Malaysia-Truly asia!!

[Lukeskywalker]

This is a continuation of our trip from Hongkong onward to Malaysia.
The flight from Hongkong to Kuala Lumpur took off at 4.45 PM and landed at KLIA at around 7.30 PM. Here we bid goodbye to rest of the group who were to return to Bangalore by a later flight.

We and another couple who had decided to extend their stay in Malaysia, got our visas stamped after paying the required fee, changed currency into Ringgits and got into a prepaid taxi to our hotel in KL.

It is a long drive from KLIA into KL city (about an hour), the cabbie drove at a constant 100 kmph and we reached thehotel at about 8.30 PM. Our friends had relatives with whom they were supposed to stay, so they caught another cab to their destination which was nearby.

After checking in, we wanted to make the most of our stay as we had only a day to spare at KL. So we imediately went out and walked to the nearby LRT station, the Metro in KL.
I had a map and had done some research beforehand so it was easy to get to our destination.

We went to a place called Petaling street, which again is a night market, also called China Town. We reached the place by about 9.45 PM and to our dismay the place started closing by around 10.30 PM, even though it was supposed to be a night market.

We were not all that disappointed after one 'chakkar' of the place as the wares were the same worldover and the shopkeepers were quite rude. So we quietly returned to our hotel by a cab. Here, I would like to add that KL cabbies are the same as our auto drivers when it comes to rides after 9.30 PM, they seldom put the meter and ask for fancy rates, but are willing to negotiate.
First View of the Petronas Towers


Day2:
Woke up and went for breakfast, which was a far cry from what we had in other places on this trip. Breakfast done, I called up a few friends from the net who have been chatting with me for the past 10 yrs and have never met.

We decided to meet in the evening and the day was to be spent on exploring some landmarks of the city.
Again a train to KLCC which is where the twin towers of the Petronas corp. are situated.
You exit the LRT and walk up right into Surya KLCC, an awesome megamall at the Petronas Twin Towers. We were told that the tickets to the skybridge are given out free right from 8.30 AM and get over in no time, we reached this place by 11.30 AM and decided to try our luck. Surprise of surprises, we were given 4 tickets for a visit later in the afternoon.
Some photos around this magnificient building and we still had time to kill.
Just then we bumped into the other couple who were supposed to meet us but lost in the humungous building just like us.
Awe Inspiring KLCC


We next decided to visit the KL tower and get back in time for the skybridge tour.
Back to the LRT and we hopped off couple of stations later and trudged it up to the entry gateof the KL tower. Here, they have a free shuttle to pick up tourists from the gate to the main entrance which is situated on a hillock.
The KL Tower

At the entrance we bought tickets for the viewing gallery which was some 372 mts high up.
They have a glass fronted bubble at the top where you can get a 360 degree view of the city.
They even give you video players with head sets to guide you along each window. The view again is out of the world.
View of Petronas from KL Tower

We returned to the base and the shuttle dropped us back to the gate. We caught a cab to the Petronas Towers as we were getting late for our scheduled tour. The traffic was bad and the 3kms to the Petronas Towers took ages and we barely made it to the tour.
Saw The Hard Rock Cafe on the way

The skybridge tour starts with a 3D movie, which gives out gyaan about Petronas the Company and then about the towers itself.
After the movie you have to pass through a security check similar to the airport checks.
Then you are led into the high speed elevator which whisks you to the 44th floor in over a minute or so.
The skybridge, one of its kind in the world consists of two levels.
Tourists are given about 15 minutes on the skybridge for having a look and taking snaps.
Skybridge of the Petronas Towers

Happy me!

View from the Skybridge

Cops at the base of Petronas

Skybridge tour done and it was about 3 PM and we were famished, we went to the food court of Surya KLCC and had some exotic fare.
Post lunch we rushed to our hotel to freshen up and gear up for the evening.
My friend from the net asked us to meet her at the Bukit Bintang area of KL which is akin to our MG road.
We took the Monorail from near our hotel and got off at Bukit Bintang station.
The Monorail

Turned out my friend too was reaching the place by monorail so we just waited on the platform and it was not so difficult for her to spot the two of us.
We were staring wide eyed at the monorail coaches as they kept passing by.
Coffee at starbucks and a lot of catching up to do. Ten plus years and meeting face to face for the first time. It was a nice feeling.

I outlined to my friend Wani, as to what I needed to shop for (lists given by friends). She arranged everything in a jiffy and took us round some of the fascinating malls and even helped us bargain and get good deals.

We proceeded to Berjaya Times Square, another landmark of Kuala Lumpur for dinner and had a lovely Thai meal.
Berjaya Times Square

Post dinner we escorted Wani to KL sentral, a place remniscent of majestic area of Bangalore. There she bid us goodbye to catch her train home. It was a sentimental farewell and we hoped we'd see her again on our way back. She said she would try.

Back to the hotel and crashed, since we had an early morning flight to catch to Langkawi.

The Langkawi travel, I will describe in another post.

[ajmat]

Nice pics, agree re: Petaling street. You should have referred the Yeti blog on Sepang which takes in a lot about KL

[n_aditya]

Nice pics and report there Luke. Hope you enjoyed every bit of Malaysia.

My favorite pic is the Petrona's towers at night. Looks like its studded with diamonds. *Drool*

[esteem_lover]

Luke, just want to know where in KL to go for some reasonable shopping , something like a mustafa in singapore where you can buy anything at reasonable costs. If you know of any place, please let me know soon.

[kpzen]

Luke, Nice report. Thanks for bringing back memories of the amazing Sepang trip.

[Sks_Biker]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Luke, just want to know where in KL to go for some reasonable shopping , something like a mustafa in singapore where you can buy anything at reasonable costs. If you know of any place, please let me know soon.

There is no direct equivalent of mustafa in KL. The closest you have to that is stores from Carrefour/Tesco etc. But if you are looking for a general shopping experience and are willing to bargain, malls on Bukit Bintang are the way to go.

And for people who are visiting, please visit the new KL pavillion mall too. Its opened just a couple of months back so not many know of it. Its the biggest in KL right now and just half a km from Bukit Bintang Monorail station.

PM me if you need any specific info

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Luke, just want to know where in KL to go for some reasonable shopping , something like a mustafa in singapore where you can buy anything at reasonable costs. If you know of any place, please let me know soon.

I do recall from our Sepang F1 thread, that you knew a pretty young thing, she might know the best deals in town

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I do recall from our Sepang F1 thread, that you knew a pretty young thing, she might know the best deals in town

thanks for reminding me (blame my poor memory). Do not presume/assume that she lives there. BTW, there were some crazy BHPians also in sepang at that time.

@sks_biker.. any place where you can buy without bargaining & get genuine stuff ?

[Sks_Biker]

@esteem_lover: You do get genuine stuff around Bukit Bintang area, but bargaining will get you a good price. What items are you looking for? Maybe you can PM me as I feel we are hijacking this thread

[Lukeskywalker]

@esteem_lover, sks Biker seems to be your best bet as I did not visit many shopping centres as I had only a day to spare.
Bukit Bintang area has many malls and would be the ideal place.
For cheap giveaways you could try Petaling street for roadside shopping, but the hawkers were quite rude if you were just enquiring.

[dadu]

Nice writeup, refreshed my memories

[esteem_lover]

Thanks a lot sks_biker & luke, i will pm sks_biker for more info as & when i require.

[low_bass_makker]

Very pics liked the first one. These tower look very good. One more thing one can see these towers from Genting Island and they look marvelous from up there.

[ramkya1]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Luke, just want to know where in KL to go for some reasonable shopping , something like a mustafa in singapore where you can buy anything at reasonable costs. If you know of any place, please let me know soon.

I along with my family went to Malayesia, Singalore Bintan in June. Stayed near the KLCC a great hotel (forgot the name) but thought shopping would be cheap in S'pore or Bintan. Made a mistake, for electronic goods, the best place this side of Asia is LOYAT PLAZA, great bargain prices. I picked up an external 80 GB external drive for Rs.1500/-. When we reached S'pore to finish the purchases, it was too late and too expensive.

For general purchase, China town, there are lots of other places to, lots and lots of malls. The toy flying Chopper which they sell in S'pore for 2500 is sold on the sidewalks of Malaysai for about 1700/- we realized that too late.


Incidentally Mustafa @ S'pore is 40% more expensive for all items than Malaysia.

--Ramky
---------

[ajmat]

Thought I would tag this on to a existing thread. Did a quick trip to inspect a facility in Cyberjaya. This meant my staying over in Putrajaya.

This is a planned city built on 5000 hectares. All government offices are here. As a result it is Dullesville, just like Canberra. I was staying at the Shangri-la located on the highest point. As I was dog tired and had a lot of work, i did not go and explore too much (I also went to the Masjid and surrounding areas in 2004). Intead I did a quick walk around the Putra Perdana Park.

Hotel was a plaza until it was decided to be made into a hotel. It does not shout opulence but it was fairly funky inside and comfortable


I like the semi tropical ambience



Hotel at night

Main structures in Putrajaya are the Minsterial Building and the Putra Masjid. The PM's office has a huge window which over looks the lake and the mosque (the former PM's doctor/classmate is a very good friend of mine and was raving about the office).

Walked around the Landmark Plaza which houses the the Putrajaya Landmark symbolises the beginnings of Putrajaya with its time capsule structure. Its design is a combination of a high-technology theme and the use of contemporary and traditional motifs




Putrajaya Landmark

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]
[ATTACH][/ATTACH]


The Perdana Putra at sunset


The Putra Masjid (taken the next day from the car!)



Only way to enjoy Putrajaya is to go to KL - a 10RGT taxi ride to Putrajaya Sentral and a RGT 9.50 train ride gets you there in 25 min. Also a direct road.


Highly recommend

the new Paramount Mall in Bukit Bintang. Check out the i-dragon restaurant. Service not great but the food is mind-blowing