Kuala Lumpur often referred to as "KL" is the capital city of Malaysia. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Asia and the largest city in Malaysia. There were high-rise and sky-scraper construction everywhere! It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development. It is clean, modern and safe and a great city for a budget traveler.
What did we do?
KL Tower. It is a 421-meter tall and the 7th tallest telecommunication tower in the world. We purchased tickets and took the elevator up to the Sky Deck for a 360 view of the city. Unfortunately it was a liitle overcast but the view was awesome! We also did the Sky Box which is a glass cube (including the floor) for a unique and terrifying 300 meter 'death-view' of the city.
Hop On/Hop Off Bus. This is a great way to see the city and stops at many popular tourist spots. The loop takes about two hours to complete. We rode the loop and then hopped off at Chinatown, home of Petaling Street. Petaling Street is crowded with locals and tourists and packed with stores, restaurants, food stalls, and vendors selling high-end knock-offs like Gucci, Coach, LV, Rolex watches, etc.
We hopped off at Central Market and Little India.
Petronas Twin Towers. These towers remain the world's tallest twin towers. The Skybridge that connects the two towers is the highest two story bridge in the world. The Petronas Twin Towers are designed with a steel and glass facade resembling motifs from Islamic art, Malaysia's primary religion. We purchased our tickets online and had to wait four days until a slot opened up. We got about 10 minutes on the Skybridge. Next we went up to the 86th floor to the Observation Deck. We had about 15 minutes to enjoy the view. Recommend finding out where to check-in ahead of time. There are two big towers and we managed to cut it close.
A few tidbits, just in case you were wondering:
Lifts
- 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts
- 6 heavy duty service lifts
- 4 executive lifts
- it's speed is between 3.5 m/s and 6.0 m/s, depending on the zones they are servicing
Pinnacles
- these structures house the aircraft warning lights and external maintenance building equipment
- each pinnacle features a spire with 23 segments, and a ring ball comprising of 14 rings of varying diameters
Skybridge
- the towers feature a double decker skybridge connecting the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floor
- the length of the bridge is 58.4 meters and located at a height of 170 meters from street level
- it is not attached to the main structure but is instead designed to slide in and out of the towers to prevent it from breaking due to strong winds
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| Yes I am looking down! |
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| We mailed a postcard |
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| When done leave your sticker behind |
KLCC Park. Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park is an urban park designed to provide greenery to the Petronas Twin Towers and the surrounding area. It was nice walking around and a great place for kids to enjoy swimming and playgrounds.
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| My Jane! |
Batu Caves. In order to get to the Cave we had to hop on the monorail and then transfer to the train. Easy peasy except for losing a cell phone (see below). The entrance to Batu Caves consists of 292 colorful steps (only to find more steps once inside) and a statue of Lord Murugan. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India. There were multiple caves and shrines and monkeys 🐒 everywhere! There is no fee to enter the main Batu cave.
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| Morning started out great |
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| Waiting for the train |
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| Mood after losing phone |
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| Lord Murugan Guarding the Entrance |
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Goddess Saraswathi standing
on a White Lotus |
Lord Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. Avatars of Lord Vishnu:
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| Matisyahu (Fish) |
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| Korea (Turtle) |
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| Varaaha (Boar) |
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| Narasimha (Lion&Man) |
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| Vandana (Dwarf) |
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| Parasuramar (With axe) |
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| Rama |
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| Balaramar |
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| Krishna |
A few more pictures before leaving.
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We put our shoes back on and stepped
on the very bottom step where the black
paint is and got yelled at for wearing shoes. |
Lost a cell phone. And then found it! Luckily the phone that was lost was our 'burner' phone that we use for a hotspot since f--------g Google Fi turned off our data. I assume it slipped out of my pocket when we were on the monorail to KL Sentral. I wanted so bad for a hotspot somewhere to use Android Find My Device. Hotspot were either non-existent or secure. After touring the caves, we decided to go back to our room only to be told at our final train ride that we needed a mask. Seriously? It took us almost 30 minutes just to buy two. Back to our room and found my device. It was back at KL Sentral. So we hopped back on the monorail and stopped at the first ticket office we came to when entering the station. Ironically, it was the same ticket office that I asked where we could buy masks. After explaining to the agent that I had lost a phone and telling him what kind it was, he made a phone call, looked at some pictures, held one up and asked me if that was my phone. It looked like it. He opened a door like a locker room behind him, pulled out my phone and handed it to me. I unlocked it! It was mine!! Whew!
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Android Find My Device was
pretty accurate |
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Sharon purchased a day backpack
from Petaling Street to carry the
phones📱and her wrap. |
Shopping. Yes shopping. It rained the entire day on our second full day. There are malls everywhere! And a lot of high-end stores. We were on a mission to find Sharon a new backpack. We had been looking for days in Singapore and KL. And I needed to replace some shirts. Mission accomplished. Ladies if you like to shop, Asia 🌏 is the place to go.
Where did we eat? It rained a lot! And always seemed to be raining at dinner time. Luckily there were several restaurants next to our hotel and we could access them without getting wet. We ate at Nick's Tikks and Tacos. A combination North Indian and Mexican restaurant. We ate there twice it was that good. I could have eaten there every night and our waitress, Jas, was so sweet and pleasant. She even remembered what we drank the second time we visited.
Nick's Tikks & Tacos
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| Chips and Salsa |
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| Chicken Tandori |
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| Dal Tadka |
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| Yellow lentils |
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| Naan |
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Chicken Tikka Enchiladas
So cheesy! |
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| Chicken Tikka Masala |
Llaollao (pronounced as Yao Yao) -- we had read we must try in Singapore. Well we never did and happened to come across one in the mall here. What is Llaollao? A Spanish frozen yogurt. We each got a small one with crushed oreos and one with chocorock sauce (chocolate sauce with cookie crumbles).
Where did we stay? Holiday Inn Express. Sharon had enough points that we got a free room for a week! It was sooooo much larger than our room in Singapore and had a pretty good breakfast buffet. Although the buffet was incredibly busy every morning! They also had a laundry room and we did a load of laundry on our last night. That was the first time in four plus months that we had to wash, dry and fold our own laundry! How do people do it!?! lol And the most expensive.
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| Bathroom door swung two ways |
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| was also shower door |
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| Our view! |
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| Laundry night! |
How did we get here? We took the SMRT in Singapore to the airport. We flew Air Asia and were totally prepared with our carry-ons being under 7kg. Go figure. They didn't even weigh our bags. The airport security was the strictest ever! My 1.75ml shaving cream got confiscated -- I couldn't convince the agent it was half-full. And Sharon's tiny scissors that have made it through 10 security checks from Phoenix to Honoulu to Thailand and throughout SE Asia were confiscated. Whatever.
Once we arrived in Kulua Lumpur International Airport, it was a piece of cake. Whisked through Immigration and paid nothing. Next... ATM, SIM card and figured out the MRT to KL Sentral to get close to our hotel.
We enjoyed Kuala Lumpur and would visit again but for a shorter period so we could explore the rest of the country.
According to little Ms. Google, for the month of February, we traveled 2,346 miles. We visited 5 countries. We were in 7 airports and flew over 1,823 miles.
"There are places you haven't been where you already belong."
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