Tall tales of KL

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Leaving home

Taxi? Where? Of course, it's coming... Any minute now... Must be around the corner. That's what the taxi operator told us when we finally got through on the phone. But the next car coming is definitely NOT a taxi. Nor the next one. Nor any others. We are still waiting on the footpath at home. Going nowhere. Could this adventure end before it even begins? Mum was worried because the taxi we had booked was really late to take us to the airport.

The taxi turned up eventually. The driver had been busy talking to a policeman about a speeding ticket. Not a happy cabbie! He drove us in a Maxi taxi van. They are bigger than normal taxis because we are a bigger than normal family with plenty of luggage. And we still made it in good time to the airport.

We checked in and then had all of our hand luggage inspected to make sure we weren't going to blow up the plane 😊. Then the security staff led Dad away and started questioning him. Will they ever let him go? The guards gave Dad a detailed look over and frisking. Maybe he looked like he might be carrying something illegal. They said it was just a random check. But I reckon it was because they thought he looks dodgy.

Into the night sky

We finally got to the boarding area but it was still an hour until boarding time so I read a book. Rohan dozed off.

Then we sat on the plane for about half an hour before we took off. Away at last!

Then the interactive screens on the back of the seats became activated. There were lots of entertainment options, including recent movies.

You had to pay to get a lot of stuff to work and you need a credit card to pay and I don't have a credit card. It was most likely expensive anyway. And I had already seen most of the movies on offer. So, I put on the map. It shows you where you are, the trip route and how far the plane has travelled since lift-off.

The screen also displays how far away Mecca is and includes a handy pointer. Do you know where Mecca is? Lots of Malaysian people are Muslims and Muslims worship facing Mecca. They normally pray on a mat facing towards Mecca. But they might have trouble finding enough floor space on a plane to fit a prayer mat.

Rohan was happy watching all of the movie previews. He didn't ask to watch a whole movie. In fact, he kept replaying a trailer from a movie that he had already watched just before we left home. Toddlers love replays. I don't!

Anyone hungry?

Then it was "dinner time". "Late supper"? I don't understand how it was meal time because it was actually 2.30am. The middle of the night. But lots of people bought food. Even Mum. She ate a chicken curry. I was tired and very thirsty. Mum got me some lemonade. I accidentally knocked the lemonade over and spilled more than half the can on the floor and myself. Not good - sticky.

Benji and I just munched on Twisties. And that was still weird. Rohan sprang to life and started snacking.

By then I really needed to sleep. I was exhausted. It wasn't easy because the lights were on and the seat wasn't comfortable. The cabin crew finally dimmed the lights. Hooray! I had a few naps but not really a long sleep. So, I was still quite tired when the lights were switched back on. By then it was only an hour until touchdown.

Bumps in the night

The descent was very bumpy because of low clouds. Benji threw up in a bag and when I saw him spew I
felt like throwing up too. Soon afterwards, we both felt fine again.

We landed smoothly and packed up ready to leave. Somehow, Benji lost his music player down a seat crevasse. It was a black hole - nothing ever came out again. Even the cabin crew couldn’t find it.

Entering a new country

It felt good and a bit weird when I stepped out into Malaysia. It was hot AND wet. Not super-hot or super-wet. Yet. That will come. It's normal for it to be hot in Malaysia and it must have rained a bit before we landed. A gentle intro?

Will they let us into the country? First things first. Swine flu. All passengers must declare they are disease-free AND have their temperature scanned. So, I get to sign my name again on a bunch of forms. They take someone else aside for questioning. Not us. They didn't notice Benji's chunder breath. Phew!

So, we line up for the immigration check. As usual, we need to lift up Rohan so they can see him at the counter. They say he looks quite different from his baby photo in the passport. But that is OK. We are waved through. Only the customs check to go... but they don't give us a second look. We're in!

It is 8am local time and lots of shops are just opening up. We head into town in a taxi van - a one hour trip.

High points

If you want to get to know a city quickly, try heading for the highest point. Get a bird's eye view. The highest Point in KL is world famous. It is one of the best known landmarks in Asia - Petronas Twin Towers. The towers reach up 452 metres into the sky. We had been circling the towers for ages until we finally got there. You can see the towers from most parts of town.

We had lunch in the "Signature Food Court" inside the twin towers. It is part of a vast shopping complex within the towers. There are thousands of shops there.

Which tower is which?

We heard that Petronas Towers is actually NOT the best view in KL, despite its record height. So, We headed up Bukit Anan (Pineapple Hill) to the KL Tower. It is a communications tower that just happens to have an awesome view over the city. We zipped up dozens of floors in a speedy elevator. The ticket staff give each person a tower-shaped bottle of water to take up the tower. Everybody gets a bottle. It's a security measure. They don't let you take up any other liquids that could be used to blow up the tower. Yes, there is a bag search.

We had a clear view up to KL tower from our apartment. Now, we could complete the picture. We managed to spot the tall hotel right beside our apartment. We also identified lots of other buildings and places. Of course, we had a great view of the twin towers from KL Tower. Benji particularly liked zooming in with binoculars from the observation deck. KL Towerlooks fantastic at night - it has lots of shimmering lights that change colour in waves.

Walking around

We stayed right near the 'golden triangle" of KL. Close to the action- in an area called Bukit Bintang. Another great way to get to know a city is to ask a local. So we did. Our friendly host showed us around the neighbourhood on foot. We got lots of hints about exploring further...

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Photos

Waiting for boarding call
Reading the first of many books?

Waiting to leave Australia
Too late for me!

In-flight action
Rohan snoozing, Zac on the netbook

KL International Airport
Our plane resting in the background

KL tower at dawn
Near our apartment

KL Tower at night
Many lights flash and change colour

Petronas Twin Towers
World's second tallest building

Zac the giant
Taller than the twin towers?

Binoculars at KL Tower
Benji could see people way below

From one tower to another
Twin Towers seen from KL Tower

Bukit Anan area
"Pineapple Hill" and city buildings

Comments

[The Strybe Tribe]

The Dodgy One
Yeah...I have always thought the man looks dodgy.

[robert]

ZOO-WEE-MAMA
that cabbie was OWNED how long are you staying there?