Tall and wet

I had a good night’s sleep in the very comfy bed with smooth as silk cotton sheets, especially since the curtains were closed so it was good and dark til we got up about 7.30am.
We decided to have breakfast and then go off sightseeing, so we tackled the buffet. Oh my goodness! Everything and more you could imagine, including a wall of lettuces and greens so you could choose to pick them super fresh, a chocolate fountain, ice cream, and whole counters of Indian, Malaysian, Chinese and Western foods, then a fresh bakery and fruit stations and so on and so on! Fabulous…we ate omelettes and some spicy salmon and roti and Bircher muesli, pastries and fruit toast, drank fruit juice and tea until we were so full.
I popped to the loo before we set off and had a bit of an incident - I got muddled between the flush lever and the bidet type water lever. Good grief, I was soaked as I leapt out of the way, but then the water kept fountaining out, hitting the door and soaking the floor and the walls. I was panicking by then and it just kept going, rather than easing off. I had to lean over (getting wet again!) to switch it off, then waddle out, soaked, to find someone with a mop. Of course I bumped into V instead and we were very quickly helpless with laughter as she immediately had guessed what had happened. We found the cleaner and explained the accident and apologised, but she was NOT amused (understandably). Oh dear…
Caught a Grab car up to the Batu caves which were much nearer than we expected. We’d originally planned to go on a day tour to see them but were very pleased when the woman we’d met on the plane from Singapore told us it was only 20mins in a car and it turned out much better to be able to dictate our own itinerary. What an incredible place. Huge (42.7m high) statue of the Hindu God Murugan outside spectacular natural limestone caves, with 272 brightly coloured steps to walk up to get into the caves where several small temples were placed to receive offerings of flowers and fruit from worshippers, that were burnt and the ash used to anoint them on the forehead. The caves were big enough for those of us who were tourists to be able to look around and take in the atmosphere and activity without feeling we were intruding on the worship, unlike in the Buddhist temple we’d visited in Singapore.
The steps were steep, and in places somewhat aggressive macaque monkeys tried to grab at cameras/phones and fruit that tourists carried (but only those stupid enough to try and stand close to them, posing for photos). We were pleased we’d gone quite early in the day as the sun wasn’t directly on the steps so although it was warm it wasn’t unbearable to climb. The statue of the God was so beautiful and enormous, and the caves so impressive, we were really glad we’d visited. We arranged another Grab car to travel to the KL tower (the one that looks like the old Post office tower in London). I’d decided to brave going up it as long as we only went to the observation deck (fully enclosed) and not the one above which was more open and also had one of those terrifying glass floored sections (nightmare!). We enjoyed walking round, spotting the Merdeka 118 tower (the latest, tallest one with a long spike on top) and the twin Petronas towers, as well as the King’s palace, some temples, the botanic gardens, a tiny old white church and many different styles of housing. Try as we might we couldn’t spot our hotel though (turns out probably because it was so close!).
Having waited in baking sun for a while we picked up another Grab and headed for Petaling St and the Central Market to do some haggling and buying of nonsense and souvenirs. Once we’d got into the spirit of the bargaining we did pretty well, leaving the manic selling and buying at Petaling St for the quieter Central Market with its air conditioning, craft stalls and delicious chocolate and coconut gelato which we enjoyed when we first arrived. We were running through the various children and grandchildren we needed to get things for, balancing out between siblings etc and starting to worry how we’d get it all home (especially given the amount of dirty washing we’ve both got to transport somehow!)
We got a Grab car back to the hotel, driven by a pretty grumpy driver, but to be honest given the traffic here I can understand his bad mood! We had showers and freshened up (once again we were hot, sweaty and dishevelled!) in time for canapés and cocktails in the club lounge again (all we needed food wise given we’d had our huge breakfast!). Lovely sandwiches, pies, cakes and fancy bits…fabulous!
We decided to head for a different shopping mall this evening as we realised that’s where the Japanese stationery shop was that we were looking for yesterday. Decided to walk as it’s nearby, but it was starting to rain as we set off and one of the lovely door staff insisted we took one of the hotel’s huge umbrellas. Well! Within a few yards of leaving the hotel the rain had turned to the type of tremendous downpour we’d expected every day of the holiday. One umbrella, no matter how big, was never going to protect us from this flood! Laughing and squealing we danced along the pavement racing to get to the safety and protection of a hotel lobby where we sat and dripped all over their marble floor whilst the thunder and lightning crashed outside and the roads seemed to turn to rivers.
We thought things had eased off so made a dash for the shopping centre, only two blocks away, but of course the lull in the rain was only a brief interlude and it came slooshing down again. When we arrived, as if propelled by a fireman’s hose through the door between Chanel and Dior, you could almost feel the collective shudder of the immaculately groomed assistants inside…guarding their doors in case we had any idea of dripping our way into their shops. We were SO wet…(second time today for me!), V was worried her dress had become transparent and my jersey one was so heavy with water it almost touched the floor, and I literally had to wring it out. For the first time in three weeks we were both cold in the ferocious air conditioning, and shivered our way to the bookshop where the Japanese stationery was, where we instantly forgot our discomfort as we explored and coveted all the gorgeous pens and notebooks and etc. We both love stationery, and this was lovely stuff! Bought some selections as presents, then browsed a lovely Japanese homeware shop and saw some plates for A, then went to the supermarket and bought various spice mixes and Kaya (coconut jam). By now we were getting tired (I was still wet though) and we decided to head home. Thank goodness it had stopped raining when we came out, and we were delighted to see a display of illuminated ‘dancing water’ at the fountains which we sat and watched for a while. As we tried to get our bearings once that had finished I turned round and realised we were at the foot of the Petronas Towers… all illuminated beautifully. Stunning! We took loads of photos then ambled back (feel like we know this place like the back of our hands now!) and went straight to bed. A(nother) great day!