This is another blog that backdates to last year when I flew to Borneo from Thailand with a 48 hour stop in KL so I decided to book the Ascott Star Kuala Lumpur KLCC for 2 nights – highly recommend, I paid about AUD120 per night for this 5 star rated hotel, great location, clean rooms, modern (with an elevator that looked very trustworthy for a claustrophobe like me) and best of all, a rooftop bar with infinity pool and superb view of the Petronas twin towers and other buildings. I didn’t have time to have a proper sunbake and swim but I did eat in the rooftop bar and had a little laugh because it seemed to mostly have Australian steak on the menu with ‘posh’ descriptions. I ended up ordering a Malaysian curry and a cinnamon spice cocktail Nom nom nom. Though it would have been interesting to see what the Australian steak looked like.
Due to the fact that I had only one full day in KL I booked a private car day tour of the city highlights at 8am. It was a Saturday so the roads and the sites were quiet in the morning. First off, some walk arounds and photos at the KL Tower and the Royal Palace before heading to the Batu Caves. The walk up the colourful steps had beautiful views of the city and many visitors were dressed in colourful Hindu clothing. There were a few babies being carried up by families up the steps in a cloth tied to bamboo sticks (some family members looked like they were about to cry from exhaustion). In the cave is a temple for worshippers and other cultural figures, so you can have a look around or enter (without shoes). When I came back down the steps I tried few local dishes for lunch that my driver recommended and ordered for me and then entered some of the other beautifully decorated temples in the area. At this time the Batu Caves area was becoming very hot and busy as we headed to leave to a Batik Factory, I highly recommend this being included in your private tour, you get to see how the ladies make the batik items. I purchased a beautifully made sarong, it wasn’t cheap, but the quality was very worth it. The last place that I really wanted to visit was the Royal Selangor. On a guided tour we were able to see the intricate ways that the pewter items are factory made and handmade! You will have to see for yourself! From here my driver drove me to quickly see the Chinatown market and a park, it was very quick as by this time in the afternoon it was really hot and I was tired so I was able to end the tour (after 6 hours although the tripadvisor advertisement says 8-10). The good thing with private tours is the tour driver will have his suggestions and be accommodating with you regarding the places that you want to see.
After a lay down with the air-conditioning blasting in my room (afternoon naps always mandatory), I headed out for a walk to one of the shopping centres specifically to check out a golf shop (as this is one of my new hobbies). Of course, KL has some excellent shopping, and this golf shop was definitely bigger with a lot golf products, especially for women – cute dresses and golf skirts. I grabbed some quick food from one of the shops on the way back to the room and then headed down to the KLCC park to watch the light fountain show. It was full of people and you could really feel that KL was a city of lights with a view of the Petronas towers and other lit up buildings. At 9pm, it was still boiling hot and humid when I went for a walk down Jalan Ampang Main Street. This street became very crowded and congested because everyone is scongregating to take pictures of the towers with mists of water and bubbles that is dropping from one of the buildings. It looks very cool and is a worthwhile photo opportunity.
The one last thing that I did the next morning before my flights was go for a 10 minute walk from the hotel to the Petronas Towers (another great thing about the hotel is its location!) and have one of the photographers take some photos at the Towers. He sent me about 20 photos to my whatsapp that he quickly edited (and I think he added a bird into one of them) for approx 50 Malaysian ringgit. I say its definitely worth supporting the local photographers in this way as they do a nice little photoshoot and take decent photos.
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