KL in a day

So my first impressions of KL changed very little during the next 48 hours I bothered to stay.

I hoped in a cab after getting a little lost (not something I am used to but without a map I was in the lap of the locals). After trying to find a famous street market the taxi driver convinced me to go to a Malay market instead and subsequently took me on a tiki tour around the city in dense traffic whilst we were running a meter....I was very hungangry by the time we reached the market. And my driver seemed to be disappointed when it was clear I was not going to pay for his dinner. The joy of whipping out your camera to gaze at the Petronus towers for the first time was enough to send him on his way. 

I ate a local fish curry dish with rice and green beans in a little street cafe where the locals were watching badminton or football and I gazed in wonder at the towers in their back yard. Suddenly a little anxious that the food I was consuming was not cranking hot and I hadn't watched it being lovingly prepared I worried (unnecessarily) of another bought of Jaipur/Doha/Gore belly. High tailing it back to my hostel - a very short cab ride away! The Qatari cabby was aghast that a local would treat me to a scenic ride and apologised for the bad form. Thumbs up to Qatar for that nice gentleman. 

The following day I made my way to the Batu Caves some 17km outside of the city. On the train on the way out I met a Brazilian-Kiwi who smiled brightly at me with my RWC band on my wrist. Nothing like a barrier breaker. We walked around the natural splendour of KL and home to the worlds largest statue. The caves house Hindu temples and many pilgrims walk up the 300 odd steps to the temple on a weekly basis. With the humidity and sunshine I think my visit will be isolated to once...but anyone visiting KL really should go to see it. Its free to enter and is massively impressive. Mr Brazil of Wellywood - silly how I didn't ask his name - and I had a lovely veggie thali for lunch on a banana leaf just outside, before we headed back into town for me to complete some errands...I needed new jandals and an external Hard Drive. 

So off I went to the shopping mecca of Bukit Bintang. I discovered the very plush Pavilion and went about selecting the cheapest Havianas I could. Plain Black no fancy stuff for 69.90MYR (£15). Then across the road to Low Yat the electronics mega mall. It was absolute chaos but I found that I could get a Western Digital 1T Passport for a mere £85 which I was happy with. Supplies of WD stock is really low because of the Thai flooding so I was lucky to secure this price. 

Next stop the Petronus towers. I made time to freshen up and take the subway over the the KL City Centre complex where I delightfully sat down for some New Zealand Natural Ice Cream! Then after a bit of a walk around the complex I made it across to the Sky Bar at the Traders Hotel. It was a Sunday night so seemingly quiet at 9pm when I arrived. The bar has a pool running through the centre of it for in-house guests to swim elegant lengths in. Sunken  couches run along the side of the building overlooking the towers and bar stools for those of us in the cheap (unorganised) seats! The windows were all open from elbow height so a clear shot of the towers was completely accessible. Health and Safety doesn't really come into here in Asia so anyone concerned with jumping - its easier to find an exposed wire at street level.

Honestly taking a minute (or 59 in my case) here to enjoy a Wither Hills Sav was a pleasure after the hustle and bustle of the city below. I was enarmoured by the building in front of me and the KLCC area for its lush surrounds.

I am pleased to have visited KL but it wont be high on my must revisit list. I flew out to Phnom Penh the next day...