Day 25 – Kuala Lumpur: Better than a City Only an Explorer
Could Love
So, Kuala Lumpur was slightly disappointing yesterday. Part
of that was due to not having a real structured plan of what to do, and hitting
.333 for meals. Today, we had a solid plan. Having a solid plan usually helps
make a day better. Overnight, my Mom and I worked for an hour to come up with a
plan to utilize the hop-on, hop-off bus and the various sights, built around a
3:30 tea time at the KL Tower. The plan was built around leaving at around
9:00, and we ended up leaving at 10:00, which, thankfully, wasn’t a portent of
the rest of the day to come.
Our first stop out of KL Sentral was the Lake Perdana park
area of Kuala Lumpur, a beautiful quadrant of the city tucked in the Southwest
corner. There are four main attractions in the park, the Deer, Orchid,
Butterfly and Bird parks, and they are all located in walking distance from
each other. We chose to go to the Orchid and Bird parks, because the Orchid was
my Mom’s pick and the Bird was my pick. I took some gratification in picking
the better of the two, though my Mom’s pick lost by default. The orchid park
was beautiful, but it took some imagination to see it, as it wasn’t Orchid
season, so the idyllic walkways and towers were simply green instead of a
palate of different orchids. The Bird park, however, is always in season.
I came in having the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore as a
frame of reference, and the KL Bird Park probably wasn’t better, but it had a
lot of comparative advantages. There wasn’t the giant range of birds in the KL
Park that was present in Singapore, and there weren’t as many different
sections, so it was a little more muddled, but the KL Park isn’t about being a
zoo, it is about being a safari. Most of the bird park is trapped under a wire
aviary high up, so the birds are free to roam around the park freely. The real
treat was the ridiculous amount of peacocks that were just roaming around the
park, coming right up to visitors and congregating in groups in select areas.
We were able to find one peacock in full wide-tail form, which was a welcome
sight, but considering there were 30-40 peacocks, the chances we saw one like
that were pretty good. The rest of the bird park contained some highlights like
Ostriches and Emus, and a large walk-in parrot section, where the more friendly
parrots were allowed to fly freely as well. The park is well worth a visit.
 |
| With as many peacocks as this place had, it was a statistical impossibility to not get a picture with its tail feathers' fanned out |
Since we started late, it was already about noon when we
finished the bird park, and the rest of our midday plans took place across town
in the city center, so we got a cab to go across. The traffic in midday isn’t
too bad, so the ride was quite quick. Our destination was the Suria KLCC, the
same location that marked the pinnacle of yesterday’s adventure in Kuala Lumpur.
The sky was a bit clearer today, so I was able to get better pictures of the
Petronas Towers. Despite the fact that the towers still don’t seem as tall as they really are
(remember, before the game of ‘Can You Top This?’ started between Hong Kong,
China & Dubai with Taipei 101, this was the tallest building in the world),
the Petronas Towers are unique in their floral base, a quasi-mosque design. The
building really starts to grow on you after a while.
Lunch was at one of the only Malaysian restaurants in the
Suria KLCC, Madame Kwan’s (there is a fast-casual café version open in the mall
concourse called Miss Kwan’s, which I thought was a cute touch). Yesterday, it
was about half-full, but that was around 2:30. This was around 12:30, better
known as normal lunchtime, so it was packed. We had to wait about 15 minutes
before getting a table. We ordered two dishes. One is a staple of our meals,
Beef Rendang, and the other was a prawn dish whose name escapes me as I write
this a day later (that’s right, ever since I stopped having meals alone, I’ve
started writing these more and more in the following days). Both were good. The
rending was interesting, because again it wasn’t much like the Beef Rendang
available at any Malaysian restaurant in the US. The rending at both
yesterday’s place and Madam Kwan’s used almost a shredded beef concept instead
of the tough, but delicious, thick beef pieces used back home. Both also were a
lot drier. I don’t know which one I prefer more, but I think if I had the
Malaysian version as many times as I’ve had the US one at Nynonya in NYC, I
would lean towards the Malaysian one.
After lunch we had about two hours to kill before tea, and
not much to do. There was talk of going to Bukit Bintang (the trendy shopping
area just south of KLCC), but my Mom was a little tired to walk, and
considering the 35 degree (~95 Fahrenheit) temperature, coupled with the ~80%
humidity, I was in no position to try to convince her to do otherwise. Instead,
she went around Suria KLCC, and went back to Isetan, while I set up shop at
Starbucks, which had WiFi, and got my first frappucinno since I left the US. I’m
kind of addicted to those damn whip-creamed topped works of the devil, and
while I wouldn’t characterize me as having been through withdrawal, it was a
welcome treat to have one, and have it for less than 4.50. We met up around
2:45 at the main atrium of the mall to head to the Menara KL (KL Tower – a CN
Tower type structure). It took a while to meet up because our proposed meeting
spot was obstructed by a large showcase on the ground floor, but we eventually
found each other rested and ready to go.
The walk over the Menara KL wasn’t long, and it allowed us
to see another part of the city that impressed us. The blocks between the Suria
KLCC and the Menara KL are littered with bars and bistros that wouldn’t be
misplaced in any respected major city in any country. This all highlights that
there is nothing abjectly wrong with Kuala Lumpur. Anyway, we reached the
Menara KL, took the complimentary mini-bus up the hill to the base (the hill
explains why despite being shorter, it seems from afar that the Menara KL is
taller than the Petronas Towers). Because we were slightly early for the 3:30
start time to tea, we decided to do the Observation Deck first (the tea ticket
buys you entrance to the deck as well). This kind of highlights the great deal
inherent in going for lunch/tea/dinner at the Menara KL. The entrance ticket to
the observation deck in 38 ringgit (~12 dollars), while tea is 50 (~17), so for
five extra dollars you get a free tea in a revolving restaurant. The deals are
similar for the other meals (though those are more expensive, but have a lot
more food). The observation deck is like any other. The view is really quite
good, and gives a great education in just how big KL is. As far as you can see
in almost every direction are large buildings. Many are apartment buildings in
suburbs of KL, but they blend right in with the rest of the city.
After a while, we headed up the one floor for tea (another
perk for doing a meal there, the floor where the meal is served is one floor above the observation deck). The
restaurant was about ¼ full, which made us feel quite smart, part of a club
that knew the math showing why this was a good deal. In fairness to those who
just go to the observation deck, the food at tea is not very good. The lunch
and dinner food are reviewed decently well, but the food for tea is average.
There are some nice sandwhiches, and in their spread of desserts a solid half
are decent. The real shame is the only thing offered as part of the deal to
drink is basic coffee or basic tea, no frills or alternate types. Still, it was
a treat to sit back and spin around the city of KL 1,300 feet in the air (when
you can’t the elevated hill the building is built on). The food was a 5/10, but
the atmosphere, the view, the whole non-culinary experience was a solid 9.
After our visit to the Menara KL, we took a cab over to the
Merdaka Square, which we had briefly seen at night yesterday. Merdaka Square
(Deteran Merdaka in Malaysian) is a grassy square that is surrounded by
government buildings, and houses the largest flag-pole I have ever seen, and
probably will ever see. The flag there is known for being where Malaysia
officially signaled its independence in 1957, lowering the Union Jack and
raising its flag. The square’s main highlight is the flagpole (so tall that it
is a challenge to get a picture with the whole pole from inside the square),
but the XXXX Building on its East side, which is currently the Supreme Court of
Malaysia, is also a stunning architectural site. In honesty, all the sides of
the square contain good views, and it furthered my impression that KL really
cares to be a green city. I haven’t seen many cities so big and so dense that
have as many large expanses of greenery and open space as Kuala Lumpur. Merdaka
Square was a point of transport for us as well, as we were going to go on the
Hop-on, Hop-off from there (we got off at Merdaka Square yesterday), and we
beat the bus there by a good fifteen minutes. I chose to spend the time lying
on the side-wall of a fountain, which while comfortable, drew the ire of a
security guard. Of course, the man lying on the side-wall of the adjacent
fountain did not. No sooner did I prop up to appease the guard did the bus come
by, picking us up to complete the circle around KL that we started yesterday.
 |
| The police guard was not a fan of this pose. |
The bus provided a nice escape from walking, and many a
picture opportunity, but we definitely did the more impressive half of the tour
yesterday. The only real highlight from the north half was the Kuala Lumpur
Cultural Center, a beautifully designed building, and being far enough from the
Petronas Tower to get a real nice picture of it. We got off at Chinatown, which
is like every other Chinatown in the world, only even busier. Seeing another
Chinatown that looked like all the other Chinatowns made me real curious to see
if China looks similar everywhere. It would be really strange to see China not
resemble the standard Chinatown if all the Chinatowns resemble each other.
Anyway, my Mom had some specific shopping, and I had another specific goal, to
not shop and get a beer. We both accomplished our respective tasks and met at
8:00. We met in the heart of Chinatown, on Petaling Street, which at night doesn’t
resemble a street at all, but is instead a bustling night market, a bargain hunter’s
paradise. Not only are there the usual night market bounties, like knockoff bags
and soccer jerseys, but had loads and loads of Beats by Dre, and Nike and
Adidas gear. The real treat of Petaling Street, other than getting good
practice in the art of bargaining, was just being around this incredible maw of
people of all races and ethnicities in one confined area, with Chinese lanterns
overhead.
We soon reached our restaurant, the Old China Café, situated
on a quiet side street of Petaling. The Café is aptly named, as the décor inside
is, well, old, with antique paintings adorning the walls, and antique fridges
housing the beverages. The menu is in Nyonya style, a Chinese-infused version
of Malaysian food. We were both really looking forward to this meal as this is
the type of food we were used to at the Malaysian Restaurants back home. We
ordered beef rending, surprise, and Asam Prawn, which was prawns in a spicy,
tangy sauce. Both were good, cooked in a familiar style. The rendang was the
most similar to the rendang at home as any I’ve had. The restaurant is in
frommer’s and highly ranked in TripAdvisor, and to no surprise all the patrons
when we were there were white, aka: foreigners, who probably learned about the
place through the same avenues. We left the Old China Café filled and content,
and we heading back to Petaling Street to resume our bargain hunting. By the time
we were ready to leave, our bags were full, hopefully not too much because we
don’t have too much room in the bags that really matter (the suitcases). We
took a cab back to the hotel in a far better mood than we did just 24 hours
earlier. Kuala Lumpur still hasn’t reached ‘great city’ status, but as I
expected, the city is better when you actually know how to get around, when you
have a solid plan, and when you don’t jaunt around aimlessly like a fish.
