View of Petronas Towers from KL Tower

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur after a 5 hour bus journey from Singapore . The first thing we did after checking in was to go for lunch . Thereafter , from our hotel which is near Jalan Bukit Bintang , we walked over to the Petronas Towers and discovered to our amazement that tickets to the skybridge are highly limited . Only 480 tickets are issued in the day and 320 in the afternoon . By the time we arrived there , all tickets have been issued . Thus we spent our time shopping around the Suria KLCC shopping complex which is large and houses many international brands.

Next we took the LRT (Light rail transit) over to Dang Wangi station as it looked close to our next destination , KL Tower . However , when we reached there , we realized that things on maps might look quite different in real life as in front of the station was a nature reserve - meaning forest and how could we go through it , moreover it was a hill . So we walked and walked to try get around it . Luckily we met a kind lady from AIA who brought us through her office block thus sparing us the long walk in the sweltering heat . After going through the Menara AIA , we still had to climb up a steep slope to get to the KL Tower which was shaped like a gasing (top) according to what the brochures stated . It is the 4th tallest communication tower in the world . At the top was an observation deck whereby one could have a panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur , much like what you'll get at the top of Sydney Tower . Far away in the distant hills , Benny said that he could spot Genting Highlands but try as i might , i couldn't see it . Nevermind , we'll be going there the next day.

Central Market

From KL Tower , we went on to Central Market near Chinatown (Petaling Street) . After a brisk walk through Central Market which had an art deco facade , we went on to Jalan Petaling which is Chinatown . It is something like Ladies' Market in Hong Kong except that the clothes here are not so nice and the variety is not so much . Thereafter we headed to the railway station nearby . It was only when we decided to leave the place that we regretted going there in the first place . To take a cab , there's a booth whereby one can purchase the tickets albeit at a higher price than usual so we decided to walk and try to flag down a cab instead of getting one at the railway station .It proved to be rather difficult to get one . When we finally got one , it sent us back to Jalan Bukit Bintang where we had Hokkien mee along a street running parallel with Jalan Bukit Bintang . The Hokkien mee was one of the food i was looking forward to eating in Kuala Lumpur and it didn't prove disappointing.

Early next morning , at around 7 am , we set off for the Puduraya Bus Terminal to catch a cab to Genting Highlands . It wasn't difficult to get one . We got one willing to send us to Genting at the price of RM$48 . After an hour or so , we arrived at the cool though not so pristine Genting Highlands . After a short walk around the surroundings (whereby we passed by the outdoor theme park but didn't go in) , we decided to head for the casinos . I went in first , i got through , but i saw that Benny was refused entry by the security guard at the entrance thus i wandered around while waiting for him to try entering through another entrance . This was the first time i had entered a casino so i went around observing the different games they had . After waiting for Benny for some while , i finally decided to get out to look for him . However , when i tried to re-enter the casino , i was refused entry too . As you can guess by now , both Benny and me are still underaged .The legal age for entry is 21 but we are both still 20 so basically , there was nothing else to do in Genting Highlands . Thus we decided to make a trip to Batu Caves .

Cable car, Genting Highlands

Upon alighting from the cab , we immediately miss the cool air of Genting Highlands as the weather was so hot . The main cave , a vast open space known as the Temple Cave is reached by a 272 step climb . Beyond the stairs is the main temple . Water is perpetually dripping down from the ceilings and the roosters were crowing so the caves had a surreal quality about it .We didn't stay long . After taking the obligatory pictures and looking around , we left the place . When we passed by Pudu Jail , i decided to check out whether it was still open as i learnt that it served as a musuem for a while but unfortunately it wasn't . However the world's longest mural can still be glimpsed from it's outer walls though the paint was peeling . The rest of the day was spent shopping around Jalan Bukit Bintang and Benny finally got the slipper he wanted .

Batu Caves

We got up early the next morning. That's because we knew that there're limited tickets to go on the Petronas Towers Skybridge so we set off early to ensure that we would get hold of the tickets this time around . We arrived at Petronas at 8.30 am and were among the first in queue . The tickets were issued promptly at 9.15 am as stated and by 10 am , we were ready to go onto the skybridge . However before you could actually take the elevator , you had to go through stringent security checks , something like what you would go through in airports . When we eventually landed up on the skybridge , it wasn't really anything special . We were only halfway up the towers , the view was better at KL Tower , so i guess it didn't really live up to its hype . As one British tourist told me , " visiting Kuala Lumpur without going up the Petronas Towers is like going to London and not see Big Ben and London Bridge " , i guess the Petronas Towers has become a symbol of Kuala Lumpur much like Eiffel Tower has become synonymous with Paris.

Petronas Towers admission ticket

After the tower visit , we rushed to Chinatown where i got some titbits and then rushed back to Nova Hotel to check out and then walked around town looking for food . Eventually we settled for Pickled Ginger at mcities.com along Jalan Bukit Bintang . It was okay but not what i would call fine cuisine .After lunch , it was time to depart from Kuala Lumpur

Along the bus trip , we stopped at Butterfly Park in Malacca . Entrance fee was only RM $5 so i went in to take a look . It's a rather small park with a part dedicated to reptiles like snakes . It doesn't take very long to go through all the exhibits . Didn't really see many butterflies in the butterfly section but still at $5 , it is rather cheap and worth a visit . This also marks my last stop in Malaysia.

Wall of Pudu Jail