Malaysia Mania AND Guest Blog # 2 from Jordan

We stayed in KL, Malaysia for only one full day… so we had to hustle to get everything we wanted done in the short time frame.  We started off the day by learning the metro system (a must in any city with as much traffic as KL).  The one taxi driver we had all day kept calling it “bad jam” like the traffic nightmare was rotten jelly. To ride the metro you buy a bright blue plastic coin from the token machine (which is easy) and then have to figure out the correct platform (not so easy). 

We started by taking the monorail to Central Market (or Pasar Seni) where we had to find several different things.

 We also had to do a taste test with three different varieties of fruit: durian, mangosteen and rambutan.  The durian is an AWFUL smelling, spiny fruit that stinks like wet grubby feet.  The smell is so awful it’s against the law to bring durian onto public transportation.  Naturally we had to taste it.  It tastes better than it smells – but that’s a low bar.

 Then we visited a Chinese temple (a little unique in a mainly Muslim and some Hindu country)

But the real highlight of the day…. Feeding and bathing elephants at the Elephant Conservatory.  It was a long ride out there but worth it because we got to feed, bathe and interact with elephants saved by the charity when they got abandoned by their herd or injured.  

Jordan and Rainey then waded into the muddy river and scrubbed down the elephants.  A splash fight ensued.

Observation from Malaysia: Apparently ignoring Public Service Announcements is a universal trait.   Despite this sign in the ladies'  bathroom – in the Western toilet stall – clearly explaining the difference between a flush toilet and a squat toilet, (i.e. DO NOT stand on the flush toilet and use it as a squat toilet) I walked in to find two distinct foot prints on either side of the toilet seat.  

  
We are heading for Nepal next.. YEAH... Can't wait. We are going into that leg in second place overall.
              

GUEST BLOG: JORDAN’S THOUGHTS ON MALAYSIA

Though this leg was only a few hours long (9am-9pm) it was good. Not the best leg so far but still pretty fun. Once we got our scavenge book we went straight out to do a few small scavenges then ended up taking an hour long taxi ride out to an elephant conservatory. The elephants got introduced to us, we fed them and then bathed them in the river. You put sand on their back and scrub their back.

On our way back we stopped at a temple that we had to climb 300+ steps to get to a cave at the top. 

The temple was actually built into this huge cave at the top of the stairs.

Oddly enough we found roosters up there too. No idea what they were doing there. But they were crowing. They are on the rocks behind me.. right below the statues. 

We also got blessed by a Hindu priest during a sunset ceremony. The priest guy was wearing only a wrap skirt and no top.  He put a smear of ground up ashes on my mom's forehead for good luck. 

We also got our  fortune told

There were monkeys everywhere. On the stairs up and all through the cave.

It was even a long trek back down

We then headed back into town to do some eating scavenges and by the time we finished it was time for check-in. At check-in  we learned where we were going next, which is Kathmandu (in Nepal). I’m so excited about it because I’ve heard a lot from my mom about Nepal from her first year of Great Escapes. That’s about all for now.