KL - the shopping Mecca

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Russell - So here we are in KL, described as the city of the future. Not only is it the home of the world's tallest building, it also has a modern monorail, subway system and a total dedication to brands, Even the monorail stations are sponsored. As you come to the main stations in town the sponsoring brand is mentioned before the destination. "Now arriving at Coca-Cola, alight here for Bukit Bintang" Anyone who has read "Cloud Atlas" will recognise this view of the future.

I have to admit to having a liking for KL simply for it's integrated culture, but I suspect that goes for Malaysia as a whole. There are three major cultures here, the majority Malay, Chinese and Indian. The best outcome of this is of course the food! Every street has a top notch Indian, Chinese or Malay restaurant to choose from. We can heartly recommend the Copper Chimney Indian restaurant just a little way from the so-called golden triangle. The best Chinese is definitley from the Hawker stalls which all have their own tables around them. As many of these places look a bit sus, we have decided to define a decent restaurant as one that has tablecloths, and so far this has held us in good stead!

But the biggest thing to do in KL is shop. The number of shopping malls is unbeliveable and they are all busy. We have been on numerous shopping jaunts looking for stuff for the wedding including the dress, but haven't been very successful. We caught the subway out to the Ampang Park in an attempt to get to one wedding dress boutique but ended up walking in a huge circle and ariving back where we started. We have decided to leave the dress shopping until we get to Penang which is more of a weddingy town.

The one thing we did not manage to do is visit the Petronus Towers and go up to the sky bridge. Apparently you need to be there first thing in the morning, and mornings are for working people! It is an impressive sight from outside though. Two 88 storey towers climb up next to eack other, joined at the hip (well the 40th floor) by the skybridge. In cross-section it is an 18 point star, 13 points for the 13 Sultanates of Malaysia, and a further 5 for each of the pillars of Islam. The overall effect is surprisingly similar to Ankgor Wat in Cambodia but on a much bigger scale. Still that sky-bridge will have to wait for another time as are next stop is histroic Melaka in the south of the country.

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Comments

[Duro]

Hate to tell ya...
I've been reading your blog, and I like what I see. Just thought I'd point out that the Petronas Towers are no longer the tallest buildings in the world. That title now belongs to Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan. Other than that I think your blog is great. I especially like your comments about crossing traffic in HCMC (Beijing is much the same!). Happy travels!

[RussLins]

Apologies
I have checked this out and Taipei 101 did indeed take the title in 2004, something the Malaysians don't seem to have registered yet! Still they have two towers so it's double the value. Thank you for letting us know.