MONKEY:STEEZ: day 3: kl, mah-lay-see-yah

(batu caves: monkey above hindu temple)

DAY 3: 8am. morning breakfast by the poolside. 9am. take 2 "metered" cabs towards batu caves. 10am. arrive at batu caves. fucking amazing and breathtaking: the caves, the people, the hindu temple, etc. on our way up to the caves (300+ stairs) we notice that there are monkeys EVERYWHERE. we go picture crazy. these monkeys are gangsta. they jack anyone who is carrying a plastic bag. people bring up food (for offerings) into the temple inside of the caves (that's ususally what's in the plastic bags.) my eyes and mind are over stimulated observing the beauty of the people who climb up the stairs along side of me: young women, older women, older men, children, babies. AMAZING. inside the caves, where there's slight cracks of where the sunlight beams in---- i could stare at this image for hours. the slight cracks where the sunlight finds it's way in and where drops of water drips down from slowly- i could get lost in these images for days. there are two hindu temples inside batu caves. both have ceremonies occurring. i hesitate for a moment because the memory card of my camera is now full! i've taken over 300 pictures within the past hour?? now i am forced to 'enjoy the moment'-- a blessing in disguise. although there are several natives and tourists within the same environment, the space has not lost it's spirituality. if anything this energy is very strong and the tourist vibe doesn't phase it. more and more the monkeys are becoming less cute. they're like those pigeons that won't go away. alexis meets a group of young malaysian muslim women. they engage in conversation. i look over at zo. "is the camera on?" "greg's got it," he says. 12:45pm we head back down the stairs, but before we head down, jo sees a man carrying a snake...a python maybe. she wants to take a picture holding the snake. do i want to hold the snake? no, i'm not that ballsy. 1pm we head into another cave with an 'art gallery' inside. this cave is different. much more intimate. there are sculptures of different hindu/muslim (??) ceremonies. this cave would be ideal for any kind of party/social gathering/get together-- uh oh, our 'american'/western way of thinking comes out. 2pm we pass a vendor as we catch a taxi to leave batu caves. the vendor sells these flower necklaces as offerings for the temple. i smell one of the necklaces. it's like a love potion. the scent is sensual and hypnotic. i ask the vendor what kind of flower it is. "jasmin" he says, but it didn't smell like any kind of jasmin i've smelled in the states before. 2:30/3pmish we arrive at the islamic arts museum. we ask the front desk clerk (who is FINE by the way) where the restaurant is. "2nd floor." we take the elevator up, as soon as the elevator opens we are in this huge room with high ceilings and everything (the walls, the floors, the columns) is marble white. "did we just arrive in heaven?" gregory playfully asks. we find the restaurant and sit down. the restaurant looks very 'high class' but we're the only people in the restaurant. it's quiet & an indian buffet. YUMMY. one of our waiters is hella cute. gregory and i meet eyes noticing him at the same time. the food is delicious and so is the dessert. after lunch we head to the museum bookstore. we're in the bookstore for a good hour. they have so many things i want to buy. what's come over me? i (usually) hate shopping. i buy a map (yah a new map!!) and postcards. they also have several books addressing a friendly dialogue between christians and muslims: literature that should be readily available in the states. 4pmish: we head into the museum. my first thoughts of the museum: one of the best curated museums i've ever been in. my eyes and mind are wide open. trying to take everything in. i'm being schooled on my peoples. pilipinos came from malaysia. i'm learning the roots of the roots of our culture: from demeanors, to dress, to religion, to weaponry, to architecture, to spirituality, to design, etc. wide smile on my face when i'm on the 2nd floor of the gallery and see a map of the malay influences-- there's the philippines- mentioned and explained. fuckin dope. 6:30pmish: head to the bird park. they said that it's right next door, but this walk takes forever. we stop for a breakdancing break in front of security mirror, just before we run into more monkeys chillin. arrive at bird park exhausted. i'm not in the mood to pay 25 ringgets to walk around the bird park. we chill on the balcony of the cafe. a toucan (i think) flies up to us. i've never seen a toucan in my life (except for on cereal boxes.) we go picture crazy. "how are we going to find the others?" moments later we see gina, alexis, jo and gregory walking under and through the bird park. zo makes his 'mock bird noises.' "ka ka!!! ka ka!!" gina looks up. they notice us chillin at the cafe and come to join us. gregory walks in looking exhausted. he carries the camera saying, "if we ever need to edit a documentary on birds, i have plenty of footage." after juice, beer, and chicken wings (where do the wings come from? misbehaved birds in the park? hmmm....) we go outside and try to find a taxi. everyone tells us that they are not metered and that it will be a minimum of $15 ringgets to head to the marriott. gina, alexis, & jo walk one way to find a taxi. gregory, zo and i walk another way to find a taxi. we find one immediatley and get in. as we drive by we see gina, alexis and jo wave to our taxi. they think it's empty. we pass them as they see that we're in the back seat. we feel bad for a moment as we wave. then we laugh and laugh and laugh. the cab driver is very friendly. he begins to tell us his "views of malaysia religion and culture." gregory turns the camera on and the man continues to talk. he mentions how "americans need more religion." hmmmm... and how "hiv/AIDS isn't a problem in malaysia." hmmmm... 10pm our day ends and we're back at the hotel. we contemplate on whether or not we should go out tonight. we're exhausted. maybe not. we're all still jet lagged. tomorrow's a big day.