Kuala Lumpur

We visited KL as a result of a veeeerrrrryyyy long stopover between flights!

We arrive in LCCT, as in Low-Cost-Carrier-Terminal, and walking from the airplane to the terminal is a new experience altogether, baggage making the way to the terminal on wheelies next to us, airplanes getting a boost of fuel by Petronas. I quite enjoy it, and am surprised to hear that there are no photos allowed because the aeroplanes might explode (?!?). Taxi to the city centre costs about RM 75, booked through the counter after exiting the terminal. There is also a tourist information booth as you exit, with maps and booklets featuring information on the whole of Malaysia.

It is a long, yet nice ride, which becomes much more interesting once we enter the city. We catch a glimpse of the what-an-original-design-for-a-mosque National Mosque, built in 1965, and later the city landmark, Petronas Towers.

It is raining, though, and plans for a walk in the Lake Gardens are abandoned. We take a walk around Merdeka Square (if you get a taxi, find out how long the drive ought to be, get the taxi drivers to use the meter!! if it is too hard, agree on a price beforehand, but be sure to bargain). Merdeka means independence, and it is here that Malaysians celebrated their independence from the colonial rule, in 1957.

We are not able to visit Masjid (Mosque) Jamek, as we are too late, but we can hear the prayer taking place from the outside, and take a picture: KL's oldest surviving Mosque(1909) together with the coconut trees surrounding it (probably the only coconut trees left in the city centre), the antithesis of the skyscrapers we can see all around.

We continue to walk, it is night already. We drop by Sultan Abdul Samad building, built in 1897. The clock tower is 41 m tall, its size paling in comparison with what we will see next, but it definitely does not lack in elegance! Having housed governement administrative services during the British era, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building now houses the ministry of information, communications and culture.

Time to go for dinner! We head toward Bukit Bintang, a vibrant area, and around Jilang Alor, we sit in a restaurant featuring local cuisine. The highlight of the night is certainly the frog legs... The Man wants to sample durian, supposedly a fruit. It smells really bad, and the taste is not better, either! Bleee, too much graficity for me this time.I am not surprised to hear that the fruit is banned in the tube back in Singapore! We end up in an irish pub on Jalan Bukit Bintang, amidst a row of lively establishments particularly attractive to the expats. Healy's is a nice pub, and I feel a bit nostalgic.

After a bit of drinking, it is time to take pictures with the famous landmarks in the background!

KL telecomms tower, 421 m tall :

And of course, the Petronas towers, what a challenge to fit them in the photo frame!

The Petronas towers are way more impressive than I thought. And I smile at the thought of my 17-year-old self, watching Entrapment, completely unaware that after some years, I would be in front of the towers. Wow...

Back to the airport now! Sleeping in KL LCCT is not as rough as you'd think. There are many chairs without armrests, and if you're lucky you can find three in a row to rest a bit! After putting on the mask-it is quite bright in here, I manage to sleep, and woke up only two or three times : they vacuum the floor quite often, I must say!!!

See you soon, KL!