Day 2: The Next Day.

The Malaysian people are incredibly friendly and open – I was pretty much always mistaken as a Malaysian, so I was able to fully immerse myself into the culture and get to know some really interesting people.

Early in the morning, and once awake, I went outside
to find a quick bite to eat.  Street food is cheap. 

I had some mee goreng (fried noodles) for lunch - check! ..tried some Malaysian food! 

Later on, I had a quick look around, and all around were locals, market vendors, and so many tourists!!!  Now normally, not much matters to me, so I was wearing shorts, and these tourist ladies with moustaches, pointed at my legs and started laughing. I tried to turn it around and pointed at their moustaches but there were more of them than me, so I ended up a crying mess and quickly put my jeans on.
I left Chinatown to go meet Mai @ Traders Hotel. 

Now this hotel rocks!  Top of the line

and situated in one of the world’s most prestigious locations, just opposite The Petronas Towers which was awesome. 

The Petronas Towers are a city in themselves, containing all that is necessary to support modern life.  Tip for KL - the sky-bridge offers good views of the city, but is only open to ticket-holders. Tickets are not sold, but given away free on a “first-come, first served” basis. Unless you queue up at 8.30 AM your only chance of getting on the sky-bridge is if your girlfriend’s or wife’s tearful outburst appeals to the hearts of the attendants.
Being KL there’s a few things not to miss, one being the twin Petronas towers, which was conveniently located across the road from our hotel. They are among the tallest buildings in the world, although the ranking depends on the criteria. 

However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. 

The outward appearance of the towers were impressive- a really unique futuristic shape and ultra-metallic shine.
Designed by Argentine-American architect César Pelli, the Petronas Towers were completed in 1998 and became the tallest buildings in the world on the date of completion. The 88-floor towers were constructed largely of reinforced concrete, with a steel and glass façade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia’s Muslim religion.
It was even more impressive up close and there’s a magnificent shopping mall at the towers’ base,

if you’re stuck for something to do after you’ve strolled through the park. KL seems to have its fair share of shopping malls.
During our short stay in KL we made use of the fantastic, efficient and cheap modern transport system. 

The monorail they have running through the city takes you to where you want to go. 
Mai and I strolled on over to Chinatown, walked along Petaling Street which was an endless market. 

The KL Chinatown night market can best be described as rows of tightly packed vendors selling all your knock off apparrel.  

Everyone wanted to sell you something, and at a special price of course! If you paused to look at something the vendor was right on you offering a price, then a bit lower of a price when you said “no thanks”, and even to the point of putting something in a bag and putting it in your hands to help convince you to buy from them.  At first it was a bit overwhelming, but then we got into it and tried to see how much of a discount we could get, even if we weren’t interested in the item. Our personal best - a 70% discount on a t-shirt! 

Here you can find ANYTHING fake. Jewelry, hand bags, rolex, Lacoste, Billabong, Quicksilver t-shirts, DVD’s, shoes of any kind, wallets, bathing suits… anything and all for cheap. With a few ringgits we bought some t-shirts,

 bull crap bull caps, and shorts for mai.  The atmosphere there was also mindblowing… just bargaining everywhere.  What was crazy was that the quality was real good. Actual leather and whatnot.
Next we walked out of Chinatown and visited the Central Market

which was an underground market built in an art deco style building.  It featured crafts and souvenirs from Malaysia.  Ofcourse, we bought fridge magnets and other souvenirs, like this one store filled with chef collectible figurines, salt n pepper shakers, etc. 
At night time, we got back to the hotel and packed for tomorrow’s bus to Genting Highlands.  That will be a fun 1 hour ride…

DAY 3:  Genting Highlands

 
An early start this morning for a day of childlike fun at the Genting Highlands Park, in Pahang province for a day.
We certainly enjoyed the roller coaster rides and bumpcar water rides. 

An added bonus was the climate.  The hills were floating in the clouds, quite cool and very ghostly. 
Its great to escape the balmy heat of Kuala Lumpur and exploring the park,

the other rides and the casino. 

The snack foods in the cafes were most enjoyable. 

…specially Mai’s sweetcorn favorite!

We even went on the cable car to the top and vice versa- apparently the World’s Longest cable car (or possibly highest . . . or slowest . . . I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, its the world’s somethingest cable car). 

Before night time fell, we boarded the bus going back to the city, KL.  We had some nice dinner before we went back to the Traders Hotel.  Ah! Kuala Lumpur, the city that never sleeps… yep, that must be true, but for now we’ll just sleep the whole night away.

DAY 4

We woke up late but just in time for a buffet breakfast at our hotel, and oh boy, we were really stuffed.  Superb breakfast asian and continental selections.  We were finalizing our morning breakfast and gettting ready to go and stroll around the park just outside of the hotel and walked to the park leading to the Petronas Towers.  

petronas whale park lagoon

We spent an afternoon there taking some pics, til Mai decided of going back to Chinatown as she was really fond of the bargains there. 

Dragons, swirling smoke, music and fire cracker explosions that jolt the senses, a place where one can sit quietly in a Chinese Teahouse

or drink some beer in an open air restaurant. The scene is not Beijing, its Petaling Street in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s China Town.
And while you’re in Chinatown, do try the local fruits.  Fruits to try are rambutan, mangoes, mangosteen, jack fruit, chico, papaya and giant guava.

If you arrive in Kuala Lumpur with a raging appetite, you’re in for one of the sweetest dilemmas.  Where to eat?  What to taste first? 

Malaysians are obsessed with food and so it is hardly surprising that as the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur reflects this love affair with eating. You’ll be able to find the entire range of Malaysian, Indian, Chinese cuisines as well as food from around the world.

Beckoning travelers and locals alike the many restaurants, pubs, cheap eats and roadside cafes

and myriad of shopping provide a great way to enjoy a day. The evening is the best time to go as the area thrives with live music and is lit up beautifully. 

   KL Tower at night

An unforgettable image from Kuala Lumpur–the Petronas Towers illuminated. 

Animated, kaleidoscopic and exotic are great ways to describe this seemingly never-ending city. From the limestone Batu Caves   to the exceptional inner city temples to the world’s tallest twin towers, 

tourists often leave Kuala Lumpur Malaysia tired yet extremely satisfied with all there is to see and do.

So we packed up our gear for one last time, excited but also reflective. It was wonderful to be heading home, but it was also the end of an amazing adventure Honeymoon…