KL in a day an international attack!!!!(Day 2)

Waking up this morning I knew I was in for a busy and hectic day....KL (the best bits) in a day was the plan. I knew about a free walking tour starting at 10.30 at the nearby market so was quite happy to have a relatively easy morning. Having a mixed up body clock (I was awake from 03.00 – 06.00) didn’t help much. However, it was during breakfast up on the roof top of the hostel I made friendship with two lovely ladies. Ann from Dublin and Jumunji from Lithuania seemed to have similar plans and so we joined forces. The girls had just arrived in KL too so were open to a little gentle persuasion with the plan.

We started the day with a free tour around China Town. Unlike most so called ‘free’ tours this one actually was. Leng our guide is passionate about the local heritage, unfortunately not many people in KL are. Her aim was to bring awareness to many of the hidden treasures (buildings, restaurants, temples etc) which could potential draw in more money to the area. A great idea! We benefitted by getting our bearings and identifying a place (traditional local style) to eat later.

Ann and Jamanji tried their hardest to look interested during the tour....only kidding ladies but I think your mind was on what was to come later in the day and the ice cream we planned to eat . The adventurous road crossings helped keep things exciting but we managed to take in a large amount of China town, a bit of Little India and a few temples. Having an opportunity to experience a little bit of the local area and its people made this short tour well worthwhile.

Following the tour we made our way to one of the restaurants to have a bite of traditional food all served on banana leafs or steel school type trays. Not entirely sure about what we should (had) order we were not disappointed by what arrived. All the food was washed down with a can of a locally produced soda drink ‘Kickapoo’ yes its true folks they have a soda called ‘Kick a Poo’ lol....this was very much like Sprite but yellow in colour.

The next plan was to visit the Petronas Towers, the largest twin towers in the world and I believe the 4th highest building in the world. We were hoping to get tickets to walk across the sky bridge but upon arrival realised it was closed for maintenance...this however, did not spoil the amazing view of the towers themselves. Stunning architecture along with sound engineering make this a truly awe inspiring sight. Due to the closure of the sky bridge we decided to give the KL tower (5th highest building in the world) a checking out. Again this did not disappoint with absolutely spectacular view over the entire KL city and a unique view of the Petrona towers. As part of the entrance fee to the tower you could opt for 3 benefit activities....Animal World, Simulated F1 and a pony ‘trek’. Unfortunately for me the maximum weight for the ponies was 75kg (I just missed out there ;-)) so had to opt for the F1. The girls were so excited with their choice of pony trekking....I even hung around to snap a few photos before going for my ‘F1 experience’. To say that all of us were disappointed with our activities was an understatement...the girls did two laps of a concrete road island....total distance 40 metres!!!!

From the KL Tower we walked to Time Square (30mins). A HUGE shopping mall! For those that know it, similar to the Metro centre in Gateshead except in one large building with around 10 floors. Time Square also has the largest indoor theme park and roller coaster in Malaysia...well it would be rude not to...a decision I was to regret a little later. I’m good with fast adrenaline rides but bad with spinning rides....’Dizzy Izzy’ did me in and after the second run around the roller coaster I was literally green around the gills. Horrible!!!! Ice cream helped!!!

An ice cold beer finished off what was a fab day of touristy things and even settled my stomach ...honest!!! The day was shared with two great girls...who I feel must have been laughing about my lack of ability to deal with spinning rides. Nice to meet you both :-).