Kuala Lumpur City Tour: National Monument

This morning I took a city tour of Kuala Lumpur. Surprisingly, most of my tourmates were from the United States, including two couples from Los Angeles. I was the first American that they had come across in Malaysia. They had been here awhile, visiting Sabah, which is one of the 13 states of Malaysia, situated on the island of Borneo,  and where there are jungles and beaches. It is a popular tourist destination. They were so thrilled to meet a fellow American, and especially one from LA, that they treated me like a long–lost friend. Our guide was a Malaysian Hindu Indian.

Our first tour stop was at the National Monument, dedicated to Malaysia’s war dead, from World Wars I and II and from 1948 to 1960, the years that Malaysia was fighting the communists.

The National Monument

The monument statue. If it reminds you of the Iwo Jima Monument in Washington, DC, there is a good reason for it to do so: both these statues had the same creator, Felix de Weldon.

I have put more photos of the National Monument and of other places we stopped off at on this tour on a slide show: Go to Slide Shows, Asia, Malaysia, “Kuala Lumpur City Tour” or go directly to http://www.peggysphotos.com/kuala–lumpur–city–tour–day–3a/

We drove through the Lake Gardens where there is a large Bird Park and Butterfly Garden, among other attractions. We didn’t stop and I didn’t get to take any photos of it, but it looked like an interesting place to spend some time.

Merdeka or Independence Square

Our next tour stop was at Medeka or Independence Square, which was the center of British colonial life and administration. The photo shows the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, which served as the headquarters of the colonial administration. It was built in the Moorish style in 1897. Today, it houses a division of the Malaysian High Court.

On the tour, we drove past a number of buildings of interesting architecture. However, we did not make photo stops of them and it is very difficult to take photos from a van. Since our tour didn’t stop at these buildings and no other group tours are offered that would, you would have to go on your own to see them, probably hiring  a driver as the buildings are far apart. Some of these buildings: One was huge Syariah Court, where civil matters are decided for Muslims (persons of the Malay race are defined as Muslims). Criminal charges are heard in federal court. We passed a Moorish style office building where only Muslims are allowed to have offices. Another building we passed was the huge National Mosque. We also passed a school and were told by our guide that parents can choose among state–sponsored schools for Muslims, Chinese, Malay, or Indian for their children’s education.

Polygamy is legal in Malaysia. I read an article in one of the local newspapers of an obituary of a former Malacca state assembly speaker. He was survived by his two wives.

The National Museum

Our next stop was at the National Museum which opened in 1963. We stayed here for over an hour.

The King’s Palace

We had a photo stop at the new King’s Palace (called also the Istana Negara or the Agong’s Palace––Malaysia’s king is called “Agong”), built in 2011. The Kingdom of Malaysia consists of nine sultanates and four non–monarchy states. When Malaysia was granted independence in 1957, there was a question as to which sultan would become the king. What was decided on was that the king would be elected to serve by the nine sultans and would serve only five years. After five years, a new king would be elected in the same manner. If a sultan is still alive when his turn comes up again, he can serve a second time as king. If he is not still alive, then his eldest son can become king but never a daughter. If the sultan didn’t have any sons, his brother then could serve.

Royal Selangor Visitor Center

Our next stop was at the Royal Selangor Visitor Center, where pewter is turned into various objects, such as tankards. The one in the photo has the Guiness World Record of being the biggest tankard. There were many beautiful items to buy but the prices were quite high. The prices of Royal Selangor are fixed all through Malaysia, so you were getting a bigger selection of items here but not better prices for those items.

Pewter is made from tin, antimony, and copper. There are tin mines in Malaysia, but I don’t know where they obtain the other metals.

On My Way to See the United Buddy Bears

My Kuala Lumpur City Tour was finished, but I was to have the same tour guide for my afternoon tour. Instead of dropping me off at my hotel and then picking me up again, I asked him to drop me off at the Pavilion mall. In front of the mall were the United Buddy Bears. I saw this sign on the way to the bears.

United Buddy Bears

I was lucky that the United Buddy Bears were in Kuala Lumpur the same time I was. The Buddy Bears were developed in Berlin in 2001. After about 350 of them were exhibited in Berlin, they were sold. I saw a number of them when I was in Berlin last year, scattered about the city. In 2003, new Buddy Bears, the United Buddy Bears, were created, each representing a country recognized by the United Nations––more than 140. The bears are placed alphabetically, making for interesting “buddies” next to each other. The exhibit here ended this month in February. The next United Buddy Bear exhibit will be in New Delhi March to May, 2012.

The motto of the United Buddy Bears: “We have to know each other better, it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully.”

I have put my photos of the United Buddy Bears on a slideshow: Go to Slideshows, Asia, Malyasia, “United Buddy Bears” or directly to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/united–buddy–bears–day–3b/

Batu Caves

I had a quick lunch at the Coffee Bean in the Pavilion mall (if you don’t have much time to eat and all you want is a sandwich, you are thankful that there is Western food nearby) before my tour guide picked me up. My tour group again was made up of Aussies and Brits, two of the Brits were women who were on my tour yesterday to Malacca. The three of us climbed the 272 very steep stairs together, some of which you can see in the photos.

The Batu Caves are dedicated to the Hindu Lord Murugan––that a statue of him in the photo. The statue is 140 feet (42.6 m) high and is the tallest statue of Lord Murugan in the world.  The Batu Caves are the center of the Hindu Thaipusam Festival. At that time, you will see hundreds of Indian women in saris climbing up these steps.

Batu Caves

There are wild monkeys on and along the steps, looking for food. I had heard that the monkeys will grab your water bottle or any food you have with you, so I left my water and snacks behind. I had my hand on one of the rails going up the steps. A monkey was sitting at the top of the rail on a ball–like resting place––see photo. It must have thought I was creeping up on it, trying to steal its food. It started growling at me and showing its teeth. I froze in mortal fear as I thought it was going to attack me. What do I do now? I carefully moved to the other side of the steps and waited for the monkey to move before I climbed any higher (my climbing companions were ahead of me as I was stopping to take photos). Henceforth, I gave wide berth to the monkeys.

Anyway, it was an adventure and a challenge to make it up the 272 very steep steps while watching out for wild monkeys, but I did it!

I have put my photos of the Batu Caves on a slideshow: Go to Slideshows, Asia, Malaysia, “Batu Caves” or directly to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/batu–caves–day–3c/

Batu Caves

After walking down the steps, I decided to have a beer to celebrate. I stopped at an Indian cafe on the way to the tour van. The cafe had a very interesting collection of photos and posters on a wall. I cannot figure out what the picture of Mao is doing here.

Batu Caves

Right below the picture of Mao were these girls.

Batu Caves

Farther along the wall was these pictures of Ho Chin Min and someone I do not recognize. You can also see a picture of Gandi on the wall.

Batu Caves

Indian women at the Batu Caves.

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

Our next stop was at the Thean Hou Chinese Temple, completed in 1987 and dedicated to the Goddess Tian Hou (the Heavenly Mother).

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

The temple has elements of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in it. It was one of the most beautiful Chinese temples that I have visited. Photo: the prayer hall.

I have put my photos of the Thean Hou Chinese Temple on a slide show: Go to Slide Shows, Asia, Malaysia, “Thean Hou Chinese Temple” or go directly to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/thean–hou–chinese–temple–day–3d/

This was the end of my touring of Malaysia. I took advantage of the 1/2 price sandwich and pastry special at my hotel for dinner and then packed. I was to fly to Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, tomorrow.

There are many other tours offered in Kuala Lumpur. One of the most popular ones is to Elephant Sanctuary where you can care for elephants. Other tours go to the rainforest, the highlands, Penang, to the forests to see fireflies, among others. There is much to do here.