Malaysia it's Truly Asia! Chapter Two: Kuala Lumpur City and Batu Caves!

The Roti Cheese Telur which we had devoured the previous night after coming back from Genting was extremely scrumptious for mainly two reasons; firstly that we were starving at that point after a tiring journey so anything would seem delicious (not literally anything) and secondly it was after all a South Indian delicacy and was a perfect blend of the South Indian cuisine so it was a proven fact that anyone who ate it ultimately loved it and so did I. The excitement inside me was at the highest level and the fact that two days before I was at my house not sure even if I'd be going to Malaysia and now I was sitting some 4000 Km away in a completely different country; it really made me praise the marvels of technology.
The next destination on our list was the famous Batu Caves and mainly the most visited tourist spot of Malaysia. Before going to Batu Caves one needs to mentally and physically prepare himself, though I wasn't mentally prepared because I had no idea that I would have to climb so many steps and to walk a lot I stuffed myself up with a heavy breakfast (though I still can't recall what I had for breakfast) but it was something heavy because due to the extremely humid weather and excursion I started having minor digestion problems.
The weather was the same like it always is in Kuala Lumpur, it could rain any day and at any time, there were no limits so at least by now I had been mentally prepared about this. From our dwelling in Seri Kembangan we left for the Batu Caves, this was the place I'd heard most about Malaysia after the Petronas Twin Towers. What would it be like I wondered, will it be like the Chinese Swee Temple in Genting? Well I'd hope not and how could it be? that was a Chinese Temple and this was a Hindu Temple. I was glad that I was getting to visit other places of worship in Malaysia; a Muslim-majority country so openly and was also astonished by the fact that it is the most visited tourist spot of the Muslim-majority country and was a Hindu Temple. This made me realize about the religious harmony and peace that flourished in this mega diverse nation.
As we parked the car in the large open space facing the temples I was taken aback the tall and magnificent statue of Hindu god Lord Murugan; what a beauty it was indeed. While chained in awe by the majestic view of the lush green hills, the long stairs, and of course the statue I pulled out my phone and snapchatted it because it would have been a pity for others to miss it. As we reached the stairs the real test now began of which I was not aware of. We climbed the stairs and on the way up monkeys welcomed us continuously while the view of the whole city from these stairs became even more beautiful. As I climbed on and on I began sweating and all of a sudden felt like I had a cramp in my arm and in one of my feet; though these were not as painful as the ones I experience in the middle of night; they really get the best of me but still it required a bit of rest so after enduring it for some time I told my companions to halt and well everything was going perfectly so far but these cramps had to ruin the moment I thought. After the resting I began climbing again though a bit slowly this time and reached the top without any further pain.

A view from the stairs

The inside of the cave was a vast area and there was no roof as it was cave though a very long one in terms of height, for some reason the floor was wet and slippery and all around and mostly in corners there were statues of the Hindu gods and goddesses. In the center there was also a place for the people to worship and a priest was also standing there with a circular tray in his hands, it was like being in a bollywood movie or an Indian Saas-Bahu soap opera.
Well, this is when the 'minor digestion problems' became major but I don't quite remember how but I became fine immediately after that.
Outside the caves in the large open space on the side a wedding was also taking place with the traditional Hindu customs as the Shehnai was played and the bride was brought in before everyone, this was also something interesting given the fact that I had watched this only in movies and TV Shows before.

A statue of a Hindu god

The day was very well spent indeed though the humidity, a heavy meal and the stairs got the best of me. Nevertheless this couldn't shatter my enthusiasm and it was the same as it was on the day I set foot in Kuala Lumpur. After visiting Batu Caves and the days following we really explored the city, going from glamorous shopping malls to small bazaars. The city center was full of life with high rise buildings and all, at night time during one of these days we went to the KLCC Park around the breathtaking Petronas Twin Towers, these metal giants are Malaysia's and Kuala Lumpur's landmark buildings just like the landmark of Lahore would be the Minar-e-Pakistan; I mean whenever I think of Malaysia it is the first thing that pops up in the mind. A fountain show in front on the Suria KLCC was a cherry on the top ( but now we have those in Lahore thanks to Shehbaz Sharif).

The Petronas Twin Towers

Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

As we were walking around the Changkat Bukit Bintang area my eyes caught the view of tiny twin towers and  Kuala Lumpur towers lined in shops; these were stalls and open shops. I looked around for souvenirs to take back home and after a thorough search I picked a stunning model of the twin towers which was of a reasonable size, as I consulted and discussed with my brother the shopkeeper might have noticed us conversing in Urdu.
He then began to speak Urdu, what a surprise it was indeed (it might be Hindi for him though) as after haggling with him and noticing his accent and facial features I concluded he was either Indian Bengali/Bangladeshi or Tamil.
Fun fact: there are three major groups residing in Malaysia namely Malay Malaysians, Chinese Malaysians and Indian Malaysians so my conclusion might not be false after all. The Bukit Bintang area was laid with high rise buildings and tiny bars all around. Next stop was the great and grand Pavillion mall; there are various malls like the Emporium Mall in KL but this one was even bigger than any of the malls in Pakistan but then again it was after all a shopping mall; unlike the same brands and stores you spot in Pakistani malls this one and all other malls I visited were packed with different brands and outlets so there was more option.
It was really interesting in exploring the city and the fascinating part was observing at even the smallest of things and comparing it with Pakistan, I pointed out various similarities and even more differences .