Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 8-11 March 2016

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 8-11 March 2016



On the way to northern coast of Borneo, we decided to visit KL after 41 years. Wow, has it changed. The CBD and the suburb of Golden Triangle was unrecognisable to us. We couldn’t even recognise where we stayed when we were here last.



This time we stayed in a serviced apartment a couple of minutes away from the Petronas Twin Towers in Golden Triangle. This area is well serviced by monorail, metro and busses to the Old Town (Chinatown) and the Merdeka Square (where all the Imperial buildings are.



Kuala Lumpur has grown from a small sleepy Chinese tin-mining village to a bustling metropolis of around 6.5 million (city-proper population of 1.8 million) in just 150 years.



We arrived at night and after an hour in the taxi we arrived at our apartment at about 10.00pm (12MN Brissy time). We were on the 33^rd floor and had a direct view of the KL Tower which is a telecom communication tower.



After a comfortable sleep we hit the tourist track using the monorail to get to China town. This area was full of historical buildings – temples, tea houses, shophouses, central markets, besars, Little India, grocer guild and clock tower and fountains. All have been restored or preserved very well.



It got to about 33 degrees with really high humidity. When we were drenched we went into an air-conditioned building and then went for another walk.



We then visited the very impressive KL City Gallery where there was a display of what KL will look like by 2026. This city is streaming along with brick and mortar development. They continue to have sizeable economic development plans also. While looking over the model of the progressive city, they put on a light show over the model as well as a promo of their plans for the city. There was the obligatory gift house with lots of models of the Twin Towers and KL Tower which is now very recognisable as KL’s logo. We also had a traditional Malay lunch here.



From the Gallery we did the big walk around the Merdeka Square with its central cricket pitch. This is where the flag was raised for Malaya’s independence. Prior to independence, Malaya was a British colony. When Malaya's independence, to be attained on 31 August 1957, was approved by the British Government in 1956, the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman announced it to the public in Malacca at what is today Dataran Pahlawan. On the evening of 30 August 1957, crowds gathered at what was then known as the Selangor Club Padang to celebrate the historic event. As the clock on the State Secretariat Building (today's Sultan Abdul Samad Building) struck midnight, the crowds, led by Tunku Abdul Rahman, shouted "Merdeka" seven times. The Union Jack was lowered and the flag of the new country was raised to the strains of the national anthem, Negaraku. The Selangor Club Padang is today known as Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). The next day, the official handing over of power by the British was held at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium). The country was renamed Malaysia on September 16, 1963, when Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya formed a new federation.



In KL we saw an amazing variety of architectural delights. The grandest old British colonial buildings was in the city centre and included the former offices of the Colonial Secretariat (now the Sultan Abdul Samad Building) on Merdeka Square and the old Kuala Lumpur Railway station. They blend themes from the architecture of Britain and North Africa. On Merdeka Square's west side, looking like a rejected transplant straight from Stratford-upon-Avon is the Royal Selangor Club. Near Merdeka Square is Masjid Jamek, a charming Moorish-style mosque set at a confluence on the Klang River. The National Mosque, Masjid Negara, (1965) celebrates the bold ambitions of the newly independent Malaysia.



After walking around these 2 areas we walked all the way to the KL Tower. This was a real surprise as, not only was it the telecommunications centre but had an XD Theatre where we went on a virtual African safari in a Jeep and helicopter, hitting wildebeest, being almost eaten by a lion, falling down a cliff, hitting other vehicles, driving along rough roads etc. What an experience.



We also visited the KL Tower’s Mini Zoo, and the Blue Coral Aquarium. In addition, visiting the Open Deck as well as the enclosed Observation Deck gave us spectacular views of the sprawling city.



Doing and seeing all of the above as well as walking all the way back to our hotel, we walked over 15km during the day!!!!! (Tom’s fit-band told us that!!). The legs were tired and we were pretty sweaty so just around the corner from our apartment was a nightclub/bar street where we chose one to visit. It was so good to sit and have some icy cold local beers.



After the ? beer, we heard thunder and saw the torrential tropical afternoon storm. It bought back memories of our 14 years in Darwin. We were please we had finished our walking around for the day.



That night we found a restaurant in the massive shopping centre of the Suria KLCC building which is attached to the Petronus Twin Towers. That night we fell into bed and was asleep in 30 seconds!!



The next day we were off to see the Perdana Botanic Gardens, Parks and Museums, an extensive green belt to the SW of the CBD. This has the world’s biggest free-flight aviary (although the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore boasts the same) which we walked through. There is also a Deer Park, Orchid Garden, Butterfly Enclosure, National Mosque (61% of Malaysia in Muslim , National Monument, Amphitheatre, large Lake and much more.



We had lunch at the Hornbill Restaurant and saw a very friendly hornbill which loved tomatoes being thrown at it by restaurant staff.
The Park has a mini tram shuttle service which we caught. This was instead of walking around in the high humidity!!! We saw the rest of the Park, stopping occasionally to take photos. The manicured trees and water features just added another dimension to the Park. We saw a bride and groom having photos in the Park ..... until it started to sprinkle with rain.



We visited the National Mosque, which was spectacular. I had to wear a robe and burkha which was incredibly hot. Women definitely get the raw end of the deal in this hot country.



That night we visited the sparkling Petronas Twin Towers. Unfortunately the double level bridges between to 2 towers at level 41 and 42 were closed for maintenance but we went up to level 86 .... ‘into the clouds’, as the promo stated. There were no clouds thank goodness and we gazed on the second tower. It looked as though it was full of diamonds. It was beautiful.



After lots of photos, we went to the back of the Towers where there was the KLCC Lake Symphony Fountain. The show spectacular certainly competed with the show in Xian in China which we thought was incredible.



This area around the Towers also included a big park with running track and plenty of space for locals and tourists to get away from the busy traffic. Very impressive.



All in all, KL has been transformed into a vibrant, clean, go-ahead city. We saw that the surrounding suburbs had extensive high-rise accommodation as well as single level housing estates.



After 3 nights, we jumped into a taxi to drive the hour through the CBD and suburbs, back to the airport. We were off to Sandakan for our nature-tour which we were looking forward to.

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Photos

National Mosque
Pam had to cover up!