Friday, April 14, 2017

Asia Mega Tour II - Kuala Lampur

When we did Asia Mega Tour I last year, our last stop was in Malaysia. It was a very short stop over compared to other countries we'd visited. After all those other places, we were taken by Malaysia as a place that we thought we'd like to go back to. Hence our decision to come again this trip.

Our first stop was the capital city of Kuala Lampur. We'd heard mixed things. Some said it was a great city and they loved it. Others said it was 'just a big city' and compared to other places they weren't so crazy about it. We'd met a KL guy (that's what people in the country and elsewhere in Southeast Asia call it) during a tour we took in Kyoto. We asked him what to do in KL He shrugged his shoulders and said 'eat and shop'.

We were in KL for two full days and loved it. We have met up with the #2 family (Venerable Pu-Lee-Shah, Tiger Daughter) and her family. They made us reservations at a really nice hotel, the Traders, and we enjoyed the locale as you will see in the pictures. We took a half day tour of the town and were convinced we could have spent two or three days there by ourselves taking all kinds of pictures. And we enjoyed the food too.

Compared to anywhere else we've been in Southeast Asia, the driving in KL is very civilized and sedate. Malaysia also has a very positive vibe and upbeat attitude compared lets say with Bali/Indonesia where folks were talking about things being very tough. The language is virtually the same as Indonesian so I've been able to take all the phrases I've learned and used them.

One Butt Ton Of KL Pictures

View of from our Hotel Room
We were offered an upgrade for 'view of the Petronas Towers for not a whole lot. Malaysia is crazily affordable...seriously.
The view from our hotel room
The view during a thunderstorm that took place late each afternoon

The view at night
The view of the great park with all kinds of playgrounds and water areas for kids just next to our hotel
View of the Towers from the Park
View of grandchild 2.3 looking at View of the Towers
View of a sign telling you of where you can take a picture of a View of the Towers
View of a sculpture and grandchild 2.4 in the park
View of #2/Venerable Pu
View of our hotel from the park
Pictures from out tour around town
The Palace of the King
Very stunning
And - totally amazingly enough - under repair
The War Memorial which commemorates sacrifices for WWI, WWII, and the War for Independence

The official seal of the country
The official flower, the hybiscus
The official slightly narcotic substance - the betel nut
(not really)
We were told it has fallen out of favor with most Malaysians
The unofficial garden by the War Memorial
Scenes from India town
There are substantial populations of Chinese origin and South Indian origin (Tamil) in Malaysia



The sound of Little India
The largest Chinese Temple in KL
The Theon Hou Temple
Because I know...I KNOW...you are missing temple pictures so

Gastronomic Interlude
We have had so many of our most enjoyable meals eating at international market food courts
Here in KL we had another success at the Central Market, one of the city's oldest
The two places we went to

Wife had spicy fried chicken with rice
As so often is the case, the translation into English was not quite right for it wasn't the chicken that was spicy, it was the rice.
It was not uncommon for us to find meals with just a little bit of protein. On the other hand they were costing around $2-4
I hand laksa, a noodle soup in a rich curry broth.
It was vegetarian and was wonderful
The City Gallery
This is a private place, promoted by a company that produces miniatures
It featured a complete, to scale map of the city with a sound/light show to match.
It was very cool
Overview of the map



The finale!
A de-Intimidator Exclusive!
Rare pictures of a almost 12 year old girl smiling
Granddaughter 2.2



And last but not least
SIGNS OF THE WORLD
If you can't figure out what this means from the five languages that it is given in there are the menacing red arrows to help you.












3 comments:

alexis said...

I can't wait to drop "KL" into a conversation so I can sound worldly. :)

Bernice said...

I loved the model of the city. There were so many buildings in it. Wow.

Renee Michelle Goertzen said...

As long as there are temples and signs of the world, you will enjoy the city. Plus, it sounds like the attitude of the people in KL suits you. I'm glad you are all having fun.