I’m being a little bit cheeky here because whilst we did visit some caves here in Kuala Lumpur, I acknowledge that caving generally constitutes more than simple visiting a cave – but hey what’s the point of writing a blog if don’t take some poetic licence.

A number of local tour companies do arrange coach transfers out to the Batu caves, but we decided to take public transport. Like most large city subway and train systems they are actually quite easy to use once you have the key to the way that they work. The added beauty is that the caves are actually at the end of one of the suburban lines. It is a short walk in incredible heat from our hotel to the subway where I am in for one of my first shocks for the day. The station is incredibly streamlined and clean. There is a young woman in the information desk who confirms the information that Steve has investigated. The total cost for the 3 of us to travel on 4 trains ( two subway and two suburban) each is about $4 AUD and it is such a simple easy and cheap process. The suburban trains have women only carriages and despite the attempts of one of my fellow travellers who suggests that’s where I should sit, I refrained and sat in the main carriage.

I knew nothing about the caves ( I know there is a bit of a theme here ) which has in the past made me a little tetchy, but if on previous trips I am ill-informed I have remedied that with a lonely planet or other tourist guide of some sort to provide me with some information – nah not this time.

The caves are actually a working temple, and so there are some restrictions on the clothes that visitors should wear, although many have ignored this, which is a shame and there is a huge amount of rubbish in the main cave which I found really disappointing.

Second surprise of the day there are cheeky monkeys everywhere, I don’t know why I hadn’t expected to see them but I hadn’t. They are everywhere (except in the caves themselves) and are always looking for something to eat, and I reckon if you got too close they wouldn’t mind a bite of tasty Aussie. A lot of them seemed to have those little milk containers you get in your hotel rooms, I can’t imagine that their dieticians would be happy with this, but hey who I am I to comment.

As you pass the first lot of monkeys you walk into your first gate where you are invited into a cave that depicts Indian culture for the princely sum of $2.00 total for the three of us. I guess this is a case of getting what you pay for and whilst the caves themselves are pretty amazing they have been filled with polystyrene figures; you can climb up through them a little and the view back down is nice but it is certainly not the nature cave experience you see on programmes like Getaway.

Leaving that “Indian themed” cave we make our way to the main game, the heat is stifling and we are conscious that we are about to traverse 300 steps. The steps are very impressive and I must say that I was really looking forward to having this yuck part over and then going into this working temple and cave structure. Sadly this place has suffered from the tourist trade, empty bottles, dead or dying pigeons on the ground, stands selling cheap toys and trinkets unrelated to the cave. It actually feels a little sad and you wonder if this has been established simply to keep tourists busy while they are in Kuala Lumpur.

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There is a tour into a dark cave that is adjacent to the temple which is advertised as being “Eco”. There are signs signalling that there are bats and spiders and I whilst we watch a group are provided with hard hats I am pleased that neither Steve or Isaac are keen on going on it and that we are heading back to the comfort of our air conditioned train!

Tonight we have a lovely dinner with some friends who are on postings here in Kuala Lumpur at their wonderful home in the midst of the Embassies. We have a sumptuous BBQ enjoying exported Aussie steak, fine wine and chocolate cupcakes.

It is a lovely night and we are on a high when we return to our hotel only to hear the horrific news that a Malaysia Airlines flight 17 has been hit with a missile, with 298 fatalities. The route taken by the plane was the same as the one our flight had taken on Monday to bring us here and even more terrifying that of Jane and Nathan’s flight just hours ago. Like when the towers came crashing down on September 11 it is a moment I will never forget. As we read the news flash I had that awful realisation that often regardless of what we do and how we treat others sometimes our destiny is not our own. People who we don’t know and don’t know us can have a terrifying impact on our lives. As this tragedy is so close to that of MH 370 I immediately made a connection between the two, expecting that all Malaysia Airlines flights would be grounded, fortunately this is not the case.

Sadly this casts a dark shadow over our last day in Kuala Lumpur, and so we shop a little, spend some time in or by the pool (getting a complimentary back massage) and pack for our trip home.

It has been a wonderful holiday full of lots of laughter, relaxation time and adventures. There hasn’t been just one highlight of the trip but lots of fab moments.