Aug 20, 2009

A Monkey Stole My Peanuts


Today, Thomas and I visited the magnificent Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur (KL). After walking in circles around the confusing streets of KL, while dodging motorbikes in high heat and humidity we found the bus stop to take us to the caves. It was only a block away from our hostel. After a 45-minute bus ride, we arrived at the bottom of the caves. We walked up 200 steps and passed about a dozen monkeys. At the end of the stairs, we found ourselves in a very large cave filled with beautiful Hindu shrines. It was very cool to see.

Before we went back down the stairs, we stopped to have a snack. I pulled out a package of peanuts and tried to open it. Before I was able to open it, a monkey grabbed it out of my hands, climbed up the cave and ate my peanuts. It happened so fast and it was hilarious. I'm just thankful that the monkey didn't run off with my credit card like in those commercials. My hunger didn't last long because we had a fantastic Indian meal at the bottom of the stairs. One of the best things about KL is that there is fantastic, cheap food everywhere you walk.

We arrived at the hostel just as a downpour started. The rain lasted the rest of the afternoon and into the night. The rain here is heavy, usually accompanied with thunder and lightning. It's exciting. You have to run to get undercover when it happens. And it seems to be happening every day here at about 4 p.m.

So far in my Southeast Asian travels, I have seen Mosques, Churches, Buddhist temples and Hindu temples. There is a lot of diversity here. In Malaysia, the most prominent religion is Islam. There is even a Bank Islam. Many women wear the tudong, the islamic headscarf. Only muslim women are required to wear it. According to my Lonely Planet guide, women in Malaysia had great influence before the country became predominantly muslim. The following website has information on issues facing Malaysian Muslim women http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/BM/index.htm

Only one more day left until the start of International Congress.

1 comment:

  1. THAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS FIVE! The monkey stealing my peanuts part, I mean, when I went to SE Asia.

    Keep up with the blog, Andrea! Great job!

    ReplyDelete