Our next stop on the journey was to leave the Cameron Highlands and head towards the capital of Malaysia, the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur (KL). In order to get there, unfortunately we had to wind back down the curvy roads we rode up on. As on the way up, on the way down we felt the temperature change. This time from cool to warm to hot again. I had briefly forgotten about Asia's heat but was quickly reminded how strong it is.

After the 3ish hour minibus drive we got to the hotel dropped our bags and headed as a group into the city. Our accommodation here is a hotel in the heart of the city with air conditioning and the most exciting part, free wifi!!!

For lunch we went to a food court in the Central Market area. Food courts are part of the culture in Malaysia and are different from those we are used to in America. Picture cooked chickens hanging in the display. Not quite McDonalds or subway. A lot of us chose a place that looked the cleanest and may have gambled wrong. The chicken I got was served cold and had many bones in it. I didn't want to gamble with my health so decided to eat the rice and sauce but not much else. It was pretty good chicken but considering my short time left in Asia, I didn't want to risk getting sick.

From lunch, we took a train with Willie to the Batu Caves. The Batu Caves are actual 400 million year old caves that shelter Hindu shrines. To get to the caves, we climbed around 300 stairs to the top. On the way to the top, the stairway is lined with wild monkeys. At first we thought they were cute, however, we realized quickly how not cute these wild animals are. The monkeys were eager for food and anything they could get their hands on. Rumor has it they'll even snatch your bags. We saw monkeys drinking from water bottles, knocking each other off the stairs, masturbating, and even hissing and jumping at humans and children (see photos). Luckily we survived with no monkey incidents... I was sure to stay clear of them, but did manage to snag a few good photos. At the top, the actual shrines were somewhat underwhelming, maybe I've just seen so many at this point they're all becoming the same, but we made our way back down the stairs, avoiding the monkeys, and went back to the hotel to get ready for our night out.

For the first time ever, the entire group decided to go out together. My travel agent/friend Anne had been to this neat looking rooftop bar called the Helipad, so I suggested this to the group. KL has many rooftop bars which are main night attractions for visitors because they have views of the twin towers and the KL tower and if there's a sunset, the perfect ambiance. The helipad is unique because 1. It's less advertised than many of the others and 2. It's the only rooftop bar that doesn't have a railing or enclosure because it's actually used as a helicopter pad during the day. The views from the bar were incredible and made the price of drinks worth it. We had fun taking unique photos and watching the day change to night. Although there wasn't a sunset because it was cloudy, it was amazing to watch the city come to life. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we decided to stay for dinner instead of moving somewhere else. This unfortunately turned into a fiasco. I'm not sure they were used to 14 person parties and dinner quickly turned into a mess. The food took forever, the bills were wrong, people weren't getting drinks, the list goes on and on. In the end, a lot of people were frustrated and unhappy, but it got sorted out and we moved on to the next adventure. These are things you have to deal with when traveling. Not everything will be up to the standards we are used to at home, things happen and it's important not to let it ruin your time, patience and understanding is key. Besides dinner, the helipad was a really unique experience, and it was so nice to have our entire group all together.

After leaving the helipad, we tried to find a bar called Mango. No one seemed to know where it was, we were pointed in many different directions, and because we can't whip out our iPhones to google it, we settled for a reggae bar in the heart of China town. We spent a few hours there (it was ladies night so we took advantage) played some pool, and about half us decided to make a move and continue on to the next location. We ended up at another rooftop bar called the Mansion which was a part of a reggae hostel. Interesting concept. Although not as high and no spectacular views, it was great to be outside with a breeze and I really enjoyed this bar. We danced until exhaustion set in, annoying the DJ with song requests, and made our way home to bed.

The next day, even though I could've slept until 2015, we had a free day so the group separated and I went around the city site seeing with Rachel, Jodie, and Ash. We started with a journey to a breakfast location that was supposed to be "breakfast is like a party" but we couldn't find it, so we settled on a small local restaurant, and ordered based on suggestions from one of the owners. It ended up being one of my favorite meals yet, absolutely incredible (see photo). After breakfast we made our way around KL seeing all the main sites with just a map. Jodie and Ash did the navigating while Rachel and I followed along in the rear. I'm only a navigator if I need to be, so I let those two take control. We took fun jumping photos at the twin towers, got caught in the rain, went to the national mosque, couldn't go into the national mosque because it was prayer time, walked over to the Islamic art museum, went back to the mosque, covered in the appropriate attire (see photo), tried to find Mecca, went to the old KL train station, Merdeka Square, over to the KL Tower where we went to the top observation deck, to China town for some shopping, and 11 hours later, stumbled back to our hotel with aching feet. I can't exactly say I was extremely interested in everything we saw that day, but I figured I was with motivated sight seers so I might as well take advantage and see the most of the city while I was there. I think my feet will hate me forever.

After showering up, the four of us went back to the twin towers for night photos and were in awe at the beautiful architecture and how they seemed to glow in the night sky. For dinner, we went to a restaurant that seemed popular and lively, both of which we needed to keep us awake. While deciding on our meals, we noticed that many local girls were lined up in tight dresses along the tables on the wall. Ironically, each male that passed they seemed to take an interest in. Eventually we worked it out that these girls were prostitutes. While we ate, we watched them in action, preying on their men, and were in awe at how obvious the situation was and how the management at the restaurant didn't seem to care. As we were finishing our cocktails, two Spanish guys came and sat at our table in a rush and said, omg normal people. Apparently they had been hassled by one or more of these girls for a "good time." Needless to say, we were eager to get out of there and head to a different location. We had lost our other group at that point, so headed towards a nightlife section that these guys knew of. After a crazy cab ride, we found a hidden gem of bars, and what would you know, Mango from the night before that we couldn't find. Eventually, the rest of our group was able to join us, and we had a really good time dancing and drinking way too much. The night ended with a crazy encounter the Malaysian mafia, or what seemed like the mafia. Basically, one of our drinks was accidentally spilled and got a man at a table next to us wet. Apparently he was extremely upset, and the next thing we knew, all hell broke loose. A girl from his table poured a bucket of water on our table, soaking our purses, and ice cubes and cups of other drinks were being flung at people in our group as well. I couldn't believe what was going on, and no one was helping us. Finally a worker that spoke English asked what was going on and apologized over and over but basically said his boss didn't care what we said because we weren't Malaysian and would side with this man no matter what. At that point it was 3am and the bar was closing anyway, so we grabbed a cab and got out of there! Scary to think what could've happened if we stuck around and that man's anger elevated any further :/. Our cab ride home lightened the mood, we all drunkenly sang I believe I can fly obnoxiously to our cab driver, I have a great video to document it :-) Our hotel was on a dead end, so when we got out of the cab, naturally a dance party ensued in the street, street cones were on people's heads, and there may even have been a conga line. Around 4am, we called it quits and went up to bed as our 8 am leaving time was quickly approaching.

Overall KL was a great city! Beautiful modern architecture, fun bars, but also kept local cultural aspects reminding us we were still in Asia. Next stop, 2 hours south to Melacca!