Singaporeans cook Curry for anti-immigration protest

Below is an article from the local newspaper.  Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when the organize events.  This is a good example.  As I undertstand it, in Singapore they have organized a curry cooking event to protest immigration.  Hmmmm....what???  Don't you think this might be counterproductive?

This would be like the United States organizing a taco luncheon to protest Mexico immigration. 

Maddness!

Menara Telecom Building

I just discovered that the building I work in is ranked the 29th tallest building in the world (if measured by height of roof) or ranked 53rd tallest building in the world (if architectural features such as antennas are taken into consideration).


It is also the second tallest building in Malaysia behind the Petronas Towers which are ranked # 6 in height, and the tallest twin towers in the world.

Coworkers brought it to my attention, but then I also found it on Wikipedia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallest_building

I'm fascinated by this.  Who knew.....

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Batu Caves Taxi Ride

I went to the Batu Caves on the outside of Kuala Lumpur during my first visit to KL (several months ago).  I was new to the city and everyone told me to take a taxi out there because it was far away from the city to be serviced by public transportation.  So I did.  No problem at all getting out there, but coming back it is really hard to get a taxi.  The taxi drivers that are there want to haggle and charge too much for their service.  And if I knew then what I know now, I would have been better prepared for the exchange that happens between taxi drivers and patrons.  But that's another story.  Once I finally decided on a fixed price for the ride, we started to drive out of the parking lot.  I immediately started to get worried because the taxi driver picked up one of his friends to come along on the ride.  Being new to the city I honestly didn't know if I was about to be kidnapped, hijacked, robbed, or taken to my destination.  It was very unnerving.  The longer we drove the more uncomfortable I got, because being new to the city I couldn't determine if we were going the right way or not.  So I decided I would take a picture of the drivers and the text the taxi cab number back to my brother in case something happened.  Sounded like a great idea at the time.  However, my data service on my Blackberry would not connect, so I could not send the information or the email to him which heighten my anxiety level.  The whole ordeal was pretty unnerving. 

I had decided to tell them to drop me off at one of the upscale malls in town, because earlier in my trip I saw where there were security guards which were at all the doors of the mall.  I thought this way I won't have a problem with the drop off.  Although thinking of it now, this might not have been the best strategy because it probably meant to them that I had money.... But as we continued to drive, I started to recognize buildings and had a relative confidence that I was going to my intended destination.  To my surprise and delight, when we arrived, there happened to be armed guards outside of the mall that day.  The driver and his friend seemed a little freaked out about that, they started talking about it before we even stopped the taxi.  I got out, paid the flat rate price and went on my merry way. 

Later, I found out that there is public transportation station across from the tourist spot.  So I could have easily gone by subway to Batu Caves, and avoided all this.  But I guess it all turned out alright, and now I have a story to tell.

Although no longer necessary, here is the picture of the taxi driver and friend: 

See also related blog story on the Batu Caves for the pictures of the destination Batu Caves; First Trip in April

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Batu Caves; First Trip in April

I've not been very diligent keeping the blog posts current.  It has been a combination of lack of time and more importantly lack of dependable internet service.  Trying to get caught up on past posting, I wanted to share my first experience at Batu Caves (April). 

Batu Caves are located outside the city of Kuala Lumpur.  It is about a 30 minute taxi ride assuming no traffic.  This is one place all the travel guides say is a 'must see' when visiting Kuala Lumpur.  At the site, there are many steps leading up the side of a mountain, which enters into large open-air limestone caves.  The site has Indian religious site and has many temples and statues around.  I have been back to this site once more with some visitors to the city.  It is a neat place to visit.  There is also a 100% chance to see lots of monkeys, which is also exciting to most people (at least the first one or two that you encounter).  Enjoy the caves!

I don't know how to rotate this video so that it appears correctly on the screen, but here is a monkey eating fruit video.

Click here to view the entire photoset on Flickr!

See also related story about getting to Batu Caves  Batu Caves Taxi Ride

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