging out with one of the ostriches

The ostrich you see in the picture above was a pretty interesting fellow. He had this obsession with digging his rather large beak in the wet mound of dirt and then would bite at the fence to remove the dirt. I'm not sure if that's a cleaning method (or even common with this species) but it was quite strange.. yet entertaining to watch all the same.

Going at it with the dirt!

Here are a few more pics of some of the interesting sights we saw.

Would LOVE to find out the name of this interesting plant!

Such a cutie!

It's sad that this even has to mentioned..

Who advertizes CHICKEN.. at a bird park exit?!

Overall, it was a nice little adventure. The gift shop had some pretty neat things, too! I got my mom a funny t-shirt and a magnet that resembled her obnoxious pet parrot, Marley. If you ever go to the Bird Park, I definitely recommend you check the weather. It started to pour and that was frustrating because naturally, some of the birds went into hiding. It was still a great little adventure if you want to get some fresh air and escape the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lampur (KL)!

xoxo amber

The Petronas Towers

I have not posted a blog for sometime now. I apologize, especially to my grandmothers who hound me about it every time they get a chance. :) Shortly after my last post in January, the school year started to pick up, as well as the job search back in the US. With all the stress that comes with being a teacher, I got a bad case of gastroenteritis which lasted almost 3 weeks, followed by my annual bout of laryngitis. Two hospital visits (and $200 + dollars) later, here I am!

Ryan and I had a wonderful time in Malaysia. We stayed in Jakarta for a few days before taking off on our next adventure. I was really excited to visit this country because I have heard such great things about it. We stayed at a really nice hotel and spent each day being spontaneous and doing things at our own pace. This is often why I prefer to travel alone because I'm not one who likes to be on a tight schedule, feels obligated to "include" everyone in the traveling group if I have places I rather venture off solo and I HATE having to deal with split checks. When you come from a large family like I do, you enjoy every moment you can have by yourself (or at least relaxing and not being so stick-to-the-schedule type.) Why can't we all just throw in cash and call it a day? However, I am pretty blessed to have an amazing best friend who is just like me! If we want to sleep til noon, then that's what we'll do - vacation or not.

We visited several different places while in Malaysia, including the Petronas Towers, the Malaysia Bird Park and the Batu Caves. We also made time for shopping at the ever-popular Central Market and bought one too many Roti boys (a fattening, buttery extra-large roll with a caramelized topping and chocolate chips if you're lucky) on our visit.

The visit to the Petronas Towers was such a frustrating trip! We went during one of the peak seasons (Christmas/NYE) so getting tickets was virtually impossible. We had to wake up extra early (I'm talking 5 am) to even secure a decent spot in line. After a couple of tries, we finally scored tickets!

On the skybridge wearing our special visitor's passes

View from the sky bridge

Cool shot of one of the towers (taken by Ryan)

Checking out the scenery

Waiting outside super early for tickets

The sky bridge connects the two towers

Just enjoying the view

The Petronas Towers are the world's current tallest twin towers. They were pretty amazing to look at (but maybe not worth the cost of the ticket). We traveled in a small group consisting of about 10-12 others plus the guide, snapped some photos and listened to some informational screens. I have a slight fear of heights and it was a little nerve-wrecking to be in an elevator crowded with a bunch of people, going up 80 plus floors at an unbelievable speed. My ears began to pop. Thank goodness the elevator wasn't glass - I probably would have passed out. It was pretty cool to walk the sky-bridge and look out both of its huge windows below.

A very proud moment, I must say

After the tour ended, we checked out the souvenir shop, bought some small gifts for family/friends and then headed back to the hotel to relax and eat dinner. The hotel was super nice! They had a great Sky Bar! It was entirely way too expensive to enjoy it more than one night so we indulged and soaked up every moment. I must also say it was nice to travel to a country and be able to communicate!

Dessert.. before dinner :)

Make sure you check out the next post about the Malaysia Bird Park and the Batu Caves!

xoxo amber