Sunday October 23
The day before Deepavali.
After breakfast we used the Grab app and got a ride to the Thean Hou Temple. It was packed. There were a number of young couples having their wedding photos taken in the temple area and gardens. There is a wedding registry office at the temple so we suspect they have a lot of weddings. We took some pictures and video but with how busy it was we didn’t find it that enjoyable.
We left the temple and walked down the hill for a ways finally exiting the road and crossing a bridge where we then walked along the Klang River. We followed the river and finally turned towards Little India. Our plan was to search for a decent Indian restaurant for supper one night. We were met by crowds like we have never seen before. This weekend is the Deepavali Festival. Deepavali is the most significant celebrated festival among Hindus all across the globe, even in Malaysia. The main street in Little India was gridlocked. We walked around and never even found the restaurant we ate at the last time we were here. All of the shops had a sidewalk sale going on which actually blocked the storefronts from view. They had loud ear splitting music blasting from head height speakers that nearly deafened us as we passed. We finally hailed a Grab ride which took about 20 minutes to arrive due to the standstill traffic. Back to the hotel we went!
Later we walked to Loco Mexican restaurant on Changkat Bukit Bintang, a street that is home to many restaurants and bars. We drank beer and shared an order of Fajitas. The total cost was 147.35 MYR about $42.60 CAD. Food is not as cheap here as Thailand. Actually, the beer is expensive. Each pint was 23 MYR (Malaysian Ringit) about $6.50 CAD. That made the food cost about $23 CAD.
This evening we made it back to the room without the need for umbrellas!
Deepavali, holiday Monday, we walked to the Petronas Towers. We used to know our way around but we seem to be lost more than not. Luckily we came across the air-conditioned indoor walkways that are elevated above the streets which makes traffic and street crossings much less complicated. We finally got to the twin towers and took a few pictures. In base of the towers is the Suria Mall where we bought a spare GoPro battery. The battery cost 119 MYR about $34.50 CAD. Our existing batteries don’t last long in the heat. Apple Pay and our Visa card with no exchange conversion charge is very convenient and safe. Tap and pay – you don’t expose your credit card to fraud – hopefully. That’s what we have used recently to makes purchases at stores and more expensive restaurants.
From the Petronas Towers we walked to the Saloma Bridge which connects to the local neighbourhood of Kampung Baru.
We headed to the Nasi Lemak Wanjo Kampung Baru Restaurant. It was very busy. All we ordered was mango smoothies but they were amazing! They were about 7 MYR each, well worth $2 CAD.
From there we walked to the Mansion Tea Stall to try Teh Tarik. We really should have taken a pass as overly sweet hot tea was a bad idea. It’s usually served with Roti flat bread and curry but we were not hungry after the smoothie.
From the Mansion Tea Stall we walked back to our hotel and cooled off in the pool which was fairly chilly. Our total excursion on foot took us about 4 hours and we covered just over 11 KM.
This morning we were delayed because we had water running down the wall in the bathroom. No idea why, but when we reported it they were not surprised. It was so busy at the hotel because of the holiday we finally left for the day and told the front desk to fix it while we were out. We doubt it’s fixed but it is cleaned up. The wall was dry and looked like it never happened. Considering the hotel left our bath towels on the shelf on that wall, they are now on a towel bar no where near the “wet spot”. Gary heard water running during a late night bathroom visit but never turned on the light to find out why. We were so tired last night we went to bed at 8:30 pm and slept until 7:30 am.
We are getting our outdoor exercise and even with the cloudy skies Linda had a slight burn on her neck. We also are noticing a distinctive white area where our flip flop straps cover our feet.