Top 5 Things I'm Loving Now - May 1, 2012

If you’re an avid visitor of spot.ph, an entertainment and lifestyle website, you would be familiar with this format. In fact, I watch out for it every week. It’s a Top 10 list with random things that the writer is loving at the moment. It may be neat gadget, a yummy drink or popsicle find from their nearest 7Eleven or a cool event that’s happening in the metro. It’s as random as can be. That’s the format I’m trying to incorporate in this blog.



So here’s my very first Top 5 Things I’m Loving at the Moment. I really wanted to write about 10 initially. But in order to have more updates, I though I’d resort to 5...for now. ;-)


Number 5: Southern Blend Iced Tea from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

 For their tea of the day, I had the choice between the Southern Blend and Vanilla Ceylon. I was going to get the latter but it’s a good thing that I decided to ask the cashier what the Southern Blend exactly is. The cashier was going to enumerate it. But when he first said the taste of flower petals, I was already sold. I didn’t bother to hear the rest. I love Jasmine tea and Chrysanthemum. This shouldn’t be far off, I thought. Well, it isn’t. The drink is nice and refreshing. Just the right amount of sweetness and it goes down very smoothly. If you’re not a fan of tea because you don’t like the tannin aftertaste, that won’t be a problem for this drink. It’s not too noticeable. If you’ve been to Memphis, this drink is exactly like their Sweet Tea there. Really yummy!


The drink only costs P95 for the regular size. Pair it with the Triple Decker Cheesecake at P135 a slice like I did and you should be off to an indulgent and well-deserved afternoon treat!


Number 4: SM Bonus Liquid Floor Wax




Sorry the bottle looks icky. You can tell it's being used a lot! ;-)

 You probably don’t know this about me. But I’m really OC or anal when it comes to cleaning the house. Naturally, there are particular cleaning products that I lean towards that do the job as it should. Often, I have the mindset that the more expensive it is, the better it cleans. After discovering SM Bonus’ liquid floor wax, I was proven wrong. I always went for Pledge. It does fine but SM Bonus’ liquid wax does it better.


The purchase was an “accident.” Working for BDO, my husband was given Sodexo GCs after Christmas. Our only option for grocery shopping was SM Hypermart. And since SM, for obvious reasons, is loyal to their own SM bonus brand, they wiped out the other competition. That is precisely the reason why they don’t sell brands like Colgate, Pledge, and the like. Needing liquid wax badly at that time for my OC weekend cleaning, I was ‘stuck’ with the SM Bonus brand. And I’m glad I was. The SM Bonus liquid wax really does make the floor so shiny! I could almost see my reflection our wooden floor! It stays shiny longer too than Pledge. I can’t remember the exact price but I’m pretty sure it’s at least P20 cheaper than Pledge?


Number 3: “Decorate: 1000 Professional Ideas Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home” book



Source: http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/DECORATE-book1.jpg



I’m always fond of going to bookstores when I need to kill time. My recent find is “Decorate” by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick at the National Bookstore in the PowerPlant Mall. I’m sure this book is available in other stores and branches.


I say that this is one of the things that I’m loving at the moment because the book is truly inspiring! Upon skimming the whole book, it made me want immediately run home and redecorate! The book is loaded with pictures for inspiration and their design sense is almost Ikea-ish. The rooms they feature look lived-in and not like model homes (which often do not have televisions!) I mean, really, do you know anyone who doesn’t have a television or two at home??!?? They feature modern homes that still look homey. There are bits and splashes of colour everywhere and most of all, all the homes have character! These are not intimidating homes though. You can easily be inspired by the pictures to make tiny changes in your home that are inexpensive but will draw a lot of impact.


The book retails at P1,545. Decorate away! ;-)


Number 2: Ink eMagazines at http://www.ink-live.com/

I found out about this website from another blog that I frequent. It was one of the links that he included in his entry to forward us to an article that he wrote. Anyway, I became giddy as I explored the website. What a gem! And it’s all free! All you have to do is register, really.


In a nutshell, this is a website that allows free access to airline magazines. When you fly with Cebu Pacific, they have the Smile magazine right? Well, this is available here – back issues included! To top it all off, other magazines like TimeOut Singapore, Thomas Cook’s Travel, Jetstar, Air Macau, Holland Herald and 45 others! Upon registering, just make sure to click on “Update Profile” on the top right corner, then “Select Magazines” so you can add the magazines that you wish to have access to. Such excellent travel resource! In particular, I love reading those destination blurbs in the Smile magazine near the end. Each domestic and international destination that Cebu Pacific flies to has a little section. The contributor is a local of that place and they talk about their most favorite secret breakfast place, bar, best food recommendation, and the like. This is sooooo helpful if you’re the assigned itinerary creator in your trip like I am. ;-)


Although you can access this as well in any mobile device like your iPad, just a note that you really need a fast connection to access this. Otherwise, it’s easy to get frustrated. I wish that they would allow downloading of their issues straight from the website into the iBook or something. This way, you can access them and read them even when you’re offline or even if your wifi is slow.


Number 1: Golden Euphoria Cake from Maitre Chocolatier

When looking at any restaurant menu, it’s very rare to find the actual food serving looking better than it is in the picture. Especially when it comes to dessert.

Well, Maitre Chocolatier really did impress! Not only is their food better looking than their pictures but the cake that we had was truly amazing! I’m talking about their Golden Euphoria –Ferrero Hazelnut Cake. The name alone begs for high expectations already. And the ohhh the pictures! The actual dessert? Real orgasmic. ;-) Hahaha! The texture mixes smooth and crunchy really well. Chocolate is everywhere in different levels of sweetness and texture. Meant to be savored one tiny though indulgent bite at a time and definitely NOT meant for sharing! Trust me on this or else a fight might ensue! ;-) Hahaha! This one definitely made my list of Top 5 dessert of all time.

A slice of the Golden Euphoria costs P218. I’m trying to remember but I think we had to pay extra for VAT and Service Charge. Maitre Chocolatier is along Jupiter Street Extension in Makati. Coming from Makati Avenue, go to the Jupiter part heading to the MRT. It’s near the Starbuck’s there. Enjoy your orgasm! Oooops, I meant dessert! ;-) LOL

Giving the House Some Love....

I'm on the latter part of my 10-day semester break at work and I had a lot of time to organize at home. In fact, I've put up our Christmas tree and decor too. I was able to get rid of some of the things that we don't need anymore. And as for the things that I decided to keep, they've been put in their proper places together with similar items and labeled. Wow, I felt like a complete Martha Stewart! ;-) I consider it a great accomplishment and as you can probably tell, I'm very proud of myself. ;-) So let me share with you what I did and some great finds that helped me do the job!

There are four magazines that I subscribe to. That's Real Living, Good Housekeeping, Yummy, and Travel Life magazine. So over the years, you can imagine how fast they accumulate! But it's just so hard for me to let go of them. That's especially when I use them as resources for deciding what to cook, where to travel next, and a trove of ideas and inspiration on fashion and decorating. With this dilemma, what is there to do? Well, for one, I did not let go of any of my magazines. ;-) I just decided to be smarter when it comes to storage. I bought these colourful magazine file folders from National Bookstore for 19 pesos each! Not all National Bookstores have these as they quickly run out of them. I actually bought half of them from the National Bookstore at Cash & Carry. As for the other half, I got them from the Metro department store at Market!Market! Just go to the third floor near the Kids' section.

See the labels on the magazine folders? Aren't they cute? ;-) Well, I found these from the Kids' section as well. But this time -- at Landmark! I found it quite odd that they didn't have these on the main floor of Landmark. You know, where they have all the paper and gift wrapping supplies. You'll have to go on the third floor as well. As I said, it's in the Kids' section -- by the toys and near where they display pencil cases and the like. I got these for P54.75. One set has 12 pieces and they come in three different sizes. What a find, hey? ;-)

Aside from hoarding magazines, I also hoard writing utensils, pretty binder clips, greeting cards for all occasions, notebooks, gift tags, and many others. Heyyyy, you never know when you'll need these! It's good to be prepared right? ;-) Admittedly, before getting them organized, I just kept on accumulating them without having the chance to use them. It's not because I never needed them. It was because I couldn't find them! They were all over the place. It was high time for me to put them all together and organize them for easy access. My solution to this? Put them together in pretty boxes, label them, and place them in the guest's bedroom! ;-) The boxes had to be cute and pretty so that they would complement the decor. Although it's not being used in the mean time, I didn't want to turn the guest's room into a storage room. Essentially, it is that but the pretty boxes surely mask it. ;-) So where did I get my pretty boxes? The colorful striped ones were from Ikea. It's a set of 3 and they cost 80 HKD. That's about 480 pesos. As for the other one, it also came in a set of 3 but I got them at Glorietta. I can't remember the name of the store. But it looked like a Gourdo outlet store. It's beside Burger King on the second floor. You'll find it on your way to SM from Glorietta 4. The set only cost me 200 pesos.

Along with magazine folders, I placed the box sets in the guest's room too. Since the furniture and chandelier in the guest's room are all white, the boxes and the magazine folders surely added the much-needed color in the room. Everything's looking good together! ;-)

For even more color, my husband and I also bought this retro radio from Dimensione. I fell in love with it when I saw it! They were selling it for 10% off so the radio only cost 986 pesos! It has an AM/FM radio and you can also plug your MP3 or iPod in it. You can choose to plug it to an outlet although you have to buy the power adaptor because the radio doesn't come with it. Or during blackouts, you can put 4 AA batteries instead. We're really loving it! I was teasing Jojo, my husband, that the guest's room looks so nice now that I plan to sleep there instead of the master's bedroom! ;-) Hahaha! ;-)

Not only is my stuff all over the place, my husband's too. He's got all these home improvement supplies like nuts and bolts, tape (tons of them!), rope, tools, and so many other "guy" stuff that I don't know what to call. ;-) All these were just plopped inside our two ottoman chairs. We got those with storage inside. To organize Jojo's 'guy' stuff, I put them in these Ikea zip lock bags that we got in HK. These bags come in two sizes and in a box, there are about 50 bags in all. We got these for only 20 HKD. That's roughly 120 pesos, I think. What a steal huh! You might be able to find these at Mobler here in Manila.

Here in the Philippines, the Christmas season (the longest one in the world!) -- officially started last September 1st. With that standard, I feel like I'm running behind! My in-laws had their tree up more than a month ago and finished most of their shopping too! Wow. I'm nowhere near that. But I have decided on our color motif this year. The previous year was apple green and gold. This year is a bit more colorful. We, or rather, I decided on pink, apple green, and silver. ;-) My husband wasn't too sold on the pink part. But when he saw the tree, he loved it! I was so hung up on pink that I literally toured the major malls in the metro to find my pink balls. ;-) I normally buy our Christmas decor at the Metro department store. I find that they have the best selection and they're the cheapest too. In fact, that's where I got the silver decor for our motif. One set of silver balls cost under 200 pesos and the leaf decor (?), I got in SM for around 30 pesos. This year though, where's the pink? I had to scour Makati, Taguig, and Pasay to find them. Thankfully, I found them at my last stop -- over at Landmark. I bought the pink ribbons there. They cost around 300 pesos, I think for one roll. To get the six ribbons, I needed two rolls. As for the Christmas balls, the pink ones came in a large set. Around 24 pieces? I don't know the exact price but they were definitely under 300 pesos. I just recycled the apple green decor from last year and it all worked out perfectly. I LOVE our tree! ;-)

I was able to start buying a few Christmas presents too. And in true Martha Stewart fashion, of course, the gift wrapper and ribbons have to match the tree! ;-) I opted for pink and silver-striped wrappers which we got at Divisoria. As you know, you have to buy everything in bulk there. At least 25 pieces of the same type of wrapper. Not only did the wrappers have to match the tree, but I had to find ones that I could use for other occasions too. Clearly, 50 wrappers would be too many! So, the solution to that was to get these type of wrappers. I decided to make them more festive through the ribbons. The gift wrappers were only 3 pesos each, by the way.

After seeing the collection of ribbons at Morning Glory in Divisoria, I literally went crazy and bought tons! The ribbons were sooo beautiful! So many possibilities! With all these ribbons in stock, I thought, why stick with one or two types of ribbons? I can still follow our Christmas motif with an assortment of ribbons right? As long as the wrappers were the same. Anyway, I went for a bit of the polka-dotted theme too. There's the white ribbon with black dots and the pink ribbon with white dots. I also went for plaid. There's the apple green and white kind and also the black and white one. The ribbons ranged between 180 and 250 pesos. Our Christmas wrapping this year isn't too loud when it comes to the colors. But altogether like that, don't you think they look pretty? ;-) Sorry...you just gotta love your own right? I'm very happy with how everything turned out. Now if only I can finish my Christmas shopping already! ;-)

There you go. It's been a productive week by my standards! ;-) I hope you enjoyed hearing about my great finds! ;-)

Top 10 Experiences to be had in Kuala Lumpur (Part 1)

Flying with Cebu Pacific, my husband and I arrived at our hotel in Kuala Lumpur at around 2 am on the 21st of April. We left for Manila at midnight going into the 25th. So really, we had, give or take, 4 full days to enjoy the city. Among our trips in Asia, I would have to say that this is the shortest trip that we've ever had. We're usually used to exploring a new city for at least five full days. But due to work and other commitments, we had to make do with the four days we had allotted at KL.

We did have an itinerary for this trip but I can't help but feel like we really haven't seen everything that there is to see in KL. There were at least five other places that I wanted to visit but didn't have the time to. I'll share this list in another blog entry.

Among all the places that we have been to though, let me share with you my Top 10 experiences in KL. I'll be dividing this into 2 entries because I'll be adding tips and suggestions too to help you maximize each experience. I imagine it will be quite lengthy so please bear with me.

Jojo and I had a grand time in Kuala Lumpur, overall. And here are the experiences I enjoyed the most: ;-)

10.) Tickle your tastebuds with Nando's Chicken.

I know for a fact that if this was my husband's list, he would actually place this experience as his #1 and most favorite! I'm telling you, eversince we got back, my husband has craved for their food non-stop! He says that our local Max's Chicken, Savory, Andok's, and Kenny Rogers has got nothing on the way the Nando's franchise does their chicken. Yes it's a bit "unpatriotic." But I don't want to be a hypocrite. I actually think I'll have to agree on this one. ;-)

As you know, on our trips, we have made it a rule not to eat more than once at the same restaurant. We broke that rule when we ate at Pho 2000 in HCMC though. And this time in KL, we broke it again. We ate at Nando's Chicken twice. If we were there longer, I think Jojo would have begged me to eat there the third, fourth and fifth time too! ;-)

Nando's makes their chicken peri-peri style. That is, roasted first, then placed in a spit-fire oven while marinated and combined with bird's eye chilli, spices, and a mixture of sauces. The chicken has a very full flavor. There is a bit of spiciness to it to give you that pleasant zing. The chicken is very tender and every bit of it is tasty. You would think that the marinade would not likely reach the inner white meat. But it does and it's just a burst of flavor for every bite! ;-)

Aside from chicken, Nando's also serves various salads, burgers, wraps, and even pasta. But when we were there on two occasions, we only went for their peri-peri chicken combos. That is, a quarter peri-peri style chicken with 2 sidelines of your choice. You can choose your chicken to be lemon and herb, mild/even hot, or going all out with VERY hot. Being a sissy, I went with the lemon and herb one, accompanied with Fresco salad and Meditteranean rice. (RM 14.95/PhP210) Jojo got mild/even hot chicken along with Mediterranean rice as well (it was the only choice for the rice) and Peri cob. We found our "sideline" orders to be okay. They weren't too bad. Kenny Roger's side dishes are a bit tastier but they're not bad at all. If anything, it just reminds us that the peri-peri chicken is the real "star" here. ;-) My lemon and herb chicken had a tiny bit of zing. Just hints of spicyness. Jojo's mild hot one was a bit stronger. But it's not too too spicy that you'll have to reach for a glass of water. It's all bearable and the less tastier sidelines complemented it well, I thought.

For our second time around, Jojo went for the 1/2 chicken with two sidelines. (RM 23.90/PhP335) He knew that it was going to be the last time for a very long time that he'll have Nando's chicken again so he decided to have a feast with this one. ;-) And man, did he ever! His sidelines consisted of TWO cups of Meditteranean rice. And nothing else. ;-) I got the mild hot one this time (quarter chicken) but changed one of my sideline to their Peri chips with creamy peri dip. I thought this was an even more perfect combination than the last time. I absolutely loved their peri chips (fries) with that creamy dip! And choosing to go with mild hot this time went better with the sauces, I thought. There are four sauces on each table that you can pile on to your chicken to give it even more flavor. I can't remember what they are but having tried them all, I liked the Garlic peri-peri best to go with the mild hot chicken. Verrrry yummy.

It's important to note that Nando's Chicken is not a franchise that's exclusive only to Malaysia. Yes, it's pretty popular there. But Nando's is scattered everywhere. They have it in Australia, Canada, the United States, and even as far as Namibia and Fiji! Maybe we'll have it soon here in the Philippines! ;-) Anyway, we had our Nando's chicken at the basement of Pavilion Mall and somewhere near Petaling Street in Chinatown. You can have a look at where else you can find Nando's Chicken HERE. The Malaysian menu can be found HERE too.

9.) Go souvenir shopping and fulfill your Chinese food craving at Petaling Street.

One word to describe Petaling Street would be "vibrant." It's not that huge of a place. Maybe six blocks altogether? But there's a lot happening given that you visit the area in the evening. Merchants start setting up their stalls at 5 pm. There's hawker fare here and restaurants that extend to the street! It's a place to just unwind and cool off with a beer or something.

And if knock-offs are your thing, there's a lot of imitation bags, clothes, shoes, watches, and what-have-you. There are a few knock-offs there that we won't be able to find at Greenhills. For instance, they had imitation Onitsuka Tiger shoes there. Petaling Street is also the best place to go for souvenirs. Kuala Lumpur shirts go for RM 3 (PhP 42.10). The miniature Petronas Towers made of pewter cost around RM 15 (PhP 210). Most of the prices of these souvenirs are fixed. You won't have to haggle since all the stalls sell them for the same price.

From the itinerary that I made, I listed two places that I wanted to go to along Petaling Street. One is Hartz Chicken Restaurant -- famous for their buffet and the other, Purple Cane Teahouse -- famous for their tea selection and tea sets, of course. We started looking for them but we were just too tired so we gave up after an hour. And after seeing another Nando's Chicken Restaurant there, my husband had decided that we were going to stop looking and eat there instead. ;-) If you go to Petaling Street, you might want to check out these two places. I've come across this website found HERE that raved about Purple Cane Tea House. The Pinoy Exchange and Female Network forums also talked and raved about Hartz Chicken Buffet. It might be worth a try to enjoy your visit in Petaling Street even more. ;-)

8.) Get a foot massage along Jalan Bukit Bintang while being part of all the action.

Jalan Bukit Bintang is a very busy street. Across from our hotel and also to the left and right of it are rows and rows of these massage places. They do it "Shenzhen-style" -- like the ones you'll find in Lowu Mall. They've got a whole line of these reclined massage chairs from the entrance (an open glass door) down to the back of the shop. Since the door is open, you can see what's going on in the sidewalk and the street in front of you while you get your massage. We sat near the front door and with the whole lot of people on the sidewalk, it felt like we had an audience! ;-) See the three men just standing there? ;-)

After a full day of walking and shopping, we totally needed a foot massage. It wasn't hard to choose which one to go with for the massage. We just looked at the one with the most number of people and off we went! ;-) On that Thursday night, we went with Bao Jian Reflexology -- conveniently located right across our hotel! Feeling a bit awkward to have a full body massage with all these people around us, we only went for the 60-minute foot reflexology (RM 50/PhP 703). Compared to the massage places here in Manila, it is very pricey. But during the time we were there, we completely needed it and the experience was just priceless. Jalan Bukit Bintang was abuzz with activity. You get a good sense of their culture by just watching them and taking in all the sights and sounds of this busy street. It was the perfect time and place to be to see all of these. Oh and I'd have to say, the massage was spectacular too! Jeff was my massage therapist and he was gentle with my feet. He applied the right amount of pressure for me. Jojo said that at first, the massage was a bit too hard. He didn't say a word. And after a few minutes, everything just started to feel wonderful! I guess he had a lot of knots and what-not that needed to be smoothened out. In the end, we were both very happy campers! ;-)

7.) Spend half the day shopping at Ikea for all your home needs!

On our trips to Singapore and Hongkong, we never fail to visit Ikea. I absolutely love this store! We have bits and pieces of Ikea products at Mobler, Dimensione, and other stores here in Manila. But nothing beats going to the real Ikea store -- and the biggest one in Asia, at that!

The Ikea store in KL is in the Petaling Jaya area. It is a bit far from the Golden Triangle but trust me, it will be worth your time. Because after you go to Ikea, you can just cross the street to go to The Curve. It's a shopping complex kind of similar to our Eastwood Mall.

Anyway, here's how to get there from the Bukit Bintang station on KL monorail:
1.) Get off at Bukit Nanas on the KL monorail (2 stops away from Bukit Bintang).
2.) Transfer to the Putra line at the Bukit Nanas station. To transfer to this train, you actually have to leave the station. Go down the stairs into the sidewalk and walk west (go straight on your left). It's about a 3-minute walk. Go up the walkway to cross to the other side. You'll find the Putra train when you go down the escalators further ahead.
3.) Get on the Putra train going to Kelana Jaya. It's about 11 stops away and roughly, a 45-minute ride.
4.) Get off at the Kelana Jaya station and go on the walkway to cross the street. There's a bus terminal there. Wait for the free shuttle going to IKANO Power Center. It arrives at set times: 9 am, 10 am, 11:30 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. The trip will be 5-10 minutes and the shuttle will drop you off right in front of Ikea.

You can take the shuttle going back to the station when you're done. You'll find the shuttle in the same area where you get off. Just make sure you're there at least 5 minutes before the scheduled time as it gets really packed. The bus leaves from Ikea at 11 am, 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 4 pm, 5 pm, and 6:30 pm.

Now that that's out of the way, I'm excited to share with you all of my purchases at Ikea. But since there's a whole lot of it, I thought I'd devote a whole entry on our shopping finds in KL alone! ;-) I'm sorry for this but I give you my word that I'll have that entry up within the week! ;-)

So what shouldn't you miss while in Ikea? Ooooh, where do I start? ;-) I absolutely LOVE the lamps and chandeliers in Ikea. Really, if only it would be easy to transport it, I would have gotten three of the lamp shades below for our dining area. My favorite among the lot is the one with the street scene of Hongkong (?) on the fabric. They have the coolest bedsheets too that are way cheaper than the ones that are sold at SM's Our Home. If you have kids or a number of children to buy presents for, you'll love the collection of toys, cool hampers, and lamps. They're all very playful, pretty, and sooo unique! We don't have a store or anything close to it that sells similar items. Everything in Ikea is beautiful and I'm sure it would be nearly impossible to NOT buy a whole cartload of stuff. If you're not one of self-control, avoid Ikea at all costs! ;-)

I have to mention that Ikea also has its own restaurant/cafeteria. We didn't have it when we were there. But I know for a fact that their Swedish Meatballs should not be missed. They also have these hazelnut and dark chocolate bars that will serve as excellent pasalubong. They're very creamy and just addictive!

In this complex, you shouldn't miss going across the street to The Curve. They have a large Padini Store (or VNC as it's known here) that sells their shoes 40% less than the ones here in Manila. I'm not sure if they have it everyday but when we were there on a Saturday, there was also a row of tiangge stalls in front of the restaurants. They mostly sold accessories, clothes, and a few other knick knacks. There are a number of neat restaurants in this shopping complex too. Such is this beautiful English-garden type restaurant seen in the picture below. They have bookstores here, more clothing stores, a grocery store, gadget stalls, and many others. With so much to see (and buy!) here, it would be wise to put aside at least 5 hours exploring this area. ;-)

6.) Brave the 272 steps leading up to the Batu Caves with a few "furry" friends.

If you're going to Genting Highlands, I think it would be wise to plan your trip to Batu Caves on the same day too. Putra Gombak is one of the terminals (also a train station) where you can catch a bus that takes you to Genting. That same terminal is also just ten minutes away from the Batu Caves. In this case, I think it would be much more convenient to take a taxi to the Batu Caves. Now it's important to note that a lot of these taxi drivers prefer not to use their meters. They usually try to arrange something with you so they can charge more. Just make sure that you're only paying RM 10-15 per way otherwise you're being ripped off.

The buses that go to Genting are on a schedule. We just made sure to allot about an hour and a half at the Batu Caves. That already includes the 20-25 minute total travel time. An hour at the Batu Caves should be enough. At least, that's enough time to get up the 272 steps, walk around the cave, take pictures, buy some souvenirs, and get down the steps to look for a taxi back. There is an Art Gallery and a small Museum Cave which we didn't have time to visit though. If you want to see these, you might want to allot an extra 40 minutes.

So why is visiting the Batu Caves a memorable experience for me? Well, first off, it's a very spiritual and sacred place. You get a sense of that when you get inside the cave. It's very interesting to see the rituals done by the Hindus while in prayer. You can tell that they're very deeply-rooted. And being near the mountains, on a limestone cave and 100 metres above ground also adds to that whole sense of mysticism.

There are lots of photo ops to be had here. Make sure you have your camera ready because you're going to get THIS close to a few furry friends while going up and down those steps. ;-) We didn't see it happen when we were there, but these monkeys are very playful and tend to sneakily "steal" things from tourists they say. ;-)

At the foot of the steps, there's a whole lot of pigeons too. They all settle on the pavement for a while and fly off together in huge flocks. Just be careful you're not pooped on, but otherwise, I think this will make an interesting photo-op. ;-)

NANDO'S CHICKEN
-Lot 1.29.04, Pavilion KL, Bukit Bintang
- No. 123, Jalan Sultan (Chinatown)

BAO JIAN REFLEXOLOGY
64 Jalan Bukit Bintang

CHINATOWN
Petaling Street, KL

IKEA
No. 2 Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Darul Ehsan

BATU CAVES
Sri Subramaniam Temple, KL