We walked across footbridges overlooking the green city of Kuala Lumpur in the refreshingly beautiful KL Forest Eco Park and viewed the 420m KL Tower. The famous Petronas Towers were welcomingly viewable from around the city and they looked equally impressive up close. Amongst other attractions, the building includes a hotel, a concert venue, a gallery and shopping mall, in which we consumed a much-needed Nando's at half the price (acquired discount vouchers meant we were forced to visit twice more). At a steep cost of RM 55 (£10.35), we avoided the journey up the towers as the SkyBar in Traders Hotel opposite had an impressive view - and a happy hour of course!
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| Petronas Tower |
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| Perdana Botanical Gardens |
The beautiful free-to-enter Perdana Botanical Gardens - or Lake Gardens as it's known to locals - is KL's first large-scale recreational park and is over 91 hectares of peace and quiet, in the heart of the city. With deer, butterflies, over 200 species of birds, orchard and hibiscus gardens, the National Monument, a playground and more - this is one of the must-see sites of the capital - even without paying for any of the extra attractions.
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| Perdana Botanical Gardens |
We enjoyed some Chinese New Year celebrations in the capital at a popular local Chinatown restaurant with delicious and cheap vegetarian options (noodles, vegetables and rice) which soon became our regular. I’ll always remember the place fondly, despite the uncharacteristically hour-long wait for my food on the third and final visit. I avoided an argument - this time.
One evening, six of us dined in the area of Little India (with my regular rhythm restored). An unordered biryani arrived so I informed the waiters of this - mistakes happen. An incorrect naan arrived so I informed them of this - no biggie. Then, a ‘cheese naan’ arrived which clearly contained no cheese so I informed them of this and the waiter tried to convince us there was cheese - he was incorrect but I moved on. A can of coke - ordered first thing - was the last item brought to the table towards the end of the meal - I took a deep breath and finished eating. The bill came and I said we would not be paying for the ‘cheese naan’ worth RM 8 (77p) - he disagreed. After much arguing, I called for the manager and explained my list of grievances - he eventually took the naan off the bill. Although it was another win for my principles, my blood continued to boil whilst Bex had coiled in her seat, deep beneath the table, presumably rethinking some major life decisions...Naangate (aka Cashewgate 2) will live long in the memory.
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| Perdana Botanical Gardens |
A sociable place to stay, a mix of green and built-up city, plenty of affordable sights, great-tasting food and picturesque bars meant that Kuala Lumpur has quickly become one of the best places amongst any of my travels.
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