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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Fish Feet

I had heard about this for quite some time, but never took the opportunity to do it.  You stick your feet into a tank of fishes.   The fish will come rushing toward your feet and eat the dead skin cells off.  So after a long day of walking around the city, I ran across one of these places and thought it would be a good time to take a rest.  I stuck my feet in the tank for about 30 minutes.  It was strange at first, but then by the end was pretty boring.  I can't say that it helped much/any, but it does make for a good story.
Here's the photo proof!

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Malaysia Work Celebration Dinner

To celebrate a milestone with my work project we had a celebratory dinner at a local seafood restaurant. Many colleagues joined for the festive occasion.  The meal was delicious and everyone has happy for our collective achievement.  I took a few pictures of the prepared food, but I thought it was great that they kept so much live food there.

 





All the food was fresh....it was alive before we ordered it....









These lobsters were HUGE, I put my hand up for a reference to there size.


Check out the size of these shrimp (prawn)!!




HUGE crabs, again I put my hand in the picture for a reference.




The other interesting thing at this restaurant was they had full length aquarium floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall which was used as a urinal.  I didn't get a picture because there was never an opportunity--as it was actively being used.  So there were fish swimming around.  Weird stuff indeed.

Click this link to see the entire photo set on Flickr
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