"City Garden Of Lights"

Along with Singapore, we went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's called the City Garden of Lights due to its rich nightlife, illuminated skyline, and rich green parks, gardens, and spaces.

We stayed there only for 3 nights and a day. I felt we should've stayed for some more time, as just 2 nights seemed like such a short time. Anyway, when we entered our hotel, I noticed it was so much more spacious than the previous hotel, and cost 3 times less. It also didn't have a sink next to the bed, which felt much more normal.

DAY 1

Our flight was a four-hour one, and by the time we reached our hotel, it was 4 pm. Also, we were really tired from the journey of the one hour it took to reach our hotel from the airport. So we spent a few hours relaxing and freshening up. When it was about 7 pm, we decided to take a walk in and around our area and then have dinner. 

For dinner, we found a restaurant that served Indian food and tried it out. We ordered South Indian but it was definitely not the right choice because it obviously didn't turn out the way we expected. Unlike Little India, it was useless to expect good Indian food from a Malaysian restaurant. 

DAY 2

On day 2, we went to Batu Caves in the morning, and by the time it was afternoon, we explored KL Towers. 

 

Batu Caves

Here, we saw many statues of different Indian mythological creatures, like the ones you see in Hindu temples. We had to climb some 200 steps to see a huge statue of Karthikeyan, the son of Shiva and brother of Ganesha (yeah, I know my mythology). We kept taking 2-minute breaks while ascending the steps

When we descended, we sat on a little bench inside and drank some water. That's something we kept buying in Singapore and Malaysia. Anyway, after a while, monkeys began coming in and I saw one of them taking some bananas that were nervously offered by a group of tourists. After that, we left and while descending the steps from the second to the first floor, I held my father's hand tight and prayed that the monkeys wouldn't steal my hat or sunglasses. 

KL Towers

During our walk on our first day in Malaysia, we saw the Towers from a distance and my mom jokingly remarked, "To see this Tower even from a distance we will be charged a few dollars per head." 

The one thing that stood out for me in KL Towers was the observation floor. They had some binoculars at every point in the Tower, a few meters away from each other. I looked in one of them and saw a detailed view of each and every building, even the Petronas Towers. 

For dinner, we went to a night market/shopping street where there was mostly food being made and sold. We ended up eating vegetarian food, like we did on most other nights, after getting tired of consuming chicken during the daytime. We called for some sauteed veggies, some BBQ broccoli, and BBQ okra. I loved the okra so much that I ended up eating 3 more plates of it. 

DAY 3

On day 3 we went shopping. We did some street shopping at first and we ended up buying something only for me. My dad was interested in buying some workout clothes for himself, but for some reason, we missed doing that. Later, we headed out for lunch to a Malaysian restaurant. 

After lunch, my Mom wanted to go to Central Market. But it started raining cats and dogs, and it turned out we got stuck in it. When the rain seemed to subside, we ran to our destination, which was only a 2-minute walk from where we were taking shelter from the pelting rain. My newly bought shoes got wet in the rain, but I soon recovered from it when I saw what a pretty place Central Market was. We bought some chocolate from there and bought a pair of pants for me and a shirt for my Dad. After, we stopped for coffee. 

The highlight of my trip was that I sent a postcard from there to my tuition teachers, without whose help I couldn't have gained confidence in my studies. It was more like a testimonial, and a heartfelt thank-you. 

My love affair with the BBQ okra continued even during dinner when I ordered 4 plates of it. 

DAY 4

Our flight was scheduled for 9.30 pm on day 4. All I could think about on that day was the fact that I'd have to go back to my mundane life in Bangalore- filled with classes and boredom. After the vacation, the school would reopen and I'd get lost in my world of never-ending studies and tuition, as always, and not have time for anything else (*sigh*).

Apart from this though, I enjoyed the day. We went to Zara and bought perfume for my Mum and a green shirt, a shade of which I didn't possess in my wardrobe. Later, we went to see the Petronas Towers and bought a fridge magnet as well. 

We had to leave 4 hours in advance for our flight. Also, the standard checkout time in our hotel was 12 pm. Hence, we had to put on our airport clothes and leave the room. I could sense my Mom was getting irritated with my Dad for not seeming to have cared for her resting schedule. I think she would've preferred to stay in the hotel for a few more hours, probably 2 hours before the boarding time. 

I would've definitely liked to do the same- fixing up a cup of coffee, taking my book, and laying on the bed with covers on me and the AC at the perfect temperature. Gosh, I'd been dreaming of that since the time of my Board exams! As they say, it's the simple things in life that matter the most. 

Time flew by quickly and we had to leave for the airport. I can never get used to the kiosks and the other machines they have there! In Bangalore, this kind of stuff isn't part of our daily life. So I said goodbye to Malaysia and hoped that I'd come back to visit again.