Malaysia -Kaula Lampur tour.

We left by luxury bus for touring Kuala Lumpur from Genting highlands after having a breakfast of bread toast with jam,spring rolls,fresh fruits like chunks of  yellow & red watermelon & papaya.Tea was too light for our taste.Moreover,there is a big crowd at breakfast time & all are in a hurry.The tour operator is also breathing down our necks & one has to wait for the toaster to warm up the bread.Some like it light brown,others almost burn it.Moreover,the toaster toasts bread on  one side at one instance & then one has to repeat the process again.This tires all & many opt for a light breakfast.This explains why breakfast is included in packages where one gets to stay.Breakfast is free  means  that the stay at the hotel is  free of breakfast !

En route,we saw clouds as we came down Genting Highlands to the plains.It was beautiful ! The sceneries with fog ,mist & clouds was too lovely.We stopped at Bantu caves to witness the largest statue of Karthikeyan ,son of Shiva & Parvati.Bantu caves are natural limestone caves on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.The magnificient  statue is painted with gold paint imported from Thailand.There are also temples dedicated to Lord Shiva & his consort Parvati as also Ganpati.The Karthikeyan temple is located at the top-after a flight of nearly two hundred fifty steps.The climb wears one down because the weather is quite sultry at the place.Monkeys roam about the Bantu carves & if they find a plastic bag being carried about,they pounce & steal it.Our guide informed us that monkeys are highly evolved & even drink coke by opening the cans.By evolution ,it was meant that anyone drinking coke is civilised.As time goes by,all evolution theories are being turned topsy turvy , but then, the guide alike  many others , has, still to learn about  them !

We also were taken to the biggest importer of Swiss watches .I brought a wrist watch but realised later that it carried no guarantee ! We also got perfumes -  we were lured by the numerous perfumes & we selected two, just randomly, as our noses had refused to distinguish the various smells ! There were sunglasses also on sale but as I am a myopic,I refrained from buying one- the only wise decision, I took on this trip.Then ,we left for a photo session -snaps were to be taken with the Petronas towers in the background.It was very hot & we all had our sunglasses on when professional photographers clicked a group photo of our travel group.

We had lunch at another Indian restaurant.Gulab jamuns  kept  for dessert disappeared in a moment & later for all guests,the waiter got a pair each in bowls.This was to prevent another set of the dessert from doing the disappearing act.All this just goes to show, that diabetic or not,Indians feel, that, unless, one has consumed all the sweets,we have not had our money's worth ! We take great pains to diet at home so that we can binge abroad ,  never mind ,the enormous risks to our health.

Kaula Lampur is a very modern city with many malls & a beautiful skyline.It is very green as well.Initially,more than half of Malaysia was covered by forests but now,it has reduced to less than half after industrialisation but the equatorial climate makes for  a lush green cover.After lunch,we visited the Chocolate factory wherein we brought chocolates. Malaysia is one of the largest producers of cocoa in the world.Some were filled with nuts.There were also chocolates mixed with chillies & other spices.We were told that these chocolates can be used in curries. The senior citizens in our group shopped more than the younger ones & took more time to shop .The chocolate factory & the watch buying only confirmed that the tourist guides earn hefty commissions whenever tourists buy from the said places.It is quid pro quo.

We had dinner in the night & went to sleep early as next day,we were to leave for Singapore by bus.We were given immigration forms to be filled in .We  completed a major part of the packing in the night to avoid last minute hassles.