A Weekend Away

In some ways, working overseas is similar to studying abroad. For example, I know that if I had a job in New York, I would spend most of my weekends in the City, with trips back home to New Jersey fairly often and perhaps an occasional visit to Philadelphia. Apart from that, I don’t think I would be traveling very much.

However, since there are very cheap flights from Hong Kong to scores of other Asian capitals, I have fallen into a habit of taking a short weekend trip about once a month. Back in January, I went to Manila. In February, I had that wonderful vacation in Thailand. (March was one long trip to London.) And this past weekend, for my April installment, I went to the Malaysian metropolis Kuala Lumpur.

A row of Malaysian flags outside of the National Museum

I think I’ve mentioned before how dismal Hong Kong’s weather has been since I’ve come back from London. I can’t really complain that it rains all the time, because it doesn't. I can’t even complain that it’s cold, because it's not. But it has been constantly cloudy and dark and—well—dismal. Thankfully, Kuala Lumpur was graced with at least some bright sunshine each day. And it was the first sun I'd seen in weeks. During April, Kuala Lumpur also gets a generous helping of rain each day. Usually it comes all at once, in the afternoon. And, as they say, when it rains, it pours. Still, the morning sunshine was delightful, and I didn't mind the rain one bit.

Friday night was practically a lost night for me and my friend Eric, who suggested we take the trip. What we didn’t realize when we booked our late flight was that Kuala Lumpur International Airport is actually a good hour outside the city! Even after clearing customs quickly, we still didn’t make it to our hotel until after 2am! After a quick beer and some late-night street food, we went to bed.

Up bright and early on Saturday morning, we jumped on the Kuala Lumpur Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour, a great way to cover a lot of ground in the short amount of time we had. We saw the Central Market, the Royal Palace, the National Mosque and plenty of other sights from the bus. At other spots, like Chinatown, the National Museum and Merdeka Square, we hopped off the bus to explore further.

KL's Chinatown

Over the course of the day, Eric and I began to realize just how diverse a city Kuala Lumpur is. As we explored different parts of town, we saw so many different cultures all coexisting. There are temples, mosques and churches. There are Western tourists in shorts and tank tops, Muslim women covered from head to toe and everything in between. Parts of town felt like Hong Kong, other parts were Indian-influenced and still others felt like the Middle East. It was a fascinating tableau of unimaginable variety. Just when we thought we knew what to expect next, Kuala Lumpur threw another surprise at us. We certainly learned that you can't pigeonhole this city; maybe you can with others, but definitely not with KL.

The gates to the National Palace

Of course, I had to run out of money during the trip, and my dad had to send me emergency cash via Western Union. When similar situations have arisen in other international locales, I’ve always had the easiest time locating a Western Union. But in Kuala Lumpur, it couldn’t have been more difficult. It seemed each branch I happened to find had something wrong with it. Two were offline for receiving money when I stopped in. Another, in the Post Office, could only dispense cash on weekdays. And yet another, in a bank, was only open during banking hours, which I had just missed. Luckily, I stumbled upon one near Merdeka Square—and although they were offline too, they were able to direct me to a nearby sister location that they assured me would be open. And it was—phew!

Merdeka (or Independence) Square

Just after collecting my money, the obligatory Saturday afternoon downpour started. So, we headed to Cosmo's World, an incredible indoor amusement park with an insane roller coaster that has to be seen to be believed. It includes loops, drops and spins, and basically whisks riders around the entirety of the gigantic room. It was truly a breathtaking ride—so much so that Eric and I rode the coaster three or four times!

Cosmo's World, with the incredible indoor roller coaster

Kuala Lumpur’s most internationally famous sight is, without doubt, the metallic and impressive corporate complex that houses the Petronas Towers, which held the title of world’s tallest skyscrapers from 1998 to 2004. The towers are especially striking when all lit up at night. Even if the illuminated towers had been the sole sight we had seen that weekend, I still would have rated the entire trip as completely worthwhile. They were that stunning.

To best appreciate the sight, there is SkyBar, on the 33rd floor of the Traders Hotel, just across the street from the towers. Luckily, my friend Erin had visited KL during her post-Thailand travels, and she advised me to call ahead to reserve a good table. Our windowside perch offered a stunning view of the city skyline, as you can see from the photo below, which I took on Saturday night.

The view from SkyBar

Sunday morning, before our mid-afternoon flight back to Hong Kong, Eric and I managed to fit in one last attraction that had been recommended by several of my friends who have visited KL: the Batu Caves. If you ever make it to the city, I don't think a visit would be complete with out a sidetrip here. Truly a sight to be seen, words cannot come close to describing the Batu Caves.

The caves were fascinating, ridiculous and strange all at once. I’ve never seen anything quite like them, and I don't think I'll ever forget them. Located just outside of the city, the caves include Indian temples, long staircases, huge statues, giftshops and restaurants, tourists and faithful pilgrims, men wrapped in snakes or holding lizards (that you can take photos with) and, most memorably, hundreds of curious monkeys.

Of all the memories I have of Kuala Lumpur, none is so vivid as that of the rambunctious monkeys who hold court in the Batu Caves. They are everywhere, and they are seemingly unfazed by humans. That is, at least, until you approach one of their young, which I mistakenly did. I don't think I will ever forget the mother monkey (below right) hissing and lunging towards me after I crossed some invisible line and got too close to her baby (below left).

Perhaps the most bizarre thing we encountered at the caves was an Indian family, all barefoot, carrying a palm tree up the steps to the main temple. If that wasn’t strange enough, a baby happened to be dangling inside a cloth swing hanging from the tree’s trunk. As monkeys ran amok, tourists (myself included) snapped photos and water dripped from the cave’s ceiling, the family vigilantly pushed forward until reaching the temple!

The Indian family making their way up the steps

In the end, I can say I really enjoyed my weekend in Kuala Lumpur. True, I will not be rushing back next month, but I know that when I find myself there again, I will be in a diverse and fascinating place where there are plenty of things to see and do.