Another holiday and another new adventure. After last year’s holidays in Greece, we missed the Asian climate. Thanks to the kindness of a colleague who works in Kuala Lumpur and who gave us his apartment, we had the opportunity to spend the first week of vacation in the center of the city in a luxurious apartment. After landing at the airport, we exchanged the currency for the Malaysian ringgit, although there was no need because everywhere you could easily pay by card. We installed the “grab” application, which is a taxi, which is not waiting for more than 10 minutes and is much cheaper than local taxis and even from public transport. Everywhere we were moving by “grab”. On the first day we went for a walk around the center of Kuala Lumpur admiring the architecture of the city. The Petronas Towers, which are considered to be the unofficial symbol of Malaysia, made the most impression on us. The towers are 452 meters high and by 2004 they were the tallest skyscrapers in the world. The view during the day and at night is amazing. Another point worth seeing are the Batu Caves, located about 20 km from the center of Kuala Lumpur. The most famous Temple Cave is run by 272 colorful stairs, next to the largest golden statue of Murugan (43 m). Inside the cave there are altars dedicated to Hindu deities. One of the most beautiful places, so you should book a half day for sightseeing. The temple, which I highly recommend and which is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur in the Chinatown district is Sri Mahamariamman. A richly decorated entrance tower with figures from the Hindu pantheon introduces us to a truly Asian atmosphere. In the middle is very nice cool and peaceful, so you can also relax between the colorful pillars from the city noise. Being in Kuala Lumpur I didn’t expect to see anything more than the sea of tall buildings and some Hindu temples. Meanwhile, the entire natural complex is close to the center. I especially recommend: Butterfly Park, Bird Park with flamingos and various varieties of parrots, and the Botanical Garden.
After a week spent in Kuala Lumpur, we flew to south of Bali to Uluwatu. This region is known primarily for white beaches covered with azure water and is an ideal place for surfing enthusiasts. We started our stay in Bali unbelievably. Beaches actually turned out to be paradise and they were just for us because there was no one there, which is why we could afford to relax. One of the tourist attractions here is the Uluwatu Temple from which you can admire the most beautiful sunsets. The temple stands on the cliffs with magnificent ocean views. Balinese people believed that the most dangerous monsters live in seas and oceans, so for protection against them, they set up on the shores of the island several temples that are supposed to protect the inhabitants against evil powers. After we moved to the central part of Bali to Ubud, where the streets are lined with souvenir shops. Generally, there is a terrible noise here, sidewalks crowded with the excess of tourists from all over the world and the streets to the brim filled with trumpeting taxis and scooters. An important point of walking around Ubud is a visit to the monkey park. An amazing place where monkeys play on a large area and vegetation delights with its exuberance. In the evening, take a look at the legong dance show, which is very colorful and the music is piercing, even trance. In the following days we rented a car with a driver who showed us the most beautiful places and temples in neighboring towns. It was a very good idea because in a short time we saw the most important things that we planned to visit. The Taman Ayun temple in Mengw is an example of the most perfect Balinese architecture. An unusual place that stays in the memory for a long time is the Gunung Kawi Temple in Tampaksiring growing in the beautiful canyon. Finally, the Tirtha Empul Temple also in Tampaksiring, in which beats one of the most important sources for the faithful. We spent the last days in Bali resting on the beaches of Nusa Penida and Seminyak.
My dream of paradise in Bali, unfortunately, hasn’t been fully met. The island is terribly littered, and the noise caused by the excessive amount of tourists makes it impossible to fully relax. Everyone wants to make money on you, everyone offers you something to sell, at every step someone wants to give you a ride, of course, not for free. Yes, it is nice of them, but over time it becomes very tedious and the man feels trapped on every side. I would like to come back to Bali one day when the island becomes less crowded by the unruly tourists.
