We only spent a few days in Kuala Lumpur…
It’s a large city – a wonderful mix of the old and the new with stunning mosques, an art deco market and numerous skyscrapers and modern hotels.
The Petronas Towers from the pool-side…
Central Market…
We arrived after a night flight from Beijing and spent our first day by the pool under a glorious sun. In fact we enjoyed it so much we spent much of our others days there too.
So what else did we do?
We spent early mornings running around the Perdana Botanical Gardens which are well worth a visit; they have numerous attractions including the world’s largest ‘free flight’ aviary and densely forested grounds around a beautiful lake. If you do ever visit the gardens, stop and take a look at Kuala Lumpur railway station on the way; built in 1910 and of unique design.
View from our room with KL railway station in the foreground…
We enjoyed two evenings with our Malaysian friends – Marianne and Mark – who took us on night tours of KL and out to dine Malaysian style! The first night we went to Lot 10 shopping mall – there are 55 shopping malls in KL alone and more per capita than just about anywhere else in the world! We ate from a series of independently run hawker stalls whose original premises were ‘street-side’. When the mall was built the hawkers were offered stalls in an attempt to make their foods more relevant and accessible and because their own premises were under threat. Suffice to say the food was beautiful – our favourite was a Malay minced beef and noodle dish but we also had kway teow, hokkein noodles, kaya cake and a huge durian ice cream. All washed down with ‘bucket sized’ glasses of beer!
Marianne and her Durian ice-cream…
Fabulous Kaya Cake…
Durian; the King of Fruits…
Night two was an Indian banquet served on banana leaves – and safe to say it is the best curry either of us have tasted! Our hosts, Mark and Marianne, are a wonderful couple and if the nation are as generous in spirit as they then Malaysia will achieve all it aspires to…thank you both, your kindness will stay with us forever.
A banquet fit for kings…
And a note about our hotel. The Best Western Premer Dua Sentral which came in at £45 per night. From our fourteenth floor room sleeping with the curtains open, the huge picture windows gave incredible views over the city which lit up as darkness fell and the reverse as dawn broke. It also has a well equipped gym and magnificent sixth floor pool, both with views that gave our room a run for its money. We haven’t mentioned the breakfast, or the quality of service but it seems our hours on TripAdvisor were well spent…
Thank you KL…
And finally of note in KL; it appeared to us that diverse cultures – predominantly Malaysians of Indian or Chinese descent – co-exist harmoniously together…good stuff!
catandgary 🙂
catandgary 
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