Date: 3rd October 2010
Today was going to be our last full day in Kuala Lumpur, so we had to make the most of it. Some of us had shopping to do, and I wanted to see a bit more of KL.
But the first thing we did in the morning was get ready to go the Petronas Towers again. And when I say “we,” I mean Ramesh and I. Loi wanted to sleep in.
The reason why we were going back to the towers were to try and a get a ticket for the sky bridge/observation deck. Why “try”? Because that’s how the system is. You go there early enough, wait in line until the ticket counters open and whoever gets the tickets, gets to up at a pre-determined time. The earlier you are in the line, the sooner you get to go up. It’s free, but an inconvenient method. (EDIT: Turns out there is a much higher observation deck at the 86th floor for which you can pay RM40 and go. I didn’t know about it until much research after coming back from this trip)
When we did our research, we saw videos of the view from the 41st & 42nd floor and after having been to the top of Burj Khalifa, the view from the Petronas Towers wasn’t astounding or anything. Which is why I was more keen on going up Menara KL (KL Tower), something I was going to do later in the day anyway.
Still, since we didn’t have a whole lot planned for the morning, myself and Ramesh thought: “What the hell, last day in KL. Might as well try and get a ticket”.
So we set out, took the monorail and got down at Bukit Nanas station.
The Malaysia Tourism Centre
We walked towards the KLCC Suria and when we finally made it to the ticketing counter…
... it was 8:55am when I took this
Sold out. Oh well.
Not that we were sorely disappointed or anything, but if you are one who is very keen to visit the Sky Bridge, be in line by at least 7:30-8:00am.
Me and Ramesh then just decided to check out the mall.
Suria mall mostly caters to high end brands and luxury designer wear, most of which are on the lower floors. We checked out a few electronics stores, Ramesh checked out the Harley Davidson store, and then we decided to find out where the Aquaria was.
Oh Ryan Seacrest, there is no escaping you is there?
It wasn't open yet
Ramesh was keen on checking out the Aquaria, the largest aquarium in Kuala Lumpur. I, on the other hand, wanted to see more of the city, so we parted ways. I inquired on how to get to Merdeka Square while Ramesh went in to Aquaria.
Here are a few photos from inside the Aquaria, all of which are from Ramesh’s camera.
Entry is RM35 (Rs. 510/$11/€8) for adults
Wonder what they feed piranhas here
Well, that's a bit harsh on the eel isn't it?
This 'turtle+croc+weird' looking creature is called the Matamata
This one is called a Coatimundi
Pretty cool
Cheeky
The Aquaria has the obligatory underwater tunnel
Pinecone fish
The above are only a few of the photos Ramesh took. He took much more. There are sharks, lion fish, water rats and all sorts of other waterborne creatures. From his account, Ramesh said the experience was “okay” — so I don’t know how it compares to a similar offering I experienced in Dubai Mall.
When Ramesh stepped out, he saw a gathering of superbikes and stalls by Yamaha on the occasion of next week’s Malaysian MotoGP.
That concludes what Ramesh saw.
Now back to me 
When I left the Petronas Towers, I took the monorail to Hang Tuah station. From there I transferred to the RapidKL line, for which you need to buy another ticket/pass as the monorail card won’t work on this rail service. From Hang Tuah, I headed towards Masjid Jamek station.
Once you come out of the station...
... you are on Jalan Melayu
Luring customers with tickets to new Rajinikant film. Works wherever Tamilians exist
Nothing special in here. The usual street market stocking the usual goods.
I came here to go to Merdeka Square, which is a significant landmark in Malaysia’s independence from Britain.
Merdeka Square literally means "Independence Square"
There was a film shoot happening
No clue if this was a South Indian/Malay-Tamil/Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi production
This flag pole is nearly 312 ft high, one of the tallest in the world
Merdeka Square is surrounded by old colonial buildings
It was here on August 31st, 1957, that the British flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag hoisted for the first time
Not sure what these buildings were
Plenty of tourist buses stop in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building
Sultan Abdul Samad building in front, several bank HQs in the background
Merdeka Square is the venue for Malaysia's annual National Day Parade
The one on the right seems like the lead actress in this shoot; they were shooting with RED cameras (Yes, I'm a nerd, I notice these things)
It was time for me to move on.
Not that I knew where I was headed next
I just like to roam about and explore
After passing by an area full of businesses serving Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, I found myself in an alley which housed what looked like a Chinese temple.
So I went in
As I left the temple, I found out the name of the place
I walked a bit further out...
... and I soon realized I was in China Town
There was a shopping complex right opposite the entrance to Petaling Street and so I decided to check it out. I unfortunately couldn’t take any photographs inside because the security guard asked me not to. But inside were stores selling essentially the same goods I saw yesterday night in Petaling Street, but at far lower prices.
So word of advice, just because you see bags on Petaling Street with it’s street market appearance, don’t assume the prices are low. There are plenty of other places, like this not-so-fancy shopping complex right outside Petaling Street selling the same stuff at lower prices.
In fact when I called up Loi to tell him about bag prices here, he told me he found similar prices in the shops on the higher floors of Times Square shopping mall.
I had lunch from a burger joint and continued my ‘walk around town’. I asked around for where “Little India” was and was directed to walk towards KL Tower.
I stepped in but quickly found nothing worthwhile
Yes, to the right is a 'chapathi house' named Restoran Santa
I came across this street which looked more like "Little Chennai"
There’s a slew of silk shops, and plenty of pure-veg restaurants on this street.
I found myself back to Masjid Jemak
Masjid Jema' (mosque)
I didn't qualify for any of the above, so didn't bother going in
It was time for me to head back to the room and catch up with Ramesh and Loi.
Some beauty show at Berjaya Times Square
Once I got back to Irsia, the three of us decided to go to Midvalley Megamall, one of Kuala Lumpur’s largest malls.
To get to Midvalley Megamall from Berjaya Times Square, take the monorail from Imbi to KL Sentral. Then, you need to transfer to the Komuter train line, and Midvalley has a stop by itself.
The mall is pretty huge
Midvalley houses a Carrefour, JUSCO, Toys ‘R’ Us, Harvey Norman and plenty of other brands. It isn’t ‘high street’ fare like KLCC Suria mall in Petronas Towers.
This store had a whole bunch of cool imports from Japan
After Loi’s shopping from Toys R Us, Ramesh’s purchases from Carrefour, we headed up to the top most floor.
They have an exclusive ManU store and an 18-screen multiplex up here
Went in here as well
Midvalley has a few nerdy joints up here, including video arcades and a store dedicated to board games. But we couldn’t hang out any longer, it was nearing 7pm. There was one last thing I wanted to do for our last day in Kuala Lumpur — head to the observation deck at KL Tower to get a view of Kuala Lumpur city at night.
To save time, we took a taxi… and got a driver with some pretty good taste in music
After an enjoyable ride, we reached Menara KL, which is perched atop a small hill called Bukit Nanas. Thus making it ‘taller’ than the Petronas Towers. Myself and Loi bought our tickets and made our way up, Ramesh stayed below to check out an F1 Zone.
Tickets cost RM38 (Rs. 550/$12/€8) for adults
I was more keen on visiting the observation deck of KL Tower than the Skybridge at Petronas Towers, simply because the viewing height at Menara KL is much higher.
And I was right...
... the view was great!
But there was one annoying problem
The bright lights from the shops up here!
The whole experience of the view at night from up here is marred by the lights reflecting off of the glass — which also made for tricky photography. And because I didn’t have a tripod, it was tough for me to get steady shots.
Why on earth would you want to sell jewelry up here? 'High' prices?
We went around the observation deck
They have a display showing you the other tall telecommunications towers around the world
Menara KL is the fourth largest telecom tower in the world
The tallest is still the CN Tower in Toronto
You can see Berjaya Times Square from up here -- also 'cos it isn't that far
I took one final shot of the Petronas Towers before heading back down
There are two 'sky high' restaurants at KL Tower
This is the elevator lobby
Timings are 9:30am to 9:30pm
Your ticket also includes entry to the Cultural Village, which was closed by 8pm
So we used our ticket to avail the one free ride around the (virtual) Sepang circuit
In the small cars though, you have to pay to sit in one these life-size replica cars
Ramesh paid to sit & play in the Ferrari car
There's an F1 store here as well
You can opt to use your ticket for a complimentary ride as well
We waited for the free ride down to the base of the hill
Once at the base, we walked towards Bukit Nanas monorail station.
One final look
Walked past the Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur
Which saw a gathering of Harley Davidson owners that night
One final look at the beautiful twin towers
This is the monorail network map
The monorail trains aren't very big
Once back in the room, we decided to enjoy our final dinner of this trip, and sit somewhere nice. There are a few cosy eateries behind Berjaya Times Square, where we were and so, we sat down at Wings musicafe.
They have a live stage where artists perform every night
Had Kilkenny Irish beer for the first time
It was a relaxing dinner to end our last day of sight-seeing in Kuala Lumpur. The musicians were mostly local artists, aspiring singers who performed mellow acoustic fare. Much needed for us tired souls.
Once back in the room, we packed up. And when I mean “we,” I mean myself and Ramesh…
... this guy was too lazy to do any packing -- and he had the most luggage!
Tomorrow morning, all we had to do was check out and head to the airport in the afternoon for our after Air Asia flight back to Bangalore.
So, it’s not over yet… there’s one more post left!
Other posts in this series:
Singapore & Malaysia 2010: Planning and preparing for the trip
Singapore 2010: Day 1 – Little India, CBD, Clarke Quay, China Town… and a lot of walking
Singapore 2010: Day 2 – Orchard Road, mall-hopping… and already shopping
Singapore 2010: Day 3 – Singapore Zoo, Marina Bay Sands; leaving Singapore for Penang
Malaysia 2010: Day 5 — Langkawi (Ferry ride from Penang, Cable car & Sky Bridge)
Malaysia 2010: Day 6 — Langkawi (Island hopping tour, Pantai Tengah beach, Night market)
Malaysia 2010: Day 7 — Kuala Lumpur (Low Yat Plaza, Petronas Towers, Jalan Alor)
Malaysia 2010: Day 8 — Kuala Lumpur (Batu Caves, Petaling Street/China Town)
Malaysia 2010: Leaving Kuala Lumpur… and about going back
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Tags: buildings, chinatown, chinese temple, kl tower, kuala lumpur, malaysia, menara KL, merdeka square, metro, metro station, midvalley megamall, monorail, nightlife, observation deck, petronas towers, shopping mall, sky bridge, temple, wings musicafe
