It was an early morning for us as our car to Kuala Lumpur was due to arrive at 5 AM. Due to immigration restrictions, we had a Singaporean driver pick us up at our hotel and take us across the border into Malaysia where we met Rico, our driver for the rest of the day. Rico explained that due to concerns over trafficking, a Malaysian driver could not go into Singapore to pick up passengers and take them to Malaysia. Rico provides us with some snacks and apple juice for breakfast as we made our four hour drive to our first stop at Batu Caves, where we met our guide for the day.

We were immediately faced with the 272 red, yellow, blue and green steps to the top of the cave entracne where a Hindu shrine had been built. The 140 foot tall gold statue of the Hindu God Lord Murugan near the stairs was covered in scaffolding, continuing a tradition of ours of visiting sites around the world under repairs. We slowly made our way up the stairs, avoiding the wild monkeys cavorting on the handrails and the walls. We entered the over 400 million year old cave, where a temple was built in 1920. Inside was a series of shrines and dioramas depicting scenes from Hindu poetry.

After descending the stairs, we browsed a small shop and then got back in the car for our drive to Kuala Lumpur city. Our next stop was Thean Hou Temple, one of the oldest and largest temples in Southeast Asia. This ornate Chinese temple is dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, Thean Hou, protectorate of people who make their living from the sea. The temple borrows from Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian traditions. There was a small park next to the temple with statues of the Chinese zodiac.

Next we headed downtown to Merdeka or Independence Square, located near the Sultan Abdul Samad built in 1897 with Moorish and Victorian influences. The square itself is located next to the Royal Selangor Club, founded in 1890 with a large cricket ground. In 1957, Malaysia gained independence from British rule and the Union Jack that flew over Merdeka Square was lowered and replaced with the new Malaysian flag.

After the park, we visited Central Market Kuala Lumpur, a shopping center arranged in a stall concept, which represents the traditional markets that have existed in the city since the 1800s. We browsed the market for awhile looking for souvenirs, but most of it was clothing and jewelry, although we did find some coasters we liked.

Our next stop was the Petronas Twin Towers, two 88 story towers that were once the tallest in the world. Our guide explained they were built after a Singaporean businessman visited the Sears Tower in Chicago and decided he wanted to build a taller structure. The towers will soon be dwarfed by a nearby tower than will be the second tallest in the world. We saw crowds of Celebrity Cruises tourists as the Millennium had moved on from Singapore and was now docked in Malaysia. A woman in the elevator as we headed to lunch was surprised when Janie asked her how the ship was. We had lunch at Madame Kwan, a food court restaurant promising traditional Malay cuisine. Service as spotty but we enjoyed our beef satay and char kway teow, a popular stir-fried disk made with flat rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, Chinese sausage, eggs, and bean sprouts.

We said goodbye to our guide at the towers and Rico drove us to the pink-domed Putra Mosque, one of the most modern mosques in the world, constructed with rose-tinted granite and can accommodate 15,000 worshippers at a time. Janie donned a mosque robe to enter the place of worship. Following the mosque, Rico drove us four hours back to Singapore and our hotel where we said goodbye and turned in for the night.

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