The signature of KL- Petronas towers

One of the ubiquitous feature in KL skyline apart from KL tower is Petronas towers or the twin towers. One can’t go around the city without  crossing  this tower. So by the end of the trip,  one could be tired of its sight which is visible from most parts of the city . My first close visit was during the KL city tour. It was around noon when the clouds were cast. The walls of steel reflected the clouds and the building looked like a shiny steel gray building. We  stopped here only for  a photo session. Our driver said that he could get tickets for the following morning to go up the tower. We were open to this idea and thought it would be nice to go up the skybridge to have a view of the city.

Since our itinerary was very tight the next day, we decided to skip the skybridge  as by then we had viewed the sprawling city from the observation deck of KL tower.

But we often awed at the lighted version of the twin towers when we passed through it and decided we would come here on the final day  to click some photos.

And so on the final day, in the evening we went to Petronas. I was initially reluctant to walk till there as i was tired of its sight. But I was wrong,  seeing it from afar or even by the day and seeing up close in its lighted glory are two different things.  And you would struggle trying to get the entire building in one frame on your camera.

It was funny to see people around lying on the floor and squatting to get the picture in one frame.

As for me, I loved watching the lighted twin towers sitting in the small platform in front of it.  Besides, me were so many  foreigners who silently watched the  gargantuan glory. The lighted beauty, the well-maintained garden, pathway   and   the  sound of only  the  fountains radiated  a sense of peace in me.  Unbelievable but true, cos just behind me,  across the glass tile  wall was the traffic of the city.  For that magical  feeling alone, Petronas deserved a separate post from me.  It was very difficult to pull myself out of the place. Absolutely  sublime moments those!

                                                             From the road

                                              See the facade of glass and steel reflect the sky

quite a task to get the towers in  a single frame from close quarter

After many attempts we did or my family did get them in one frame. we got better pictures when our family posed. 

The suria KLCC mall which stores world famous brands

                                         Loved the sound of the waterfall from the fountain. Do you see them below the flash light

                           I turned back to find this festive bunting on the road. Our driver said this is a permanent fixture. And don't miss KL communication  tower standing shyly in the frame

                                         The DBS bank right opposite KLCC. The whole area around looks lighted.

                                 That is the platform in the foreground where we sat and experienced the magical sight

                                           You can read about KLCC tower, its architecture and constituents. This was a hurried pic from my handphone. so could'nt capture in full

                                             The rest of the details about KLCC park are here, in case you are interested.

My next post : KL to S'pore by road.

Batu temple caves - A Murugan temple in a cave

Enroute to KL, we stopped at Batu caves, a famous Murugan temple outside India. One can't miss the magnificient golden Murugan statue from afar while traveling back and forth from Genting. The golden color and the height beckons you.

When you move closer to the temple, you will find it truly marvelous against the limestone backdrop and dense greenery. The sight is a naturalist's delight. At first glance, the beauty of the place at ground level is overtaken by the various commercial shops all around. But, they in no way rob the spiritual and geographical richness of the place.The main temple is supposed to be at the cathedral cave or temple cave, which is the largest of the caves. Some 100 years ago, A tamilian by name Thambipillai is said to have dedicated this temple to the lord since the entrance to the cave resembled a ‘Vel’( weapon of the lord). 

One has to undergo a cardio stress test of ascending 250+ steps to reach this temple. We were short of time and also energy and so this ended as a photostop for us.

But, there are a series of small caves at the base which have turned into art museums and small shrines dedicated to the Lord’s father and brother – Lord shiva and Lord Ganesha. The famous tamil festival ‘Thai poosam’ draws a huge crowd of devotees to this temple.
.

The statue of the lord is 140 feet and is supposed to be the second tallest hindu idol in the world. Stands beside the 270 step stairway leading to the 114 year old temple

                           Don't miss the backdrop. 400 million year old limestone stalactites and stalagmites supposed to be nature's wonder is home to various endangered fauna.

                               Entrance of the stairway typical dravidian temple design. The staircase is supposed to have many landings where you get beautiful city views.

The cave temples at the ground

floral garlands just like in india but only here one can find orchid garland

Fun city above the clouds - Genting Highlands

It was 8 in the morning when we left sultry KL for the Genting highlands.  It was nearly a 55 minutes road drive past Batu caves to the cable car station. The idea of travelling by cable car over the million year old rainforests was pleasantly intriguing. Our driver dropped us at Genting skyway and told he would pick us up at 4 from Starbucks café. 

We walked to the cable car station and as my family got into the cable car, a cameraman snapped us and minutes later, all the families got in different cable cars and we found ourselves swinging up to Genting highlands. It would be no exaggeration if I said I was floating in the clouds as I was moving up in the air 6000 feet above sea level. The rejuvenating crisp air, the drifting clouds, the lush green tropical rainforests below, all feels like a dream now. Absolutely stunning views till we reached the hill top. It was one of the fantabulous natural views of this trip. Although, I must confess some creeking sounds of the car made me shudder and think "what if the world’s strongest cable installation gets cut", but It remained one of my wildest imagination.

As we got out, I was surprised to see our photos put in two types of frames and sold for 5o RM and 20 RM depending on the frame design.I was amazed at this enterprise and this happens in most touristy places like KL tower etc. No, we did not buy them. 

Once out of the station, it was totally like a maze, we did’nt know which way to begin first, there were lots of luxury shops, hotels, cafes on the first floor. 

Rico Galleria’s window was inviting and so we went into the store which stocked handbags to trinkets to fancy swarovski and crystal pieces. I found this a worthy place to shop than Haniffas. Bought a  few gifts for folks back home. After some  shopping, the elevator on the level took us to the casino.

Persons below 21 years are not allowed entry into the casino which is the only casino in Malaysia and is often the shooting spot for most Hollywood and Asian films. So, my teens were kept out. It was also my first visit to a casino and honestly I felt it was like a den with all those soft lighting and dark interiors. In the many Indian movies that I have seen, generally the villains/bad men strike shady deals and  gamble in casinos. That could be the reason I found this place a bit creepy although i know i was wrong. There were many slot machines, roulettes, tables and gaming consoles around and the people mostly Chinese men and women were absolutely immersed in the game. I was not keen to hang there for long.

Once out of the casino, we had no clue how to reach the theme park which Genting is famous for. My husband had been here some 15 years ago But, he said much had changed since then and he too was clueless where to go. There are no people to help around or no maps either. Most people here are tourists. Finally, we found somebody who said the outdoor theme park is closed for renovation since 2013 and will reopen as 2oth century fox theme park in 2016. He directed us towards the indoor theme park. A few escalators down(3) we were at the indoor themepark. Initially, I was in awe and felt like Alice in wonderland where Petronas rubbed shoulders with big ben and statue of liberty. Here at a counter , we were tied wrist bands and a few family rides were marked for us on a map. To locate those rides was again like walking into a labyrinth. 

Finally we pinned our first ride, The Euro express. The euro express indoor roller coaster brought out both my emotions of fear and joy. A wonderful experience, now if I recall.  Later we tried the many family rides like the hanging venetian gondolas, dashing cars. Most of our time was lost in the queue for the rides which robbed the joy of the themepark. There were many tourists across all ages and it was nice to see even the senior citizens become child like and enjoy the various rides. So did we. 

There were many luxury and branded shops around like that of Adidas, nike etc. But again the constant up and down, running and walking whetted our appetite. It was already 3. We went around again to look for vegetarian food or even snacks but sadly we found glazed Chinese ducks, chicken lollypops, sausages etc. We saw a 100% vegetarian board only to find it was a cosmetic shop " The body shop". We lost nearly 30 minutes here looking for food. My daughter then suddenly remembered of a hotel serving jain food somewhere near Rico Galleria. We went up the flight of escalators and found Spice garden an Indian restaurant that served non-veg and veg. (just in case anybody is at genting and looking for veg food, this is one of the very few hotels serving good veg food). 

It was exactly 4 when we reached Starbucks café near Maxims hotel. Here we were joined by the rest of our friends with whom we came in the morning. The group split at Rico in the morning while we were shopping since each of them had different interests. During our conversation, whilst waiting for our driver, we were all surprised to hear the 70 year old aunty who was with us played at the casino and won 4 RM. It was really jaw dropping to hear the conservatively dressed lady, a retired prof of Botany from a chennai college, coolly say, she had even played at Las vegas. Her spirit and zest for life to travel at that age and  to try her hand at games in casino awed the eight of us. She has even dared to go on that huge roller-coaster at Universal Studios LA. Does'n t that prove age is no bar to enjoy life? Very inspiring! 

While listening to her daring stories, we realized our driver who was to pick up at 4 had’nt turned and it was past 5 now. We found later our driver was waiting at Starbucks at Firstworld hotel. Now, How were we to know that there would be two starbucks in the same place?( actually there are 3 in genting). 

We lost nearly 2 hours that day which we considered precious since we had plans to go to petaling street after genting. It was a long walk from Maxims to First world hotel,  over many ramps and escalators. Yet again, we found it difficult to find our way through the maze. Nobody to help, no maps, no indicators:(

Finally, we  reached our cab and took the road down from Genting to KL. We crossed many roads which pointed indicators to strawberry farms, orchids farm and other interesting places. I realized that this hilltop resort has more to offer than The famous casino and themepark. It has a famous Buddhist temple and is also the venue for many world class entertainment shows and many adventure games. 

Overall, Genting was an unique experience where we touched the clouds, floated through some breathtaking views and  had good fun.

Check the pics, click on them to feel the place:)

                                     the highland road to skyway

                                               artificial rafflesias decorating the pathway

                                    100 million years old rainforest

                                       a surreal moment when i floated through the clouds(taken from cablecar)

                                      There is the first world hotel, the largest hotel in the world when it started(not now)

                                  All of us hanging in the air:)

                                               praise the lord who has created such beautiful masterpiece

                                           The shops on the first floor Is it chinese tea or coffee?

                                                  Chinese porcelain anybody?

                                                  crystals and swarovskis all for a fortune

and some more 

At the indoor theme park, a hotel around the venetian canal. Serve some  vegetarian stuff la.

                                         Statue of liberty in malaysia!

                                                                  Dreamland ahoy!

                                         Hello superman....no..no Genting man

                                        Care for horror shows?

                                         

times square! NY or KL

                                              the only restaurant which served vegetarian food in genting that we could find

Enroute to KL, we stopped at a famous murugan shrine outside India - Batu caves. My next post. 

Lebuh Ampang/Brickfields/Little India - A slice of India in KL

It was close to 2p.m when we unwinded our city tour at KL tower.  We had decided to go to Putra Jaya but then hunger drove us  to  Little India( LI also called Lebuh Ampang). Our Oriya friend who is a hardcore non-vegetarian did not like to eat in Malaysian joints/hotels  so he and his wife too joined us.  He also said his Malaysian friend had referred him to a place called Honey fa’s(that is how i interpreted)  in Little India which stocked varieties of  chocolates and other things at economical rate.  So, that was reason enough to head to LI -  food, shopping and also the curiosity to see India in a foreign land.  

We  decided not to take a cab and so promptly got dropped at Imbi station. It was 2.30  when we started our exploration using maps, pointers and manual  guidance. At the ticket counter we were told we had to take a monorail to a station Hung tuah and then change  to LRT to Masjid jamek to go to little india.

 Just the previous day, I was watching  monorails from my hotel window, the little multicolored coaches  which are slightly longer than a bus and the way they cling to the rails and move is a sight worth watching. And there I was in it,  taking my first monorail ride.

 (image courtesy: google) Ain't it cute? it comes in multi colors

We got down at Hung tuah and changed over to  LRT. The LRT took us to Masjid Jamek. By then it was past 3. All of  us were energy drained but we walked down the stairs on to the road asking for Saravana Bhavan. Suddenly, I sighted Anjappar at the corner of an intersectional  road. (a famous chettinad restaurant in India known for chettinad dishes).  All of us were glad to see Indian food menu( although it serves non-veg too). The food served in typical tamil style vazhelai sappadu( plaintain leaf meals) and also I enjoyed talking in tamil to the hotel staff. Our friends were also happy with the choice and taste of food.

After lunch,  when I stepped outside the hotel, I was stumped!!!  

Was I in India or KL?  It was like a typical Indian street  with open markets and little stores. Such sights are rare even in Modern India now .

 We walked past all those Indian hotels where punjabi "khana" and tamil “saapadu” was served. Some hotels even advertised as food cooked  by Brahmin chefs. We strolled past the many stores selling jewellery, CD's, novelties, pooja items, Indian wear, tailoring for Indian wear,  money exchange shops etc.The ground floor were  shops while  residential houses at the top  reminded me of  houses around mada veedhi( near temple) around mylapore in chennai.

Like most places, this place has an  history. After a massive fire which destroyed the wooden malay houses in 1880. An English man by name Frank Swettenham decided to build buildings with bricks. Initially bricks were imported, later they decided to make their own bricks and allocated this place for brick kilns , so Little India is also called as Brickfields.

 Also KL sentral one of the oldest railway station in Malaysia today, brought in its workforce from India. Parallely this place also became a kittanghi, a traditional money lending establishment set up by the nattukottai chettiars( a business community from TN) and they eventually became the founders of modern banking in Malaysia.  That explains the concentration of Indians especially Tamil Indians here. Today, this place has been taken over by Indian restaurants and shops which are mostly dominated by tamils and punjabis.

Now back to our trail, all of us were lured by this place called Honey Fa’s, which  we were told stocked branded chocolates  and products that costed less. We walked,  walked and walked in the drizzling rain, we stopped over to take directions and took the  foot bridge over the Klang river (the river water is in mud color, no wonder KL got its name) and then finally our friend shouted ‘There it is” and  to my  disappointment do you know what I  found in the place?   

 ‘HANIFFA’s” written in green. 

All along I was thinking I was going to a chocolate factory called "Honey Fa’s" and  Our friend here  shows the building Haniffa’s.

BTW, for those of you who don’t know Haniffa's.

 Much before malls came into India, Haniffa’s was one of the supermarket in chennai's  T.nagar selling all items from a safety pin to gold in one place. Often you would hear about “Singapore Haniffa’s” in TV and radio. It was the same supermarket or single owner mall spread over 4 floors selling everything from a pin to electronics to  gold.

 Honestly, it was here I realized everything is economical in India itself even branded products I found are best bought in Indian malls than in foreign malls by tourists.  There was nothing that was cost less  here except maybe some branded mobile phones which are cheaper by a few hundreds only. Otherwise the cheapest or somewhere similar to Indian rates what I found here was a two pin plug which is sold here in india at Rs 12 and there at 1 RM( 18 rs).

Finally, after some chocolate shopping by our friends  and market research  by us, we were the only ones who came empty handed. But, overall it was a nice voyage to LI where we walked past the colors,  scents and  busy local life. 

Now, it was time to head back to the hotel after a long day of walks and tours. We decided to take a direct bus from LI to our hotel since there was a bus stop in front of the hotel.   We then took a “ getting around in KL” map from an information center,  a few manual directions later, we  boarded a brand new  Red Volvo bus. The chinese driver told us to hop on when we told him Berjaya Times square. We thought it was a direct bus. 

 The bus was conductor less, no vending machines for tickets but we comfortably seated ourselves in the  bus and got down at the last stop. The driver now directed to a green bus. 

                                       GO KL purple line bus ( google image)

Again as instructed by him in his broken english, we boarded another green bus. Here too nobody asked us to buy tickets nor there were conductors or any ticket vending machine. Without knowing where to get down went around "times square" and got down a few kms away from our hotel. Again we walked , walked and walked nearly 2 kms till we reached our hotel. (overall we must have walked app 10 kms that day). 

Also, I must tell you about those Red/ green Volvo ticketless  buses about which i learnt later from our hotel staff. These are called Go-KL city buses and are free services  since sept 2012 that connects some sight seeing attractions, offices, malls and markets in the heart of the city. The buses are disabled friendly, clean, comfortable have ac and free wifi . Initially only two routes green and purple were introduced, now since May 1, 2014 two more lines called red and blue have been introduced. The routes overlap at 5 stops so that passengers can switch from one part of the city to another. This is also an eco-friendly bus runs on natural gas and leaves less carbon foot prints. 

Isn’t that an  eco , citizen  and tourist friendly effort  by the Malaysian Govt? 

Now for a slice of india in pics:

These garlands are common sights outside temples in TN, so it is in LI

Lovely burst of natural flowers sold on the pavement for 0.8 cents only per stalk. Care to buy? expecially the blue one

                                  Can you see Saravana bhavan? ( a vegetarian chain restaurant) This is their LI branch

Devotional, classical, bollywood CD's. anybody?

                                       

Note the architecture of houses, you will find such architecture in chettinad too. 

KL city in 5 hours

Anthony Burgess, an English writer who taught in Malaysia seems to have said that Malaya was perhaps the only country in the world for any man who cares about history. I am not sure I accept his words completely, (even India has a rich history) however, the history of Kuala lumpur is fascinating.

 From muck and marsh some 150 years ago Kuala lumpur literally meaning  muddy estuary was  a tin and mining town. It has evolved into a cosmopolitan capital with tall buildings, swanky malls and an active night life. But for all its sheen, it has a rich history.  The city tour I took on a sunny morning authenticated it.   I will make this a visual post with descriptions of the place below.

The first place we visited is Istana Negara or national palace.

It is the official residence of the King of Malaysia since 2011, constructed at a cost of 900 million dollors. The old palace at jalan istana has now been converted into a museum. A grand place with beautiful surroundings on a hillock. Public are not allowed beyond the gate which are guarded by horsemen. This was just a photostop for us nothing much to do except get clicked and click the monument. It was interesting to note some people driving sporty bikes on the hilly roads inside. below is the closeup view with the lens between the gate grills.

The next place was the national monument. Erected to commemorate those who died in malaysia’s struggle for freedom, particularly during world war II and the Malayan emergency. The 15 metre high bronze monument to the right sits on a hilltop overlooking the parliament house and the serene perdana botanical garden. Interestingly the gardens had lampposts of hibiscus which is the national flower of Malaysia.Nothing much to do except go around and click photos. But the place is impeccably maintained. One has to carry water bottles, caps, hats or umbrellas, if you are here in the afternoon. Very very sunny.
           

 

The next place is for anybody who likes history, art and architecture and one of the most interesting place- National heritage site. I can make multliple posts about this place, but I will keep it short and sweet. Nearly 20 national icons are located here at the place called Dataran merdeka or independence square.

The whole area is a delightful contrast to the modern Malaysia which is in the centre of the city. The buildings here are colonial. The first building our tour guide pointed to here is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Much before petronas towers was built, this building was supposed to have the been the signature of KL. It was initially an administrative building for the Federated Malay states, later turned into a highcourt, surpreme court and now it occupies the ministry of information and culture. The building has symmetrical brick structure and is supposed to have been built by Indians with bricks brought from India and this is how Indians arrived in Malaysia . ( info courtesy: tour guide)

Just opposite this building is Dataran Merdeka or independence square which is a huge broad platform on which stands a tall flag pole. The  100 metre flagpole is supposed to be one of the tallest  and the flag  was first hoisted on 31^st aug 1957 signifying  the independence of the country.

Beside this is the KL city gallery which is in a 116 year old heritage building. The story of KL is beautifully presented here in photographs and descriptions. It also houses a spectacular model of the city with a short video about the city’s history. The building also houses an architectural modeling workshop ARCH where artisans sculpt and make miniature models of the city’s buildings. One of the places where I would have loved to spend more time, but time was ticking and so ended up clicking photos of all those places and at the I love KL structure.

There were banners like these depicting the origin of KL from a marshy estuary to that of the modern day KL housing Statesque buildings

It seems miners and traders first came upriver to where the rivers klang and gombak converge in search of tin. They named the settlement KL meaning muddy estuary in malay. by 1860's the flourishing village was the reason for rivalry over mining claims and water rights which led to bitter feuds and gang clashes. Finally, a chinese settlement was put under the leadership of the above person. Under his leadership it grew into a thriving town. Later a british resident Frank swettenham moved his administration to KL when brick building were introduced street by street and wooden shanties were pulled down.

 KL model measuring 40ftx50ft with an audio visual tour of the city.

                                                               A model of masjid jamek                     

The ARCH architects at work. It involves concentration and hand dexterity.  A glass wall separates my camera lens and the artisans at work. 

After merdeka square we were off to petronas towers( i will make an exclusive post on this) and then to the various  shops like pewter shop, leather shop, chocolate(malaysian cocoa is supposed to of the premium quality in the world and is said to be exported to other chocolate makers around the world)  factory, batik printing workshop etc. Our final stop of city tour was  at KL communication tower whose sundown version is a delight to watch and is also my room view. But we were here on a cloudy afternoon. We sped up to the observation deck in the lift car of the tower in just 50 secs that is 421metres tall.

                       The day suddenly turned from sunny to a cloudy noon.  we could capture such city views  and stand tall against petronas too. 

NExt our visit to little india.