Stop 6: Kuala Lumpur

An early breakfast this morning, I had a hot chocolate and scones. Me and Amy were first ready, no rushing around for us! We were all a bit nervous as this morning was public transport to Kuala Lumpur. We needn't have worried, these buses were much better than anything we'd travelled on so far. It was like a really nice National Express, with reclining seats!

The journey was not too bad, we arrived around midday and made our way to our hotel. Just a quick walk around the corner in the rain, but it felt a lifetime. Especially up the hill! This city was so much more cosmopolitan than anywhere we'd been yet, lots of traffic too. We had a quick refresh and were ready for our tour of the city.

By the time we were ready to leave it was absolutely chucking it down. I mean like a full on storm! The roads were flooding and I'm amazed the drivers could see where they were going. Our first stop was the National Mosque. Everyone on our bus was given a little umbrella to walk from the car park, didn't stop my feet getting wet but helped nevertheless. As we arrived we were all given a purple floor length robe and asked to take our shoes off. Us ladies were then given headscarves, the only thing visible was our hands and faces. I'm not going to lie, I felt so oppressed. Didn't like it one bit. The mosque was interesting though, it was massive!

Skin exposed again we ran back to the buses to move on to the Batu Caves. This I was really excited about, they looked so impressive on arrival. Unfortunately we did have to climb over two hundred steps to get in. I hate stairs. There were lots of monkeys running amok across the hand rails, trying to steal what they could. So aggressive, I saw one rip a flower garland from one poor lady's neck. Made it to the top a little out of breath, only to find more stairs inside to climb! The inside of the caves were well adorned with temples and shrines to the Gods. They were beautiful, but it was tarnished by the sheer amount of litter everywhere.

Once I'd had a good look around, finding more monkeys, pigeons and even a chicken, it was time to go back down. It was nowhere near as bad as going up, did send my eyes funny though staring at the steps. There was a group of young children at the bottom all dressed up, singing and dancing in circles. They were actually pretty good though none of us knew the occasion.

From there it was onwards and upwards to the King's Palace. It was quite set apart from the rest of the city, we weren't allowed inside the grounds. Instead we made do with peering through the gates. The current King has actually ruled before, and at 85 is the first to rule twice. Looked like he had a very nice place to live, apparently he doesn't actually have much power. The only thing he can overrule is the death penalty.

The National Monument was next on our list. It was set within gardens and was constructed initially to commemorate those that died in the Great War. It has since been extended to reflect those who have given their lives in any conflict. There were several beautiful fountains and the largest bronze statue in the world. It was stunning and a fitting tribute.

Our last stop off for the day was to the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery, and the giant I♡KL outside. We were given a history of how the Capital has grown and developed over the years. There was then an awesome presentation that displayed future plans through a 3D miniature city and light show. Within the next decade, OK will be unrecognisable and I'll have to go back.

Once we'd collected our complimentary hot drinks, I had a milo, me and Amy headed out to the sign. We knew everyone one want several photos so we had a quick shoot before everyone eventually piled out. It was then group picture time and back into the buses. What a jam-packed tour!

Back at the hotel we discovered we had HBO and so watched GI Joe before grabbing a quick Indian snack from over the road. I wasn't majorly hungry, and so we shared. Back up to the room to finish GI Joe, and then watch Deadpool. Awesome.

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We had a lie in this morning and decided to head to KL Tower for mid morning. Our map and directions weren't the best, but luckily we could see the tower so just headed towards it. We made it to Pineapple Hill with about 10mins to wait until the free shuttle service appeared. Alex, Laura and Steffen appeared just in time and jumped on.

The view from the Observation Deck was pretty cool. It wasn't raining so we had a clear view out over the city. I was glad we'd had our tour yesterday otherwise I wouldn't have recognised anything! I walked round a few times and then Amy challenged me to find all the sites from yesterday. It took me another few goes round but found them all eventually, we also had a good view of the Petronas Towers. Tonight we would be at the top!

Once we'd had our fill of the view, we decided to climb down and see what else was on offer. We walked along a promenade where there was a nice garden... only to find a random designer outlet at the end? We rushed straight through to what seemed to be some kind of banquet venue. This was all very well until we spotted two baby monkeys in a cage, shackled from their necks. It was so sad, don't even know what their purpose was but they didn't deserve that!

We escaped back the way we came as fast as we could. I wanted to go the aquarium to hopefully see some happier animals, and of course I had to go for Dad's sake! There were lots of different fishies in a multitude of different tanks lining the walls. There was even a shark tank. At the end there was also a large fresh water tank, although it didn't seem big enough for the sheer size of the fish in there. They weren't moving too far, but didn't seem fussed by it either.

Heading back inside it was almost lunchtime so we decided to get pizza. Just as we'd ordered, garlic bread and an Italian Supreme, Jen and Dan appeared. They hadn't been up the tower yet so decided to eat with us before they did. The pizza was so good, I'm glad we shared because I don't think either of us could have finished our own.

After taking the shuttle service back down the hill, Amy was determined to find rice paper for practicing calligraphy. Amazingly, the first shop we entered knew exactly what she wanted and we were in and out in a flash. Now with more time on our hands, we made our way to Central Market. There were so many nice stalls I had to refrain from buying everything. I've had to prove real will power over the last week as I know I don't have enough space in my case for souvenirs.

Back at the hotel and showered, we put HBO on again before our big night out. Jurassic World was on! We both decided we'd much rather watch that than go out, but we'd paid and the views were meant to be good. The gang had planned to meet in the lobby at 6 to make our way to KLCC where Boom was waiting. She had explained to us earlier that the subway was close to our hotel and it would only be three stops. Sounded easy.

Could we find this subway? It was nearly twenty past by the time we admitted defeat and jumped in taxis. I hate taxis, which put me in a worse mood, the train would have been a few ringgit, this was 15. By this point we were so late and I was stressing out. We couldn't get out the taxi and walk, as we'd spotted some of the others doing, because we were boxed in. It was half seven when we eventually met everyone else and we were all starving.

Filled up on a chicken burrito from the food court, I was excited to see the fountain show. It was due to start at 8 and I practically ran down to make sure I didn't miss it. They'd really got into the festive spirit with a giant Christmas tree near the fountain too, very atmospheric. The show was great, with the water and lights choreographed to music. I couldn't stop taking photos!

We had to then make our way to SkyBar for Boom's favourite view of the city. First, we stopped off on a bridge to take some photos and admire the towers from a distance. Then it was up up up in the lift to reach the bar. I have to say, the view really was something! The Petronas Towers looked incredible lit up and we could see all of the city lights from up there. Unfortunately, the drinks were insanely expensive. We're talking 20ringgit just for a water. I cheated and just carried around an empty glass I'd found so people would think I'd bought something. Hehe.

It was very loud in the SkyBar but we did manage to sing a few rounds of "Happy Birthday" to Natoya. She even got a candle in a cocktail. Not long after this Amy had a headache, Alison had sore legs and it was way past my bedtime, so we excused ourselves, along with Jen and Dan. Boom was going to leave with us so we could get on the train together, but was convinced to stay. Instead we were given instructions of how to reach the station.

Well, we searched for this station high and low, but it was all in vain. In the end it was back into taxis. Grr. Why is it so hard to get a train in this city?!