Airport

After a short but time changing flight we landed in Kuala Lumper the capital of Malaysia. The airport was decidedly large with lots of shops and restaurants, we took our time exploring and even stopped for lunch at a nice vegetarian place where I had the Laksa. After purchasing a sim card and some ice cream we took an incredibly cheap Uber ride to where we were staying an hour away. This gave us the first glimpse of the spread out city, filled with sky scrappers and construction work.

Accommodation

We were staying at the Summer Suites, one of the many many sky scrappers to line the skies of Kuala Lumper. The building seemed to be quite new, although not as new as it’s neighbor which was open although half the carpark structure was unfinished and seemingly abandoned. The first floor housed a shop, cafe, coffee stall and some building work. We checked in by collecting the keys from the letter box using a code supplied. The room itself was barren, a very large space which housed a kitchen in one corner with the bathroom in a separate room behind, then a large space with a bed at the end. Along with the white tile floor and white walls it was not cosy. We had intended to use the pool, although this too was undergoing works. It seemed Kuala Lumper was a work in progress.

Petronas Towers

The famous Petronas Towers was only a 15 minute walk from our accommodation. This huge twin tower building has a bridge straddling the towers and is seeming made out of stainless steel. A very impressive structure which shimmers at night much to the delight of us tourists and our cameras. We didn’t go up the towers but we did wander the shopping mall stuck to the back and run around the lovely little park nearby. After the run we stuck around to watch the fountain and light show which happened every evening. The call to prayer also had great acoustics in the park, echoing and adding to the ambiance.

Bukkit Bintang

A slightly longer walk from our accommodation was this vast shopping area. Made up of too many malls to count, it was up market and geared up for the wealthy with every high end brand contained within. Due to the heat, humidity and sometimes monsoon rains we found ourselves in these malls more than we would like often spending time in one of the many cafes.

Batu Caves

These caves were a short taxi ride away and after a bit of trouble finding the right motorway slipway to take we were dropped off in front of an impressive staircase. Beside was a giant gold statue and a pile of bricks. It seems even the temples are still works in progress and you were asked to take a brick to the top of the staircase to help out. We dropped our bricks off at the top and wiped the sweat from our brow after the first piece of work we had done in months. The caves were large, and the temple was half completed inside with many people working on very rickety scaffolding. Not a high viz jacket in sight. On the other side of the caves were more stairs leading up to an open area with a completed temple where blessings were being offered. After looking around we descended the staircase and headed to the metro.

Parkish

After Batu Caves we aimed for the largest green area on the map. It housed the KL Bird Park and Perdana botanical gardens but also many roads and steep uninviting undergrowth hills which didn’t make it feel like a nice stroll in the park. We stopped at the cafe in the bird park for something to eat and as we were heading back into the hubbub of city life the heavens opened. This was a true monsoon, before we had gotten our fetching pac a macs on we were drenched. As we dashed to the nearest cover, which happened to be the national Mosque, we passed others similarly caught out. As we waited out the rain we admired the Mosques architecture and pitied anyone passing on a scooter.

Barbers

After a month on the road I was looking more disheveled than usual so took this opportunity to get a quick haircut and beard trim. Down a few backstreets and next to a Harley Davidson bike shop I found a place called Jokers. The guy was really nice and luckily for me spoke english so I managed to get a great trim with not too much off. I even left with a few recommendations for places to see and things to do.

KL Tower

Although not the tallest structure around, this space needle lookalike was built on a hill making it loom over the city. We could see it peaking above the buildings from our apartment so had to be worth a visit. After scoping out the bottom of the tower which was filled with touristy shops and cafes we decided to go for afternoon tea at the revolving restaurant at the top. The food was buffet style with little cakes and noodles and the view was incredible. We could see all the places we had visited and many we hadn’t ventured far enough for. A lovely way to spend one of our last afternoons in the city.