A Couple of Days in KL
After our big trip to Europe last year I was really in two minds whether to do the blog again on this trip. The actual writing is the quick bit … resizing photos so it doesn't take all night to upload them - well, that's an entirely different story.
But here I am …
We left Sydney on Sunday afternoon, flying with Malaysian and somehow snagging extra leg-room seats via a plane change on their part. The flight was uneventful, the food terrible and we arrived early evening. Grabbed a taxi into town and settled in for 3 nights at the Ramada Suites. Before you get all excited thinking 'suite' it was, in reality just a hotel room with a kitchenette.
Our first full day in KL was New Years Eve. We spent it wandering Bukit Bintang - checking out the huge multi-level shopping centres and for a while wondering where the old BB Plaza had gone before figuring out it is now a hole in the ground surrounded by a battered tin fence. Dinner in Jalan Alor
When we arrived, we were pretty happy to have views of the KL Tower from our balcony - and figured we'd probably be in for a good view of the fireworks around/on/from the tower. We could also 'just' see the top of the Petronas Towers - bonus because I knew that was one spot where fireworks were set off.
Well - NYE fireworks turned into pretty much 'heard but not seen' nothing from the KL Tower and tall buildings between us and Petronas blocked any view we thought we might be able to get. We did get a stack of confetti foil let off somewhere above or behind us and it sprinkled down all over our balcony.
New Years Day saw us head out - initially just to check out Petaling St (again) the Mosque and the Textiles Museum. Shops in KL open at 10am and after a pretty late night on NYE we wanted breakfast first. The day before we'd had a coffee at a place near the big glitzy Starhill shopping centre so we headed there again. Hearing lots of noise we realised there was a Chinese dance troop nearby - maybe the massive snake (not a lion as I originally thought) was clearing away the cobwebs of 2018.
Onto one of the new (since we were last in KL) metro trains to Merdaka station and then a roundabout walk to Petaling St (my internal compass had still to set itself to being in the northern hemisphere and we went the wrong direction at first).
Nothing there has changed in Petaling St except I did get the opportunity for a sneeky photo of what seems to be the latest tourist fad among Asians - family dress alikes! The day before strolling the big malls we'd seen lots of this. Mum, Dad and the kids all wearing the same shirt - we saw toy story t'shirts, micky mouse, matching batiks, they were everywhere.
Next stop was the Central Market - which was so much nicer than Petaling St, a bit of lunch and then to the Textiles Museum.
In a gorgeous old building it has a great collection of traditional textiles & embroideries and gold/gem accessories like brooches and hair pins.
Despite freely admitting to being dirty little heathens, we both like visiting religious sites wherever we travel so our next stop was the really beautiful old Jamek Mosque. It was the first mosque built in KL it sits on the confluence of the Klang & Gombak Rivers and was finished in 1909. Its tiny compared to the massive Blue Mosque in Istanbul but its beautifully proportioned and exceptionally calm.
A big storm rolled in while we were in the mosque so we jumped on the monorail and headed back towards our part of KL. It had already been a massive day of walking but we decided it might be better to head over to see the Petronas Towers and the surrounding park, have dinner and then head back to the apartment rather than go back first and have to head out again later.
The new raised walkway that links the Malls of Bukit Bintang with the towers, the park and the top end Suria KLCC mall via the aquarium and convention centre. Its 1.3km of raised, covered walkway that in the afternoon downpour was a great way to travel.
Suria Mall was insanely crowded and despite its huge size quite claustrophobic and we couldn't wait to get out. Popping outside for a quick look at the towers in a brief lull in the rain and we headed back to Bukit Bintang for dinner. Home after a LOT of walking to find Tony's pedometer clocked up over 30,500 steps.
We had to check out of our apartment at noon so after that, and storing our bags we went to check out the very lovely Berjaya Times Square Mall - big, clean, easy to navigate and not at all crowded. We whiled away a few hours before our 6pm taxi to the airport.
Next stop Sri Lanka. Another Malaysian flight with worse food than the flight from Sydney if you can believe it. We landed at 11.30pm got 'found' by a cab driver and made our way to the Villa Kapura in Negombo. Our body clocks were telling us it was 3am!
I'll try and do today (3rd Jan) and tomorrow in one big edition tomorrow arvo. We're doing a half day tuk tuk tour of Negombo in the morning to see stuff we missed today. I'll try and write up one big edition tomorrow arvo from poolside.
But here I am …
We left Sydney on Sunday afternoon, flying with Malaysian and somehow snagging extra leg-room seats via a plane change on their part. The flight was uneventful, the food terrible and we arrived early evening. Grabbed a taxi into town and settled in for 3 nights at the Ramada Suites. Before you get all excited thinking 'suite' it was, in reality just a hotel room with a kitchenette.
Our first full day in KL was New Years Eve. We spent it wandering Bukit Bintang - checking out the huge multi-level shopping centres and for a while wondering where the old BB Plaza had gone before figuring out it is now a hole in the ground surrounded by a battered tin fence. Dinner in Jalan Alor
When we arrived, we were pretty happy to have views of the KL Tower from our balcony - and figured we'd probably be in for a good view of the fireworks around/on/from the tower. We could also 'just' see the top of the Petronas Towers - bonus because I knew that was one spot where fireworks were set off.
Well - NYE fireworks turned into pretty much 'heard but not seen' nothing from the KL Tower and tall buildings between us and Petronas blocked any view we thought we might be able to get. We did get a stack of confetti foil let off somewhere above or behind us and it sprinkled down all over our balcony.
New Years Day saw us head out - initially just to check out Petaling St (again) the Mosque and the Textiles Museum. Shops in KL open at 10am and after a pretty late night on NYE we wanted breakfast first. The day before we'd had a coffee at a place near the big glitzy Starhill shopping centre so we headed there again. Hearing lots of noise we realised there was a Chinese dance troop nearby - maybe the massive snake (not a lion as I originally thought) was clearing away the cobwebs of 2018.
Onto one of the new (since we were last in KL) metro trains to Merdaka station and then a roundabout walk to Petaling St (my internal compass had still to set itself to being in the northern hemisphere and we went the wrong direction at first).
Nothing there has changed in Petaling St except I did get the opportunity for a sneeky photo of what seems to be the latest tourist fad among Asians - family dress alikes! The day before strolling the big malls we'd seen lots of this. Mum, Dad and the kids all wearing the same shirt - we saw toy story t'shirts, micky mouse, matching batiks, they were everywhere.
Next stop was the Central Market - which was so much nicer than Petaling St, a bit of lunch and then to the Textiles Museum.
In a gorgeous old building it has a great collection of traditional textiles & embroideries and gold/gem accessories like brooches and hair pins.
Despite freely admitting to being dirty little heathens, we both like visiting religious sites wherever we travel so our next stop was the really beautiful old Jamek Mosque. It was the first mosque built in KL it sits on the confluence of the Klang & Gombak Rivers and was finished in 1909. Its tiny compared to the massive Blue Mosque in Istanbul but its beautifully proportioned and exceptionally calm.
A big storm rolled in while we were in the mosque so we jumped on the monorail and headed back towards our part of KL. It had already been a massive day of walking but we decided it might be better to head over to see the Petronas Towers and the surrounding park, have dinner and then head back to the apartment rather than go back first and have to head out again later.
The new raised walkway that links the Malls of Bukit Bintang with the towers, the park and the top end Suria KLCC mall via the aquarium and convention centre. Its 1.3km of raised, covered walkway that in the afternoon downpour was a great way to travel.
Suria Mall was insanely crowded and despite its huge size quite claustrophobic and we couldn't wait to get out. Popping outside for a quick look at the towers in a brief lull in the rain and we headed back to Bukit Bintang for dinner. Home after a LOT of walking to find Tony's pedometer clocked up over 30,500 steps.
We had to check out of our apartment at noon so after that, and storing our bags we went to check out the very lovely Berjaya Times Square Mall - big, clean, easy to navigate and not at all crowded. We whiled away a few hours before our 6pm taxi to the airport.
Next stop Sri Lanka. Another Malaysian flight with worse food than the flight from Sydney if you can believe it. We landed at 11.30pm got 'found' by a cab driver and made our way to the Villa Kapura in Negombo. Our body clocks were telling us it was 3am!
I'll try and do today (3rd Jan) and tomorrow in one big edition tomorrow arvo. We're doing a half day tuk tuk tour of Negombo in the morning to see stuff we missed today. I'll try and write up one big edition tomorrow arvo from poolside.
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