The capital of Malaysia greeted us at the end of a bus ride from the Cameron Highlands. It was quite a busy time of year while we were there as it was Chinese New Year. We knew this was coming up and had therefore planned to spend it somewhere we thought would be quite interesting and lively. However many people started to inform us that it is a real family celebration and they expected KL to be empty! Never mind, we went anyway to see what would happen.
The first thing that is obvious in this part of the world when you get off the bus, which was a sharp contrast to the Cameron Highlands, is the heat. It can literally hit you as you enter it. The heat and humidity combine to form what can be a very uncomfortable atmosphere, one which you find yourself constantly seeking refuge. As we felt the heat eminate from the tarmac beneath us we sort relief in a nearby mall. This became a real recurring theme of our visit there, spending a limited amount of time outdoors. We did have the chance to see several interesting parts of the city, firstly and most obviously were the Petronas Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world. We got a ticket to go up to the skybridge and had to return for the experience later that day. Here they are!
...and the real ones!
Upon returning we got in a lift up to the bridge. It is approximately halfway up the towers and therefore does not have as good a view as one would hope for from one of the worlds tallest buildings.
During the day we visited other parts of the city including the Kuala Lumpur Tower. It was however a complete rip off to go up so we just looked at it from below.
Merdeka Square provided us with quite a surprise. A cricket pitch surrounded by the city. It is the location where the The Union Flag was lowered and the Malayan hoisted in 1957, consistantly making it the centre of national celebration. It is surrounded by incredibly diverse buildings including a cricket pavillion and church.
By keeping in contact with travel aquaintances we met on the way we were able to establish that some people we met in Beijing were in KL and we therefore met up with Eilis and John for dinner and a few drinks. After thoroughly confusing the lady splitting our bill 5 ways we headed our separate way on the monorail.
Fearing a mad transportation shortage at this celebratory time of year we booked a bus early. It turned out to be a very posh one which had armchair like seats with in built massagers. The journey past very comfortably apart from the interuption of border formalities entering Singapore.
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