Orchard Road

We'd caught a glimpse of Orchard Road the previous day but now we intended to shop!  Orchard Road is simply one mall after the other, each specializing in a certain audience -- some are high end, some are hip and happening, some are more bargain conscious, etc.  Some even specialize in breathtaking views.  We were able to take an elevator to the roof and take in sweeping views of the City.

Our favorite shopping experience was actually the Tanglin Shopping Centre.  It was quieter and focused on art and antiques.  I found a fantastic purple stone necklace and we were able to find a framed painting to commemorate the trip.

On our way back to the train station, we stopped at the food court in one of the local malls for a quintessential Singapore dessert -- Ice Kachang.  Set before us was a heaping pile of shaved us with 4 kinds of sweet syrup.  Nestled underneath was a cache of corn, kidney beans, and red gelatin cubes.  It was actually quite tasty but Scott couldn't help but commenting - "This is the weirdest dessert ever!".  I have to admit it was quite refreshing.

Night Safari

No trip to Singapore is complete without a visit to the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo.  We navigated there on public transportation connecting from the subway to public bus.  On the bus, we met a family from Perth, Australia.  They made room for us to sit on the crowded bus and we got to chatting.  Their young son was quite precocious and loved to talk.  I learned quite a bit about Perth and about their adventures in Southeast Asia as well as another trip they had taken to North America.

I got another Déjà Disney feeling when we arrived at the Night Safari.  We bought tickets, passed by the "native" song and dance show near the entrance and queued up to board a tram into the park.

Our host snapped a photo before we departed on our journey.  The Night Safari was fantastic.  We saw a rhino, slow loris, cape buffalo, and flying fox.  The most amazing sight, by far, was the lions.  One of them began roaring loudly as we slowed to a stop in their area.  While we were safe on the outside of the well-camouflaged enclosure, it definitely sent a chill down my spine to hear the animal's raw power.  He was making it plainly clear who was master of this domain.

We decided to take a cab back to our hotel since the Zoo was a long distance from the city center (it took us about an hour by bus/train to get there).  The cab that picked us up was a Chrysler 300. The driver was chatty and talked a lot about how much it cost to own a car like this in Singapore -- $100,000.  The driver joked that our hotel always snapped to attention when guests showed up in his swank vehicle.  Indeed, they rushed to open the doors for us when we arrived.  The ride was very comfortable and the company very entertaining.

Bus to Kuala Lumpur

Wednesday 11/25/2009

We rose early on Wednesday morning and made our way to the Maxwell Food Centre -- it was our last call for street food.  We were particularly early so my favorite pancake shop wasn't open yet.  We opted to try some tapioca cake and another dense and sticky concoction that was served (to my surprise) in a plastic baggy with a loose sweet syrup poured on top.  Yum!

The Bus to Kuala Lumpur departed from the Harbourfront Center promptly at 9 am.  Two tickets cost translated to less than $30 total for the 5 hour journey.  There were a number of these bus companies in operation and you could tell they were trying to compete.  Aeroline served us breakfast and featured two levels including a downstairs "lounge".

It was interesting to people watch.  The bus was pretty full.  The seats reclined really far.  There was a mother and her young daughter (4-5 years old) sitting in front of us so it was a constant challenge to maintain our legroom and personal space. We did see some amazing scenery from the window of the bus which made the trip more enjoyable than flying.

Kuala Lumpur First Impressions

The bus dropped us off at the Corus Hotel near the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).  We could see our hotel across a major thoroughfare beyond the KLCC park which was ringed with skyscrapers.  We decided to wait for a taxi because of our luggage and the heat.  It took about 15 minutes for a cab to finally arrive at the Corus Hotel to take us to Traders Hotel.  It's a good thing we didn't walk though.  It took about 15 minutes in harrowing traffic to reach our destination.  Things can be really close-by in KL, but it's definitely difficult to get around on foot -- another pedestrian unfriendly city.

We took the train to Masjid Jamek station near Chinatown. 

This part of Kuala Lumpur seemed much grittier than the KLCC.  On a few occasions I nearly fell into gaping pits in the sidewalk where stones were missing.  The smells of the city also annihilated the senses:  diesel exhaust and frying food on the streets; mustiness and body odors in cabs and on the train.  

Central Market

We took a stroll around the neighborhood and checked out the mosque from afar.  I didn't have a headscarf with me so we wouldn't have been allowed in even if we'd wanted to visit.  We walked the perimeter of the beautiful green lawn of Merdeka Square and then headed to the Central Market in Chinatown.

The Central Market featured economically priced souvenirs and goods of all sorts.

We chanced upon a local fish spa in the market and I had to give it a try.  The Cute Fish Spa charged 5 ringgits for 10 minutes of "treatment".  A huge bath of fish that thrive on dead skin swim in a large tank.  Customers pay their fee and then dip their feet in the water -- instant pedicure!  The fish quickly descended on my feet.  There were three others seated at the edge of the bath.  One guy seemed to be an expat from the US living in Kuala Lumpur.  The other two ladies seemed to be local.  The fish really seemed to prefer foreign feet.  I guess we're more highly callused and tasty than the locals.  It tickled.  It felt sort of like my feet were bathing in sparkling water or champagne -- very effervescent.  Before we stopped at the spa, my feet felt tired after an afternoon of walking.  I felt highly invigorated and refreshed after the treatment.

KLCC Park at Night

We sent some time exploring the park that is the centerpiece of the KLCC that evening.  The Petronas Towers are spectacular at night.  They also have a dancing fountain in the pond at night.  Very cool.  The KLCC is actually quite a contrast to Chinatown.  Chinatown is chaotic, smoggy, and thronging with people.  In the markets (like the Petaling Street Market), people approach you from every angle to try to sell you all manner of goods.  The sights and smells are almost dizzying.  The KLCC, on the other hand, is well-mannered, business-y, and highly manicured.  The shops are high end, the malls are well-lit and clean.  It was like two different worlds.

KL Bird Park

Thursday 11/26/2009

The Traders Hotel offers tram service from the hotel entrance, through the park, to the mall and entrance to the train station.  It's really a souped up golf cart -- whee!  We took the tram to the train and then tried to navigate on foot to the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park.  We quickly reaffirmed that getting anywhere in KL on foot is really challenging.  We checked at a local hotel near the train station to figure out the best route to the park -- taxi was the overwhelming refrain.  We ultimately succumbed on our plan to get some exercise and found a cab outside of the Central Train Station.  Some areas of the City use a coupon system for the cabs.  The prices are negotiated up front at a kiosk, you pay the clerk, and then pay your cab driver with the voucher.  I think this is meant to cut down on price gouging. 

We finally arrived at the Bird Park which was amazing.  It's the world's largest free flight walk-through aviary.  We saw storks, peacocks strutting their stuff, ostriches, flamingos, and various regional horn-billed birds all in close range.  At one point the cacophony was almost deafening.  We were never able to figure out which birds were making all the racket.  At first it seemed like it was coming from the peacocks but then that seemed wrong. It ultimately seemed to be coming from a set of smaller, shyer birds that were more challenging to pinpoint.  Regardless, it really added to the ambiance.

We also had the opportunity to feed ostriches and emus at a special feeding station.  The Bird Park provided extra long pieces of greenery that the birds liked so we wouldn't have to put our hands too close.

We also were able to pay a few ringgits and feed the parrots in their enclosure.  That was simply insane.  The curator handed me a cup of what seemed like coconut milk and a handful of seeds.  The birds descended upon me and started eating away.  The big red birds perched on my arms and seemed to like the liquids.  Some of the green birds perched on my shoulders and hands so I could feed them seeds.  One brave bird even alighted on my enormous hat.  I couldn't see him but I could feel him.  All the while, Scott was laughing, bird free, and snapping pictures.

More Eats and Shopping

After we were finished at the Bird Park, we took a cab back to Chinatown.  The traffic was unbelievable.  At one point, we were trying to navigate an uncontrolled intersection and there were buses, cars, cabs, and pedestrians all jockeying for position.  You need nerves of steel to make it as a cab driver in KL!

We asked the driver to drop us off at the Petaling Market.  We were famished at this point and made our way to the Old China Cafe nearby which was recommended in one of our guidebooks.  The restaurant had a certain old-fashioned, slightly run-down charm associated with it.  The food was fantastic.  We had Laksa (their specialty noodle soup) and Beef Rendang.  The beef didn't look very pretty but the hint of lemongrass in the mixture was unexpected and delicious.

After lunch, we wandered through the Petaling Market a bit more and even bought a few shirts (we needed something cheap and clean to wear on the airplane ride home at the end of the trip since we'd packed really light).  The funniest thing I noticed was that they were selling the exact same shirt (I particularly noticed a brown and yellow striped number) with the logo of your choice. They had Polo, Fred Perry, and more.  Talk about mass customizing your knock-offs!

Petronas Towers

Before heading out for the Bird Park that morning, we'd stopped by the Petronas Towers to nab free tickets to tour the Sky Bridge.  You basically ascend to the 41 floor, walk out on the walkway that connects the two buildings and admire the breathtaking views.  There are a limited number of tickets available daily so we stopped by early and arranged to take the tour at 5:30 pm.  The time for our tour finally arrived.

Our group was ushered into a theatre, handed 3D classes, and subjected to a corporate propaganda video about how awesome the Petronas Corporation is.  It kind of reminded me of some of the ads you see for Dow and Chevron back in the US.  Once the video was complete, we watched another safety video (sans 3D) and then headed into the elevator.  We were given about 10 minutes to walk around on the Sky Bridge and then ushered back into the elevator and down to the ground floor.  The views were indeed pretty amazing.

Bintang Walk

Even though we realized that walking in KL is difficult, we insisted on giving it one more try to get to the Bintang Walk area.  This time we did successfully reach our destination although the side streets were lacking sidewalks in a few areas and we were surprised by a wild dog just chillin' in the grass.  He seemed nonplussed that we were there but we decided to cross to the other side of the street just in case.  The Bintang area was another assault on the senses.  There were crowds everywhere shopping and exploring mall after mall.  We chanced upon a big Chinese street food area.  We sampled a few small items but just couldn't decide what we wanted to eat.  In the end, we soaked in the frenzy for a while, then we decided we'd had enough and headed back to the hotel to catch up on sleep and prepare ourselves for the next day of sightseeing.

Batu Caves

Friday 11/27/2009

The Batu Caves are one of the major attractions in greater KL.  It's a Hindu shrine nestled within a cave structure beyond the outskirts of the City.  We were planning to simply negotiate a one way fare with our taxi driver and then find another cab at the Caves for the return trip.  Our hotel concierge actually recommended that we pre-pay for the roundtrip including a 2 hour wait period.  The cost would have been 150 ringgits (~$50) which seemed a little steep.  We decided to take our chances and are glad we did.  We ended up in a roomy, van-style cab that was well air-conditioned.  The driver was super friendly and helpful.  After running the meter for a few minutes, he offered us a special 100 ringgit rate for the roundtrip plus an hour of wait time.  Plus, he was willing to drop us off somewhere else in the city when we were done.  We decided that this was a better deal and decided to go for it -- our cab driver was definitely a smart businessman.

The Batu Caves were actually a bit more crowded than usual because it was a holiday in Malaysia.  We climbed 272 stairs to the top, explored the shrine, and then headed back down.

We'd been warned about the aggressive monkeys in the area but hadn't seen a single one on our ascent.  On the way down the stairs, all that changed.  We saw tons of monkeys vying for tourist attention and scraps of food.  They were pretty fun to watch.

KL Tower

We asked our taxi driver to drop us off at the KL Tower, another attraction in the heart of the city.  The KL Tower is one of the tallest communication towers in the world.  We enjoyed breathtaking views of the city and were even able to see the large area of nets outlining the Bird Park we'd been through the previous day.

There were shops and restaurants at the base of the Tower.  We were hungry and decided to try corn in a cup which seemed to be a fast-food favorite of the locals.  Yum!

We also witnessed a taxi crash into a bicycle as we were walking back into town.  As I mentioned, KL is not an easy place for pedestrians or cyclists to get around.  Fortunately, the cyclist appeared to be a little banged up but not seriously injured.

Chow Kit

We walked to the monorail station.  We were hungry again and stopped for a snack at a local convenience store attached to a gas station.  It was here that we discovered broad beans.  They are a super crunchy, salty, and delicious snack.  It's the perfect way to re-balance after a hot sweaty afternoon of exploring.  We decided to take the Monorail to Chow Kit, an interesting neighborhood in KL.  The neighborhood felt a little rundown and since it was a holiday, there were people milling about everywhere.  In particular, people seemed to congregate most outside of stores where there was a hint of air-conditioning wafting outdoors.  We found an interesting, inexpensive department store in the neighborhood where Scott was able to find a couple shirts.  The clerks seemed to be responsible for different sections of the store and one person followed us around while Scott checked out some different sizes, etc.  It's challenging when you don't know the language or shopping rituals.  We did successfully complete the transaction and headed on our way.  We found the wet market which is a major attraction in this area.  The rather dark alleyways were filled with vendors selling meat and fish.  We even saw rather eye popping items like cow hooves.  Cats tended to patrol the area looking for scraps.  Once again, the sights and smells annihilated the senses.

We took the monorail back to the Bintang area and decided to a have a sit down lunch at one of the popular Indian restaurants in the area.  We tried Spice of India at the top of one of the malls.

A Failed Mission for Crafts

We had a little time before we expected the stores to close and decided to go in search of the local craft complex which our map indicated was within walking distance of the mall where we ate lunch.  Our walk started out really promising.  We saw signs for the craft complex and felt reassured that we were going the right way.  Then the signs and map came into conflict about which way to go.  We decided to follow our map since we rationalized that the signs were likely intended for drivers rather than pedestrians.  We continued to the spot where the craft complex was supposed to be.  Instead, we found the Vietnamese embassy and a huge apartment building.  We asked the security guard at the apartment building and he assured us that there was no craft complex here.  Discouraged, we walked back to our hotel.  Our map had really let us down.

Traders Lounge and Random Fun

On the bright side, not finding the Craft Complex means we got back to the hotel earlier than expected and we were able to indulge in the drink/snack hour that the Traders Hotel hosted each evening.  Scott found an amazing deal of this hotel which included lounge access and all these amenities.  We were happy to take advantage of it and get above the heat and chaos for a while and relax.

I should also point out that our room had an amazing view of the Petronas Towers.

That evening, we didn't venture far.  We walked over to the convention center and noticed the Harvey Normal Big Brand Expo was going on.  We walked in and once again our senses were assaulted by lights and sounds.  It was basically a big, free electronics and gadgets expo which inexplicably also included furniture and bedding.

We had fun wandering around for a little while.  We also popped into the Suria KLCC mall to have another look around.  The mall was unique in that it had a science museum sponsored by Petronas on the top floor with neon molecules gracing the facade.

After this, we retreated back to the hotel to the Sky Bar located on the top floor.  The hotel gave us a free drink coupon because our room wasn't ready when we'd arrived a few days ago and we'd had to wait a couple hours.  It's a good thing we had this coupon because drinks in the Sky Bar translated to $16 each!  Scott and I had kiwitinis which we sipped and drank in the view of the Petronas Towers.  The other thing that amazed me about this bar/club was that there was a swimming pool was smack in the middle of the place with no barriers.  It would be so easy for someone to drink a little too much and just fall right in.  Fortunately, Scott and I only had the one free drink and we were seated near a window far from the pool so there were no mishaps.