Today we travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. We're going to spend three nights here and then three nights in Langkawi before returning to KL for the wedding. As I'm writing we can hear a noise outside which we figure must be Chinese drumming, and we've just lost tv reception because of the rain. So we're soaking up the atmosphere of the Chinese mansion house-turned Yeng Keng Hotel where we're staying.
As I mentioned, the Shangri-La in KL was a pretty awesome place to stay. We missed the last two happy hours; it was a shame to miss out on the free drinks and tasty snacks but we were out doing more interesting things and experiencing the real KL (which we've learnt from Gan and Renu that experiencing the real KL often means being stuck in traffic. Luckily we did make it to every one of the amazing buffet breakfasts and had fun with the Malaysian breakfasts and delicacies, as well as filling up like we didn't know where our next chocolate croissant might be coming from.
I think I was so tired after the Batu Caves yesterday that I failed to impart just how interesting it was, and how filthy we were at the end. Just to recap, we had covered outselves in mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Then walked up over 200 very steep stairs, then sat on the ground surrounded by incense for a while as we watched the ceremony. At the end of each ceremony one of the priests came around to each of us so we could 'take' some of the fire then gave us white powder (I think it was ash) to rub in the middle of our forehead and on our necks. Then at the end we put on the red powder, then they brought around milk which had been blessed, which we took in both hands, drank some, then rubbed the rest through our hair.
So of all my happy memories from the Shangri-La, my favourite was having a shower to wash the sunscreen, Bushman's, ash, vermilion, sweat and milk off.
Goodbye fancy bathroom. (Our new bathroom in Penang isn't too bad either, but about a quarter the size. More on Penang to follow.)
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