Kuala Lumpur-Sultans and Mosques and Tall Towers

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Day 7-March 12th: I was up early today to make my way to Melaka Sentral bus station. I took the city bus which took quite a while, but I finally got to the bus station and was on the 11 AM bus to Kuala Lumpur (hereinafter referred to KL). Two and a half hours later I arrived at my new home for 2 nights - Pudu Hostel, conveniently located across the street from the bus station. I wandered around the city to familiarize myself with it, armed with my free map.

Here's what I saw:
- Merdaka Square, aka Freedom Square, where Malaysia declared independence from British rule 50 years ago
- the tallest flagpole in Asia stands in this square
- Majid Jamek Mosque, at the confluence of two rivers; didn't / couldn't go in due to strict dress code: women must have arms and legs and head covered; such is the tale at all mosques.
- Sultan Abdul Samad building - some kind of government building
- Central Market - shoppers delight, some colonial architecture on the neighboring streets
- old KL Railway Station - interesting architecture w/ Islamic and other influences
- National Mosque - arrived in time to hear the call to prayer from the minaret
- walked up the hill to the Lake Garden park and stopped to see the Orchid and Hibiscus Garden - wow! amazing, beautiful flowers
- I hopped on the city tour bus - one of those hop-on, hop-off buses that take you all over the city to all the tourist sites; the ticket is for 24 hours, so I used it for the evening and also the next day; we got caught in evening rush hour traffic, so I was on the bus for some 3 hours taking in all the sights and staying cool - this city is hot and humid and sweaty! I "heart" A/C!
- Chinatown / Petaling Street - night market in full swing when I got there. I was back in China for a minute there! I stopped to shop and eat before heading back to the hostel.

The weather was hot and sticky, with afternoon showers as per usual. This is the typical weather pattern for my sightseeing it seems!

Day 8-March 13th: I got up bright and early to get to Petronas Twin Towers for my free SkyBridge ticket. I got there about 8:30 AM and obtained a ticket for 9:45 AM. By the time I wandered through the small free exhibit and browsed in the gift shop, it was time for me to go up. We were whisked to the 41st floor for our 10 minute stroll on the sky bridge and photo ops and next thing you know, we were instructed to head back down. Couldn't we have a few more minutes up there? Anyway, it was cool to be up there!

Next stop, Malaysia Tourism Center down the street. Not much info there unless you want to book tours around the country and such. No thank you, I'll sightsee on my own! I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe around the corner from MTC for an early lunch, a splurge on the yummy veggie burger. I haven't been to a Hard Rock in a while, and haven't been to the ones in China that I could've gone to, so I figured I'd check this one out. The usual memorabilia and I found an Eddie Rabbitt shirt in one corner. Ah, childhood memories of "I Love a Rainy Night" and "Driving My Life Away" came flooding back! 😊

The afternoon clouds were gathering after a mostly sunny morning. Back on the tourist bus I went to see the rest of the circuit I didn't see yesterday. I got off at Merdaka Square and snapped a few more photos. Then I walked back to Petaling Street in Chinatown in search of the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple (Hindu). I didn't find that but stumbled upon the Sin Sze Ya Temple (Chinese) in a back alley near the Central Market. Very cool!

I went to a veg restaurant called Lakshmi Vilas for an early dinner. It was recommended in my guide book and the food was great but I couldn't help feeling gawked at but the Indian men eating there. There was only one other woman there, and she was Indian, so I guess I was a novelty. I thought I left the starers behind when I left China, but I guess not!

Next up was a journey back to KLCC (city center) and a walk to Menara KL (KL Tower). I went up around sunset to get the view of daytime, sunset, and nighttime. Spectacular! The afternoon sprinkles had ended and the sky cleared up a little and the photo ops were great! I saw a beautiful sunset and captured the city sky at night. After it got dark and I took the night sky photos, I went down and walked back to Petronas Twin Towers to get some photos at night.

I walked from the Towers to Bukit Bintang, the high-end shopping district and sidewalk cafe area, via Jalan P. Ramlee, the street with lots of bars, restaurants, nightclubs. Finally, I walked back along Jalan Pudu to my hostel. I went to the first floor to use the internet to upload my many many photos!

Day 9-March 14th: A sunny morning to finish my sightseeing in KL before heading to the Cameron Highlands. I went to Batu Caves around 10:30 AM via city bus. This is a famous Hindu site where they hold the Thaipusam Festival each year. I climbed the 272 steps to the top where you can enter the big cave. Very cool, Hindu temples and deities abound. There were lots of monkeys and pigeons to entertain the visitors! I took the bus back to the city and the clouds gathered for the afternoon rain.

I saw Sri Ganesh Temple on the hill behind the hostel. I went to the bus station to buy my ticket to Cameron Highlands / Tanah Rata and ate lunch at a restaurant across from the station. The rain hit as I was leaving to get to the bus pick-up point just down the street! Our bus was supposed to leave KL at 3:30 PM. Instead, we left at 4:30 PM. That's KL traffic for you! We made it to Tanah Rata in 5 hours (it was supposed to take 4 hours). The road is very windy going up to the Highlands, so we had to take our time and be careful, especially because it got dark early because of the rainstorms.

We made it at last and I checked into the Twin Pines Guest House. I wandered down the road and had some veggie curry for dinner. It is cool and refreshing here in the Highlands, a refreshing change from the hot and sticky city of KL!

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