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 hereWell, that’s a bit harsh on the eel isn’t it?This ‘turtle+croc+weird’ looking creature is called the MatamataThis one is called a CoatimundiPretty cool
CheekyThe 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 happeningNo clue if this was a South Indian/Malay-Tamil/Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi productionThis flag pole is nearly 312 ft high, one of the tallest in the worldMerdeka 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 timeNot sure what these buildings werePlenty 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 nextI 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 placeI 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 at Masjid JemakMasjid 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 hereWent 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 problemThe 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 deckThey have a display showing you the other tall telecommunications towers around the worldMenara KL is the fourth largest telecom tower in the worldThe tallest is still the CN Tower in TorontoYou 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 downThere are two ‘sky high’ restaurants at KL Tower
This is the elevator lobbyTimings are 9:30am to 9:30pmYour ticket also includes entry to the Cultural Village, which was closed by 8pmSo we used our ticket to avail the one free ride around the (virtual) Sepang circuitIn the small cars though, you have to pay to sit in one these life-size replica carsRamesh paid to sit & play in the Ferrari carThere’s an F1 store here as well
You can opt to use your ticket for a complimentary ride as wellWe 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 lookWalked past the Hard Rock Cafe Kuala LumpurWhich saw a gathering of Harley Davidson owners that nightOne final look at the beautiful twin towersThis is the monorail network mapThe 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 nightHad 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!
Today we needed to be out and early as we had to head far out to reach Batu Caves, a famous Hindu temple site — and one of Kuala Lumpur’s must-see sights. Since I was up and ready first, I decided to take a few photos of the place where we were staying.
You have to leave your shoes downstairs as no shoes are allowed into roomsThe place is quite clean though. These are the rooms downstairs.The dining room is downstairsThe kitchen is where you can make yourself toast and coffee/tea
As was the norm everywhere we stayed on this trip, once you are done with breakfast, you wash the dishes yourself and keep it back from where you took them.
The lobby/reception/living area has books, a TV and two computers with free internet serviceThey sell bottled water lower than what the 7-Elevens chargeThis is the sit-out area. Smoking is not allowed inside the rooms.This is where we sat yesterday night and had our dinnerNo elevator. You have take these stairs to go up.Upstairs, where our triple room was (Photograph by Loiyumba, taken yesterday)How appropriate our room number was ‘F1’ for this ‘F1 trip’ of oursThese are the bathrooms upstairs
Given that our triple room cost us around Rs. 4300 (RM297/$96/€68) for 3 nights, we couldn’t have been more happier with Irsia, given the location. Yes, the walls are a little thin and ventilation isn’t great, but if you are going to be spending more time inside hotel rooms, you best look at proper hotels. By the way, that is Rs. 4300 for all three of us — Rs. 1400 per person, for 3 nights in KL!
Once all three of us were ready and done with breakfast, we stepped out. We decided to take the monorail to get to KL Sentral.
The monorail station in front of Berjaya Times Square is called ImbiAt 9:30am, the station wasn’t all that crowded
The ride takes around 15-20 minutes with all the stops
Once at KL Sentral, we asked the information desk how to get to Batu Caves and were instructed to head downstairs to the train platforms. We bought our tickets (RM2/Rs. 30/$0.60) and headed down.
There are frequent trains to Batu Caves
Unfortunately, in the confusion of which train to get on, I accidentally stepped into the wrong train but was too late to step out as the doors closed with Ramesh and Loi still on the platform.
I got down at the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, which was the next stop
But by then, Ramesh and Loiyumba were in the right train and already ahead of me.
I soon got the next train and was on my way
The ride took nearly 30 minutes and by the time I arrived at the station (which by the way is the last stop), Ramesh and Loiyumba were already at the temple.
There is no entry fee for Batu CavesHanumanji’s presence isn’t the biggest hereSri Venkatachalapathi temple
This is a Chinese garden; I believe entry wasn’t free
Pigeons must hate kidsScratch that. Pigeons hate humans.
It was time for me go up, Ramesh and Loi were already in the cave
This statue of Lord Murugan is the biggest of its kind in the world272 steps to climbAlong the way (as was the norm on this trip), you’ll encounter plenty of monkeysAnd as usual, monkeys will try and grab stuff from you
But they are generally well behaved here
Once I reached the top, I met up with Ramesh and Loiyumba who were done and were ready to head back down. They said they would wait for me down below and so, I went in for my photography.
It only got better once insideThere were gaps in the ceiling through which water was dripping downThere are two temples in side the caveThis. apparently, is the ‘main temple’
This monkey was a spoilt one. When this Indian couple gave hims some food, he dropped it and picked up a burger instead.
I was glad I had my wide angle lens with me
Apparently they should have also mentioned ‘No Scribbling’I liked the photos I clicked in here
But even with a wide-angle lens, trying to capture the scale of the caves from the inside (without distortion) was near impossible, so I took a few multiple shots and merged them into one using Photoshop.
Vertical panorama comprised of 10 shots
Vertical panorama comprised of 11 shots
Vertical panorama comprised of 8 shots
I was trying to capture water dropping on to the stepsAfter nearly 20 minutes inside the cave, it was time for me head down
It was a cloudy day, so I couldn’t see the Petronas Towers from here. Actually, I’m not even sure if they are visible from up here.Vertical panorama comprised of 5 shots
Once down, I caught up with Loi and Ramesh and we decided to have lunch from here itself.
This is where we ate. There aren’t too many options actually.
Post lunch, we just sat outside for a while and observed the crowds. We were even approached by some PR team for Sony, and asked to pretend we were using Sony camcorders. In return for doing so, we asked them if we could keep them — but they said no.
Not sure if this couple were shooting for their wedding album or notI took one last look at Lord Murugan before leaving (This is a single shot)
This is the Batu Caves train station(Photograph by Loiyumba)In case you wanted to know the Malay words for public signs (Photograph by Loiyumba)Tandas = toilet (Photograph by Loiyumba)
We bought our tickets (RM2) and boarded our train.
It was a cloudy day, but we could still see the Petronas Towers from afar
If you were looking for nasty hotel in KL. (J/k, it’s quite fancy: http://www.dynasty.com.my/)(Photograph taken by Loi)
Once we got back to KL Sentral, we decided to head to the IKEA store as Ramesh was keen on picking up some stuff from there. The outlet was located in the area called Mutiara Damansara and we asked around on how to get there by bus. We waited at bus stop outside KL Sentral and hopped on to one that went that way.
The journey took us through a lot of residential areas in Kuala Lumpur.
(These were taken on my Nokia E72)
An hour long journey later, we were in Petaling Jaya. Even though it was a long journey, it was quite a relaxing one for me as I got to see residential areas outside of the CBD (Central Business District), something I wouldn’t have seen given where we were staying.
The IKEA store is right adjacent to this
Once we entered the IKEA store, we were hooked! There was soooooo much that we felt like picking up, but just couldn’t, because figuring out how to carry them home was something we couldn’t comprehend.
Regardless, we still picked up quite a bit of stuff and by the time were out, it was well past sunset.
Technically, the IKEA store is not in Kuala Lumpur, it’s in neighbouring district
Since we had quite a lot of stuff with us to carry, we decided to just take a cab.
Though bus only cost us RM2.60 for 3, taxi was much required to save time
And save time it did, the taxi took the highway from the IKEA store into KL and we were back in our rooms in just half-an-hour. (IKEA store directions)
For dinner, we decided to head to Kuala Lumpur’s China Town, which was also accessible via monorail.
From Imbi, the monorail stop for getting to China Town was only two stops away, at Maharajalela.
If you ask locals around for “Chinatown” and they don’t get it, just ask for Petaling street
Once inside, it was a just one street (probably covering two blocks) with a lot of stores and street shops. No vehicles allowed.
You have the usual gamut of fake goods, pirated CD/DVDs and clothesBut I didn’t really find anything particularly interesting about this ‘Chinatown’Plus, the prices were quite high considering the stuff they sold weren’t what you would call “genuine”
A lot of the t-shirts were from Thailand and so, cost a lot more than what I saw them for in Bangkok. Yes, you have to haggle, but even when Loi did so for a backpack, the price they came down to was still too high. We soon left Petaling Street.
And just as we left, it began to rain all of a sudden.
Fortunately we had umbrellas
We saw an Malay Indian restaurant and jumped in for a quick dinner.
The place was run by Malay Tamilians; food was simple and decent enough taste-wise
Ramesh didn’t find anything on the menu that was pure veg, so it was just myself & Loi. Once we were done, we headed back to Berjaya Times Square by taxi (cost RM5) as it was still raining.
It was dinner at Krispy Kreme for RameshIt stopped raining by midnight
We headed back to Irsia, calculated our daily expenses, sorted out who paid for what, and who owes whom how much — pretty much a daily routine for us on this trip, before hitting the sack.
I was quite happy with some of the photos I took inside Batu Caves and rate the caves highly as one of the “must see” sights in Kuala Lumpur. It only costs RM 2 for the one way journey to Batu Caves by train and is a nice break from the city.
Tomorrow morning, we planned to get up early (again) and head to Petronas Towers to try and get a ticket to visit the observation deck. We only had one more day left in the capital.
Since our flight was at 11:35pm (24/09/2010), we decided to leave directly from office and being a Friday evening, we had plans to leave earlier than usual. We checked the timings for the Vaayu Vajra airport shuttle buses & planned on taking bus number 8 or 8A in front of our offices on Sarjapur Road.
After just missing BIAL 8, we got BIAL 8A at around 5:35pm and made our way to Devanahalli. The ticket cost Rs. 180 (per person) and the journey took 2 hours. Once we reached Bangalore International Airport, it began to drizzle. We made our way in and then sat waiting for the Tiger Airways terminal to open.
Once the terminal did open, we were kind of surprised to see our boarding passes to be ones from Air India! Puzzled whether we were on the right flight or not, we did joke about how cheap an airline Tiger Airways was that they used leftover Air India boarding passes.
Since we were early, we had plenty of time to kill at the airport. We checked out the duty free, had a snack from the expensive options at BIAL and then tried going online using the free wi-fi… which didn’t work. Thankfully, I had my TATA Indicom Photon thumb drive and so I went online to do some more research on places we planned on seeing in Singapore, where to eat and what not.
It was also raining heavily outside but our flight wasn’t delayed by much nor was it cancelled, which was good news. By 11:35pm, we were in our seats. Now, we knew Tiger Airways was a budget carrier and wasn’t expecting much.
And it wasn’t much.
Seats were quite old and looked untidy, some push-back buttons wouldn’t work but hey… we reminded ourselves that we only paid around Rs. 4,500 ($100/€74) for this one way direct flight to Singapore. So we smiled to ourselves and sat back.
We were also quite hungry by this time and waited for the (paid) meals to be served. Though they had a menu with a few notable hot meal options, by the time the air hostesses arrived at our row we were only left with 2 options. In vegetarian – chana (chick peas) curry and rice and in non-veg – beef stew and bun. Since we were quite famished, we asked for both.
Ramesh, the vegetarian in our group, said it wasn’t very good; costs SGD6 (Rs. 200)The beef stew was quite good. But it came with only 1 bun which was a little too less for so much stew; costs SGD8 or SGD10 (Rs. 350) with a drinkIn my quest to try things I’ve never tasted before, I chose this drink. It was okay.
We avoided eating a complete meal at the Kingfisher Lounge at the airport because of how expensive it is but after having shelled out Rs. 500+ for the above food, it made better sense to eat from the airport itself before boarding the flight.
Anyway, our flight would land in 2 hours time and we thought about grabbing a bite at Changi Airport.
Yeah, about that.
When we landed, we did land at ‘Changi,’ but just like being told you would arrive at the pearly gates of heaven — and then take a swift left turn into hell, we actually disembarked at the budget terminal of Changi Airport. Okay it wasn’t hell or anything but it wasn’t much to write about either.
Basically a big warehouse turned airport terminal, the budget terminal at Changi had just about enough counters to cater to us “cheap” travellers. I was disappointed I couldn’t see one of the best airports in Asia but once again: Rs. 4,500… direct… we reached Singapore, safe and on-time.
We made our way out of the budget terminal and headed for the free shuttle bus to the main terminal to avail the MRT into the city.
Just past 7am, it was still dark at 6am
We boarded the bus and got down at Terminal 2…
… which obviously didn’t look like a warehouse.
We bought our MRT cards which cost SGD12 (Rs. 400/US$9) — SGD5 for the card and the remaining is credit — which is SGD7 (if you are that bad at math).
The Singapore Expo convention and exhibition center
We knew we had to switch trains at Tanah Merah station which is an interchange (we studied the MRT map during our research).
If you were wondering why Singapore is so clean (SGD1000 = Rs. 35000)(Taken on the Nokia E72)
We got down at Victoria station and walked straight towards the Bugis station (our hostel was in between the two). After asking a few passersby for directions, we walked past a blue mosque (which was a given landmark) and arrived at Jalan Kubor (‘jalan’ means ‘road’).
The main road is Victoria Street
We were staying at ABC Backpackers Hostel, a conveniently located and affordable hostel serving the essentials as far as we were concerned – great location, breakfast, internet, clean beds and clean bathrooms.
The hostel is on the extreme left
How much did it cost us? We booked in May, and for the F1 weekend it cost us Rs. 5200 ($116/€84). That’s for 3 people in a private room for 3 days and 2 nights in the heart of the city (pretty much) — around Rs. 1700 ($38/€27) per person for 2 nights at ABC Hostel.
We couldn’t check in to our room as it wasn’t available yet. So we kept our bags on the shelf rack, freshened up, had breakfast and then stepped out so as not to waste any time.
We first thought of heading to Sim Lim Square and then Little India, so after getting some directions, made our way down Victoria Street.
This was a fish pond at the Raffles Hospital
We took a right and stepped in to a convenience store to try and take a local SIM.
The black building is La Salle College of Arts Singapore
After getting our prepaid SIMs, we tried finding Sim Lim Square — Singapore’s famous electronics mall.
We did find it but given it was still 10am, most shops were yet to open. So we made our way to Little India instead.
Prepping up for Diwali celebrations
Sri Veeramakaliamman temple in Little India
We didn’t have the time to take up their challenge
We stopped by the famous Mustafa Centre shopping complex (which is open 24 hours) to see what they had on offer. Mustafa sells just about everything, from electronics to clothing and also houses a supermarket and a pharmacy. But we did find quite a lot of fake goods — mostly shoes — being sold at exorbitantly high prices. The Nikes were all wrapped in plastic and sorted based on size, and one look at them gave away their faux pas. Appalling how this “famous” store was getting away with fooling their customers.
After half-an-hour or so, and after checking from basement to the top floors, we left without buying anything.
And with that, Little India was done.
I wasn’t very happy with the photos I took. Granted the skies were grey but I never really had a chance to wait and click, it was all hurried. A lot of times I had to play catch-up as my friends would be ahead of me.
But we had to move on. Ramesh had to go pick up his F1 pass and we still had things to buy.
So we headed to the Farrer Park MRT station which is one of the two MRT stations that connect Little India.
My friend Loi feeling the need to cool his eyes in an underground station
The ticket collection point was the Swissotel The Stamford hotel which is attached to the mall.
My friend Ramesh with his ‘ticket’
Ramesh bought the Premier Walkabout ticket which cost him around Rs. 10,000. The ‘ticket’ is actually three badges (one for each day) and comes in a nice framed box, just so you can remind yourself how expensive it is to witness a Formula 1 event live.
Cafe Swiss at the Swissotel The Stamford
After collecting the ticket, we stepped out.
It began to rain at this point
We checked out the official merchandise store, which had apparel from all the major racing teams — all of which was very, very expensive. Like Rs. 3000-plus for a Ferrari t-shirt and such.
We also noticed Funan IT Mall, the other major electronics shopping destination, right ahead of us. So we went there next.
We passed by St. Andrews cathedral
Unlike Sim Lim Square, Funan is newer and lot more posh. That is not to say everything is a lot more expensive here, look around and you’re sure to find a lot good deals.
We had noted down a few good stores in Funan IT Mall, so we first went to TK Photo. I was in the market for a good tripod, an intervelometer and Ramesh wanted to pick up a Kata camera bag. Ramesh found what he wanted but I was spoilt by choice and realized I needed to do a bit more research before I could decide which model to go in for.
After TK Photo, we checked out a few more stores before heading up to the food court for lunch.
Lunch, for me and Loi at least. ‘The vegetarian’ didn’t find anything up here.The food court had mostly Chinese and local favourites
When we were done with our lunch, ‘the vegetarian’ had to go down to Subway to have his. This gave me some time to check out some more shops on the higher floors.
The first thing that caught my eye was a window full of Totoro plush toys!
The store had many more inside.
The grey-haired guy on the extreme right is the owner
I spoke to the owner who told me he has his sources in Japan for the goods and makes the pilgrimage to nerd-heaven quite often.
From Final Fantasy potions and collectibles to Metal Gear Solid figurines, this store had it all
If you love anime and video games, you’ll find a lot of stores catering to your geekdom on the top most floors of Funan IT mall.
This store was drawing a lot of peopleThen again, Street Fighter matches never fail to pull in a crowd
I then went down to John 3:16 Photo Supplies, a photography store I heard was one of the best in Singapore. It was quite busy and the guy running the place seemed like a really cool guy to talk to. He had a lot of the things I was planning on buying. But, my friends call and said they were done.
So I left, disappointed I couldn’t spend more time there. Actually, I was disappointed I could spend lot more time in Funan which seemed a lot better than Sim Lim Square.
Yes, Funan DigitalLife mall is a newer compared to Sim Lim Square but don’t assume it’s more expensive. It’s also managed by Capital Land, the Singapore-based real estate major that owns pretty much all the biggest malls in Singapore and other venues like Clarke Quay. So you’re not going to find a whole lot of grey market dealers like you would in Sim Lim Square.
After I caught up with my friends, we made our way back. We had yet to check in to our rooms.
It was still raining
Once we got back to ABC Hostel, we checked in to our private room which was cosy and clean enough for us to crash and trash with our luggage.
While we rested, Ramesh got ready to begin his F1 experience. Me & Loi didn’t have a lot of day left so we made our way out again.
This time, I suggested we just walk and check out our surroundings.
We were staying in the Kampong Glam neighbourhoodYou’ll find a lot of Arab, Indian and Persian eateries hereWe walked through the Malay Heritage Centre
We took a left off the main road after we asked a traffic policeman how to get to the marina, and walked across the bridge just to see where it would take us.
Ultimately we hit a dead end… and the whole section was blocked off for F1 events. So we walked back.
After walking by some impressive office buildings (which we were later asked not to photograph by the security personnel) we headed towards Suntec City.
You could see the races happening in the distance from up here
Though not new, Suntec City is a major real estate venture comprising of one of Singapore’s biggest malls (even today), several high-rise office towers and a huge convention and exhibition centre.
The only ‘race’ us mortals had a proper glimpse ofSuntec City also houses the ‘Fountain of Wealth’
Which comes on and lights up once completely dark
We walked out of Suntec City by this point still in search of the MRT station.
The F1 track passes through this stretch… so if you want to be this close to the track, stay at Marina Mandarin HotelThe path was blocked for pedestrians
Realizing we were nowhere near the MRT, we headed back into Suntec City Mall.
We sat down for evening tea at this awesome-looking food court.
Felt very Hogwarts-ish (Oh, those are not real books by the way)Tempted… but had to wait until dinner time
Once we did find City Hall MRT, we got down at Clarke Quay station to head to Singapore river where we planned to take the river cruise by boat.
Some rally being held at a park
After a bit of walking and asking around, we reached Singapore river.
Panorama comprised of 8 shots
The race was happening in the distance and one could hear the deafening sound of the engines. They were so loud (and so good) that I had to call up my friend back in India to give him the experience! (video coming soon)
We walked towards the bridge where lots of people were trying to catch a glimpse of the cars zipping past.
We got to the other side to get to the ticket counter for the River Cruise.
Panorama comprised of 6 shotsTickets for the boat ride cost SGD15 (Rs. 500/US$11/€8)Our rideThe ride would take us down the river and up into the marina
We’d pass a lot of of eateries, bars and clubs
It’s only after getting on this boat did I realize how much there was to Clarke Quay. I know the photos may not show much (video coming later) but the number of restaurants, bars, pubs, and clubs are just too many to mention. It’s no wonder Clarke Quay area is the night hotspot in Singapore.
The boat then took a turn and made its way back towards the marina.
The stunning Marina Bay Sands Casino and Hotel in the backgroundSingapore’s famous Merlion statueWe were finally out in the marinaThe Esplanade concert hallsPretty sure the guys behind Yas Hotel saw this and went: “We want that, but better!”Singapore Flyer — the tallest one in the worldAnd finally, the $5 billion Marina Bay Sands Casino & Hotel
I had the look of sheer disappointment at this point. Not that the building was ugly or anything. Just 2 nights ago, my favourite trance outfit Above & Beyond performed here, more specifically at the Avalon club — on top of those three towers — and I missed it because I only heard about it that prior weekend. I seriously considered preponing my flight to arrive in Singapore earlier just to see them at such an awesome venue! But the pains of cancelling and re-scheduling a flight at such short notice, that too with Tiger Airways’ non-existent customer support in India made me drop it. It wasn’t just Above & Beyond. Flo Rida, Steve Aoki, The Chemical Brothers, with many more and the ticket for one night was just Rs. 3k.
Sigh
Anyway, back to the photos…
It was time to head back
Clouds above Singapore were lit thanks to all the skyscrapersThe boat dropped us back to same pick-up point
There are three pick-up points (& ticket counters) for the river cruise along Singapore river and you can take mine and Loi’s word for it — taking the cruise at night is a must-do when in Singapore!
Back on land, it was time to head to Chinatown for dinner.
Chinatown wasn’t far from Clarke Quay.
The entrance to ChinatownSingapore Lantern Festival 2010 was on at this time
We straightaway headed to the ‘food street’ as we were hungry and thirsty!
Scores of hawkers & restaurants on either side, we finally sat down and first, ordered some chilled beers.
We placed our orders from multiple vendors.
Pork noodle soup & barbecued tiger prawns; finished off with some beef fried rice
It was around 11pm by the time we were done. We could have explored more of Chinatown but we were tired as hell, so we decided to head back ‘home’.
This was on display near one of the pedestrian over bridgesAnd I wasn’t the only amateur photographer there
We took the MRT from Chinatown and got back to Kampong Glam.
The nightlife was still buzzing in our areaSultan Mosque, the largest mosque in Singapore
Once back in the room and a quick hot shower later, I hit the sack. Recalling how much we covered on just our first day, it was a good, albeit a very tiring start to our trip.
I wasn’t thoroughly pleased with all the photos I took today. A lot of them came out blurry which made me want to pick up a good tripod all the more a bigger priority.
Regardless, this was day 1. 155 images (used out of 360 taken), slightly over 3000 words and more than a week to finish. Trying to complete this was as tiring as the day itself.
Now only 9 more days and 3600 more photos to go through.
I’ll upload the videos later.
I’m too tired…
P.S: If anyone is interested in what Ramesh saw at the F1 track on day 1, check out this post.
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.
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.
That concludes what Ramesh saw.
I came here to go to Merdeka Square, which is a significant landmark in Malaysia’s independence from Britain.
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.
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.
