Getting High

(KL Tower)
If I didn't know better, I'd say Malaysia has a "little country" complex. It seems like many states in the country have the tallest, or almost tallest, this or that in the world. You already know about the Petronas Towers from my last entry. But then there's KL Tower, the fourth largest telecommunications tower in the world and Mega Mall, SE Asia's largest mall. There's also the tallest Murugan Statue in the world at the Batu Caves and the world's largest toy museum. Finally, don't forget the tallest flag pole in the world at Merdeka Square. So what can we conclude with this national aim for highest/tallest/biggest. I have no idea, I just ask the questions, I don't answer them.

On Monday night, Labor Day in much of SE Asia, I had a romantic dinner for one atop the KL Tower at 968 feet (the total tower height is 1403 ft). Dinner didn't revolve so much around the food as it did a 360 degree view of KL. Three buffets stood stationary in the center of the room, while the red carpeted seating platform rotated clockwise delivering panoramic views across the Klang Valley below. Thankfully, the views made up for the shortcomings in the buffet.

Does the flag to the right look familiar? It's flying atop the tallest flagpole in the world. If you blink quickly, you may think you're seeing Old Glory and you wouldn't be far off. When Malaysia declared its independence in 1957, a search for a new flag was underway. Interestingly, Jalur Gemilang, the name of Malaysia's flag, was modeled after the US flag, for its principles of liberty and independence. Malaysia ultimately selected it's present day flag, with fourteen stripes and fourteen points of the star representing the number of states in the country. The crescent and star are symbolic of the dominant religion, Islam.

And despite the fact that Islam is the predominant religion of Malaysia there is a larger number of Hindus and Buddhists as the Malay people are a mix of peoples from China, India and Arabia. It is not uncommon to find mosques and Hindu temples on the same street, and in some cases buddhist temples and christian churches nearby. There are a few striking similarities and differences between Malaysia and the US. Both countries obtained their indpendence from the British, both share a similar flag and both are a melting pot of many nations. The differences lie in the dominance of Islam and the subtropical climate.

Thirteen kilometers outside of KL, I visited the bat caves, or rather the Batu caves. The caves were "discovered" by an American in 1878 despite the fact their existence was known by the local people long before (I call it the Christopher Columbus effect). The caves would later be adopted by Hindu pilgrams and today serve as the location of an elaborate Hindu temple inside the cave. The site sees hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. (Murukan Statue = "God of Tamil", state in Southern India). It also happens to be home to hundreds of monkey thieves and pigeons so visitors should be careful of organic droppings from the sky, and if looking up to check overhead, be sure to keep your mouth closed.