Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Singapore & Malaysia 2017
Exploring KL
Very unusually, I didn't wake up at all until 0915; fortunately it didn't really matter, as we had no fixed schedule. That having been said, we were anxious not to let the morning slip away, so we wasted no time showering and then sampling the executive lounge's breakfast offering. In due course, we rode the metro four stops to Masjid Jamek, the best alighting point for Independence Square (local name: Dataran Merdeka). I had come to this location during my 2014 visit to Kuala Lumpur, but sightseeing had been somewhat marred that day by a motorbike racing event. Bruce had also visited on a previous occasion, but in his case it had been years ago. We walked around, seeing the various buildings and observing the extensive construction works around the nearby mosque.
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After completing a circuit of the square, we went into a section of the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery, initially to see an exhibition of old photographs of the square, and then a huge, detailed model of KL as a whole.
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Next, we realised that Chinatown was within easy walking distance. (I didn't make this connection during my previous visit as I visited the two places on different days.) We very quickly found ourselves at Central Market, then Jalan Petaling and surrounding streets.
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Following
a bit of pre-trip food research - something that Bruce can always be
relied upon to undertake
- our next objective was a mall known as Lot 10, located in a very
upmarket hotel district that I had never been to before. The
attraction wasn't the mall itself, but rather its 'Heritage Food
Village'. On
arrival in the general area after walking through the steamy heat,
the first priority was to down a refreshing Japanese beer in a
German-style bar. We located Lot 10 fairly easily after that and
sure enough, the food court didn't disappoint. Our late lunch ended up fitting
in quite nicely after what had been an unusually late breakfast.
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By the time we left, it was obvious that storm clouds were gathering. As there were no obvious public transport options, we walked back as rapidly as the equatorial heat and humidity would allow. The walk would have been a good deal shorter, had it not been for the unfortunate positioning of a massive construction site - a phenomenon that we had seen several examples of since arriving in the city. The rain started tentatively as we approached the InterContinental and abandoned all restraint, most conveniently, seconds after we stepped through the hotel's front door - a well dodged soaking indeed!
We relaxed in our suite for a little while,
but it was soon time for 'happy hour' in the executive lounge. After
both a late breakfast and a late lunch, we were content to survive
on 'lounge fodder' for the remainder of the day, turning our backs on
the alternative option of a more conventional
evening meal.