March 07, 2016 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Day 2

After a good night’s sleep overnight in Kuala Lumpur, we awoke to another beautiful, but hot, day. Jim joined a fairly small group of 13 passengers on an 8-hour shore excursion called “Heritage Walk through Kuala Lumpur“ and it turned out to be a great day. There was an excellent mix of history and a lot of the modern – actually a good juxtaposition of present-day Kuala Lumpur.

We were lucky enough to have a very good walking guide named Tony, who is a 63-year old retired man of Chinese heritage. During the nearly 1½-hour drive into the city, he told us honestly what life is like in Kuala Lumpur. He is very, very happy and proud of all that has happened here within his lifetime.

The initial two-and-a-half hour guided walk began at Merdeka (Independence) Square, which is situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Tony described the day – August 31, 1957 – when the Union Jack was lowered for the final time and the Malayan flag was hoisted for the first time. Ever since then, this very large square has been the site for civic events. The square is surrounded by both historical and modern buildings, all of which Tony described to us as we walked around the green, grassy site.

Two of the highlights are the Royal Selangor Club, the Tudor-style building over Jim’s shoulder in the first photo above (formerly the center of social life, including cricket, during the British colonial period), and the 312-foot tall flagpole which impressively flies the Malayan flag. We even visited underground to look at where the flagpole is anchored. Across the street from the square is the impressive Sultan Abdul Samad building, which was built in the 1890s with a 135-foot clock tower that the British called “Little Ben” because of its resemblance to “Big Ben” in London. The building was used during colonial years to administer the Malayan colonies. These days the building is somewhat overshadowed by modern towers, as shown below.

Next we walked to the Old Market Square and the nearby site where the first Chinese settlers landed at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers in 1857. Tony told us that the name Kuala Lumpur literally means “Muddy Confluence” in the Malay language. We continued to the Sin Sze Si Ya Buddhist Temple, built in 1864. This is the oldest place of worship in Kuala Lumpur. It was small and filled with incense, as it is still an active temple. As a practicing Buddhist, Tony attempted to explain everything to us that we saw, but it didn’t all sink in, as there was a lot going on.

It was then a fairly short walk to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple which, once again, is the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur – built in 1873 as a private shrine for one family but was then opened to the public in the 1920s. We were told that many improvements were made in 1968. The most eye-catching feature is the five-tier tower at the front of the building:

We spent a lot time walking all the way around this large temple, admiring the brightly colored art work. Jim must have taken 30 pictures; here’s a random sample of them:

By this time we were beginning to feel the heat – It had reached 95ºF (with heat index above 100 ºF). But in order to reach the bus for the ride to lunch, we walked through Petaling Street, the major street in Chinatown. which has been pedestrianized and covered with a green roof. There were people selling almost anything you might want to buy. Tony said most things here are “genuine imitations” of branded merchandise. We finally reached the bus and drove to the so-called “Golden Triangle” – Kuala Lumpur’s very modern and busy business center. Lunch was at the Saloma Theatre Restaurant in a very large room, obviously set up for tour groups. It was actually a good buffet of Malaysian and western choices.

After lunch, we went by motor coach to visit the Petronas Twin Towers (also known as Petronas Towers KLCC). The towers have become a symbol for Kuala Lumpur, known throughout the world and a great source of pride for the city. At a height of 1,400 feet, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1999 until 2004, when the Taipei 101 building opened in Taipei. City officials still claim that they are the tallest twin towers in the world. A unique feature is the double-deck “Skybridge” between the twin buildings on the 41st and 42nd floors, which is about 558 feet above ground – claimed to be the highest 2-story bridge in the world. There is also an observation deck on the 86th floor. About 75% of the complex is occupied by Petronas, the national oil company of Malaysia.

Tony took us on a walk through the center section, attached between the two buildings. This section contains a 6-story luxury shopping mall (Suria KLCC), dozens of restaurants, a performance hall – home for the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra – an underwater aquarium and also a Science center. Suria KLCC is one of the largest shopping malls in Malaysia.

On the back side of the buildings is a 17-acre green rolling park, with jogging and walking trails, a fountain with an incorporated light show, a children’s pool, and a good site for photos of the towers. Naturally, we covered that area thoroughly also.

Last on our wonderful tour was a visit to the KL Tower – a 1,381-foot tall communications and broadcasting tower. We went up one of four elevators to the observation deck and marveled at the spectacular views of the extraordinary number of skyscrapers in this city.

Everyone enjoys something different on a guided tour, but Jim’s highlight definitely included the visits to KL Tower and the Petronas Towers. If you look at the picture of the Sultan Abdul Samad building (at Independence Square) shown earlier in this posting, you can see these modern engineering marvels looming in the background.

There is no slowing down on this part of the world cruise. For the next two days, we’ll remain in Malaysia with visits to Penang and Langkawi.

Jim & Ginny