Batu Caves

It thundered most of the night, so we woke up several times to the sound of the booming. Luckily, by morning, it had cleared up, and the sun was shining again. We set out to find some breakfast and stumbled upon a little Indian street kitchen that looked super popular. They served various types of pancakes, and we opted for one with cheese and egg, which tasted really good. It only cost 2 RM each! We were traveling back to KL with one of the guys from our hostel, a Scot. When we got to the bus station, we found out it was cheaper to take the bus from Melaka than to head out to the city from KL. This trip only cost 8 RM, so we saved a couple of bucks, which means a lot in Malaysia since you can buy quite a bit for that amount. Once we arrived back in the big city, we took a taxi to a hostel that our previous one had recommended. It was really well-located right in the center and only cost 40 RM in total. They also had internet access for 3 RM an hour and a pool table to play on. In the afternoon, we took a taxi, which cost 20 RM total, out to Batu Caves, a cave that holds great significance for Hindus. Our taxi driver was Indian and mentioned that he was looking for a "white girl" to take him traveling, including to Europe. It was free to enter the cave after climbing all the stairs to get there. On the way up, I got "attacked" by a monkey that spotted the bag I was holding with a soda in it. There were loads of monkeys running around on the stairs and inside the cave, and I hadn’t thought about the fact that they’ve learned that a crinkly bag often means food. I was completely taken by surprise when a monkey suddenly tugged at my bag. It won the "battle" and ran off with my Fanta, which it had a hard time getting open. Inside the cave, there were several "rooms" or small caves with sculptures, and there was even a little temple where we were blessed by a Hindu. We took the bus back, which is way cheaper than a taxi—it only cost 1.60 RM per ticket. Back at the hotel, we started sorting our clothes so we could finally get them washed for the first time since leaving Denmark. It was much needed. It cost 10 RM for 4 kg of laundry. In the evening, we headed down to Chinatown for dinner and found a nice little outdoor restaurant. There were several tourists there, which felt a bit strange since we had felt like we were almost the only tourists in Malaysia until now. We could definitely tell more had arrived as the fear of SARS was starting to fade. When you’re in Chinatown, it’s hard not to wander around the many markets. We ended up buying a watch that only cost 10 RM. Back at the hotel, they were showing movies for free. It was also a great opportunity to chat with other backpackers about their experiences and share our own stories.