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Published: August 22nd 2013
First thing this morning, we left our hostel and headed Northeast to the Petronas Twin Towers to purchase admission tickets. We arrived at the towers when the ticket booth opened (8:30 am), and there was already a huge line! We were a little bit worried because we knew that they only sell a very limited number of tickets to visit the famous skybridge and observation lounge on the 86th floor (they usually sell out first thing in the morning). After waiting in line for about an hour, we were pleased to snag a couple of tickets for sunset (tickets are sold for entry in 15 minute intervals), but most of the other times of the day were sold out anyways.
The walk to and from the towers was quite nice. To walk through a chunk of downtown, there was an overhead enclosed walkway that is air conditioned. (In the morning, it didn't matter too much because it was only about 28 degrees, but even when we were walking back from the Petronas Towers after buying our tickets it had warmed up substantially!)
Attached to the towers is a huge (HUGE!!!) mall. It's about 6 levels and has all sorts
of stores - many with English backgrounds like Harrod's. Outside the mall is a big park with ponds, Palm Oil trees and nice rolling hills. It looks like a nice reprieve in a bustling city. On our way through the park the first time, we were in a hurry to get to the ticket counter. On the way through after buying our tickets we were also in a hurry because we wanted to make it back to the hostel before breakfast ended. So, we didn't get much of a chance to check out the park in the morning.
Back at the hostel (Rainforest Bed and Breakfast - a nice place to stay - clean with a decent breakfast) we ate and began to plan our day. Elysia's left eye had been bothering her all morning, and it kind of came to a pinnacle at breakfast time so we decided it would be best to see a doctor. Her eye was red and the muscles around it were all sore. In the hostel, there was also a marked difference in the size of her pupils when compared to each other (as a med student that just finished the neuro unit,
this was worrisome). So Mike called the travel insurance company (it took about 10 minutes just for the hostel staff to figure out how to make a collect call to Canada!) and got approval to see a doctor. We set out to what we were told was a good private hospital (Hospital Tung Shin) to see if they could help Elysia with her eye.
Hospital Tung Shin is quite a nice hospital. It is very clean and the Accidents & Emergencies ward was very calm and orderly. All of the nursing staff wore these little white caps with either a blue or red stripe on them. After a wait of about 40 minutes, we were able to see the doctor and Elysia was very impressed. After spending a bunch of time in various Nepalese hospitals, Elysia was worried about what to expect (mostly in regards to sanitation). In Nepal, it is difficult to get the doctors and hospital staff to even wash their hands!
The doctor that we saw was very kind and spent quite a bit of time explaining everything to Elysia (and yes, he did a thorough job washing his hands!). Once he found out that
she is a medical student, he began to quiz her on the anatomy of the eye. He determined that her eye was inflamed (conjunctivitus) casued probably from some debris getting lodged in it. We attribute this back to our visit to Pashupatinath where there were large fires burning constantly and the thick smoke probably lodged something in her eye (we joke that she has pieces of dead bodies in her eyes).
After the diagnosis, we went to the hospital pharmacy to pick up the prescription and pay our bill. It was a whopping $28 Canadian (for the consultation and drugs). Not bad!
Having explored the hospital, we thought we would get on with touring the city. We started off by walking past Masjid Jamek (a large mosque close to the colonial centre of the city). Unfortunately, due to renovations tourists weren't allowed to enter. When we walked by though, they were just starting the noon call to prayer. This was something we hadn't heard much of since our last visit to a predominantly muslim country (Egypt) in 2010.
Our next stop was the Merdeka Square, where we saw the Supreme Court; a small, old, St. Mary's Cathedral;
Hospital Tung Shin
Thank goodness for proper handwashing!the Royal Selangor Club (KL's most prestigious private club); the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (another court building); and the 100 metre tall flagpole flying the Malaysian flag.
At the north end of the square, we posed for a couple pictures with the "I Love KL" sign before grabbing some lunch at a Malaysian buffet restaurant. They had all authentic dishes, and the place was filled with locals. All of the staff stopped by our table to talk to us and to encourage us to try their favourite dishes (which we never knew what they were or what was in them- all the names were in malay!). After lunch, the patrons got onto the stage and began singing Malaysian music. IT was pretty neat to hear, because most everyone were good singers, but of course, we didn't understand any of the words! They wanted us to get up too, but we thought that it was a bit to early in the day to make a fool of ourselves in front of the locals.
After lunch, we walked to the Lake Gardens, which is the largest park in Kuala Lumpur. On our way, we stopped at the National Monument, which
is basically a large war memorial. Actually there are two large memorial monuments surrounded by a fairly substantial water feature. Because the monuments are situated on a large hill, you have a fairly good view of the city's skyline.
We planned to walk to the Parliament building, which was nearby, but the sidewalk suddenly ended and the street was very busy. In the circumstances, we decided to turn into the Lake Gardens and explore.
The gardens are extremely peaceful. And, on a Sunday afternoon, they are very quiet. During the couple of hours that we were walking around the gardens we probably saw less than 20 people. The gardens really feel like a little sanctuary in the middle of the bustling city.
Generally, Kuala Lumpur has many features that remind us of London. There are lots of pubs and good English and Irish beers seem to be pretty standard. A plate of fish and chips is never far away (of course, we decided to stick with more traditional Malaysian fare). The Lake Gardens themselves reminded us very much of Hyde Park (except that most of the plants were different!). While we were walking through them, we wondered
if the gardens were built with Hyde Park in mind. In the centre of Lake Gardens there is (yes, you guessed it) a large lake. Apparently, you can rent boats and paddle around the lake, but when we were at the boathouse, there was no one around and, no boats.
The gardens also has a huge outdoor theatre. Looks like a great place to catch a concert or play. We also walked past several large manmade waterfalls, that were nice to stand near because they cooled the air surrounding them.
After visiting the gardens, we walked back to the KL Sentral Station and caught the monorail back to our hostel. We thought it would be nice to cool off and rest for a few minutes before heading back to the Petronas Towers.
The visit to the towers was really awesome. The Petronas Towers are no longer the tallest buildings in the world, but they are still quite amazing to visit. The entire visit is pretty structured, with guests constantly being ushered through their designated visiting areas. You aren't allowed to linger in any one spot for too long, although they do give you enough time to see
Merdeka Square
The Mosque is in the background there the sights and take the pictures you want to take.
Our first stop was to the 41st floor Skybridge which connects the two towers. Our visit here was timed pretty perfectly with the sunset, so it was quite a nice view of the city. From 41 floors up you can see how well developed Kuala Lumpur actually is. Our second stop was the 86th floor observation deck. From here, you have an unprecedented view of the skyline and a great opportunity to see the tippy-top of the other tower!
We noticed a big bill-board on the 86th floor that was advertising Malaysia's goal of being a fully developed industrial nation by 2020. This kind of surprised us... based on our visit so far, the city of KL seems much more developed than Toronto. Perhaps we should send Rob Ford to KL for a visit to see what can be done about making a city look nice.
Once we were down from our visit in the clouds, we walked out the front of the building and took a few pictures near the water fountain features. It was kind of tough because everyone else had the same idea. So
Merdeka Square
There was some kind of music festival going on there. far in Asia, it seems that there is very little respect for your personal space, so it is very difficult to get a picture without someone else walking right in front of your camera.
After our visit to the fountains, we walked back through the towers (at the ground level) and into the adjoining mall. The mall was quiet this morning when we were here, but absolutely insane at this hour. It was like visiting the Eaton's Centre at Christmas, except the Eaton's Centre is tiny by comparison.
Just as we left the mall, we noticed that the fountains in the big garden/park was all lit up and was having a little light show. We sat on the steps and watched for about 45 minutes.
After the fountain show we decided to go back to the street of pubs we found the night before for a drink and a bite to eat. Because tonight was a Sunday, they weren't as busy as they were yesterday, but we still had a nice time sitting at a table on the sidewalk drinking an icy cold pint of Strongbow. We also had a local curry chicken Malay dish for dinner
Merdeka Square
There were signs saying no eating or drinking on the grass. I guess not prime picnic territory. (although we were tempted by the Sunday roast that some of the British pubs were offering).
We checked the weather because we noted that it had cooled down to a much more palatable temperature. It was about 11pm and the temperature had dropped to 29 degrees Celsius. With humidity, according to the Weather Network's app, it felt like 43. No wonder we enjoyed the cool drinks!
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