July 8th, 2005
Our second trip to Batu Caves! This was a total spur of the moment trip that turned out great! I had gone to Dairy Farm just the previous Sunday and run into Jim, Johann, Suresh and group. They had told me they were going to Batu Caves in just one week and I immediately jumped on their band wagon. I was totally excited at having just met this new group of climbers and anticipating going back to Batu for a second time. Kelly, was a bit curiouse as well, seeming she opted not to come climbing with me at Dairy Farm and was jumping into a group she had never met. Well it couldn't have worked out better and we made several friends over the course of the trip!

Click on me to the right for more pictures and less talk!

Getting There
I managed to get out of work a little early that Friday and Kel and I made our way up to Bukit Timah by cab to meet Lydia who neither of us had ever met before. Lydia turned out to be very welcoming and was lots of fun! Her dad graciously fought through traffic on the first link to drop us off in Johor, Malaysia so we could meet up with the rest of the gang (Suresh, J.J., Jim, Johann, and Lydia ). J.J. had rented a BRAND NEW minivan from Mayflower car rental! Wow, what an upgrade from our last trip! The van still had plastic on the seatbelts and even included an LCD DVD player! Damn, we should have brought some movies for the ride! The roads in Johor and around Kuala Lumpor can be quite confusing but after a few fiasco's we managed to get ourselves up to KL with Lydia 's navigational skills combined with J.J.'s driving talents.

Mayflower Car Rental Details
http://www.mayflowercarrental.com.my/
JOHOR BAHRU (KKKP 2842)
Plaza Seni ( Singapore - Johor Bahru Taxi Terminal),
Level 2A, Jalan Trus , 80000 Johor Bahru

Email: matjb@mayflower.com.my
Phone: 607-224 1357 or 607-227 1739
Fax: 607-227 1737

Business Hours
Mon-Sat 0730 - 1900hrs
Sun & Public Holiday 0830 - 1730hrs

The Beginning of the DyNasty
Now there had been much conversation before we went up on our local dairy farm multiply site about our trip. I had tried to pipe in about accommodations and a nice hostel we had stayed at last time but I was reassured everything was taken care of and they (I can't remember who) assured me they knew of a great cheap place near Batu Caves. Well, in true Singaporean style we arrived in KL without the faintest idea of where we were staying or how much it would cost! Damn, I should have brought along all the great hostel info I had gathered earlier that week! Some how, we ended up at the Dynasty Hotel. Now mind you, Kelly and I are trying to adhere to a "as cheap as possible" policy. Much to my dismay I found myself in the marble foyer of the Dynasty. I tried hard to make my voice heard that this might be more then we want, but when it became clear that this was it, I tried to talk people into sharing rooms to split costs. Well, 4 people to a room, fell to 3 people to a room, until we were down to 2 people to a room. Shit, Kel and I are going to end up paying 300 Ringit for accommodations (2 nights at 150 if you tell them you don't want the breakfast). The room was rather large but dirty with stains and holes in the comforter and sheets, hair in the bathroom drain, and a hot water knob that would fall off! Hence forth we have renamed the hotel, the Die, Nasty!

Batu Caves
Well, off to Batu Caves for some climbing at last! Unlike last time we made it right to Damai Wall without getting lost! Perfect! Climbing was excellent, and I got to lead many great climbs. Just like last time, Damai Wall really cooks under the sun until about 3 o'clock , but we climbed some, grabbed some lunch then returned for the shade. I will try to scan some pages out of our climbing book to post here. We hit Damai Wall again on the second day for a very short stint. We had to have the rental car back to Johor by 6:00 and so we had to leave by noon at the latest from Batu. Unfortunately, the troops failed to rally early and we got a late start with an arrival time at Damai of around 10:30 . Johann and I tried to pull off a quick two pitcher but didn't make it past the 1 st pitch before having to turn around. I felt a bit bad after coming down because everybody else didn't really get to climb much because of the short time span and Suresh was the only lead capable person left to set up ropes for people.

Back Home
We made it back to Johor without incident and were able to easily walk back across the bridge to Singapore . What a great trip! Kelly and I made some great friends and had a fantastic time!

Batu Caves really offers some great climbing and I highly encourage other people to brake out of Singapore and go there for a weekend. It can be done with out the guidance of someone who has been there but expect some confusion as we experienced on out first trip!

Check out our 1st and 3rd trips out to Batu Caves.

© December 7, 2008