KL

My blog is starting to take on a Dr Who type of feel – I whizz around in time when I come across photos to post. Now, let me take you back to last year in my TARDIS…whoosh….

(Left: Me in Dunkin Donuts in KL.)

Some of you may remember that, last December, our friend from Nottingham came and visited us. Mona’s in China now, and popped over to Singapore for some warm weather and a quick break. We had tried to visit another country whilst she was here, but the looming Christmas holiday meant that everywhere was fully booked. It seems as though everyone in Singapore had the same idea – to make the most of the holidays that were next to weekends, and get away from a long break. KL it was, then.

There are three ways of getting to KL. You can take a bus, drive, or you can fly. The flight is around 45 mins, but can be quite expensive. The coach trip itself is not too bad, taking around 5 hours to get there. There is a stop along the way (much like a trip to Malacca), and the scenery can be quite stunning. The hotel we stayed at did a reasonable cooked breakfast buffet in the morning, including some rather tasty waffles.

(Left: the Petronas Towers.)

One of the best things about Malaysia is the food and, like true tourists, we spent most of our time eating. We sampled some Dunkin Donuts and KFC, the former of which you can’t get in Singapore anymore. It was a tough assingnment, but one we carried out purely in the name of research. Result? Yes, they were good.

We visited the Petronas Towers (alas, no Catherine or Sean), and spent some considerable time on the shopping centre underneath. Right now, there’s a guy sitting in a spa in KL rubbing his hands with disbelief that we all entered his shop. He’s retired since, and lives the life of a king.

We also took some time to go see the Merdeka Square in central KL, where independence from the Brits was proclaimed. There is a couple of notable buildings on the square, one of which is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Built at the tail end of the 19th Century, and originally known as "The New Government Offices", it now houses the Commercial Division of the High Court of Malaya.

KL is a very pretty town, and one of the key attractions is just walking around, and taking in the architecture. It can take a while (and requires a decent map), but is well worth the trip.