S.E. Asia 2004

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (August 2004)

Kuala Lumpur is an Asian tiger that roars: in 130 years, it has grown from nothing to a modern, bustling city of almost two million people. Take in its high-flying triumphs from the viewing deck of the world's tallest building, then dive down to explore its more traditional culture in the back lanes of Chinatown.  It's a modern Asian city of gleaming skyscrapers, but it retains much of the local colour that has been wiped out in other Asian-boom cities such as Singapore. It has plenty of colonial buildings in its centre, a vibrant Chinatown with street vendors and night markets, and a bustling Little India.  KL (as it's almost universally known) is a federal territory, directly under the control of the Malaysian federal government. The city's urban sprawl extends well beyond the boundaries of the territory into surrounding Selangor state, particularly along the Klang Valley - the powerhouse of the Malaysian economy, where much of the city's workforce and industry resides (Lonely Planet).  Almost like comparing apples and oranges between KL and Singapore, though the Petronas Towers definitely made this a worthwhile city to visit.  ABOVE: This picture was actually taken in Singapore; the train that runs from this station only goes into Malaysia, hence the sign.  Though, there was a striking difference between this train station and others in Singapore, namely in terms of architectural quality and cleanliness.

KTM Overnight Train-  8 hour train ride between Singapore and KL, rode in style in our personal bunks

KL Tower (Menara KL)- 4th largest telecommunications tower in the world at 421 m, though seems higher since it is constructed on top of a hill.  Surprisingly this was constructed the same time the Petronas were, but most people never hear of this building.  Would have been nice views of the city from the top if it wasn't for the smog ...

You can see the Petronas to the left in this panoramic ... and of course all the smog

Listening to our audio guides, not like we could see much anyway.

This drawing details the construction materials.  The part about the Tower Shaft reads "Vertical ribbed concrete structure having a high speed lift ..."

Hotel Istana- Nice 5 star place we stayed in the middle of the city, only $12/night per person.  Gotta love the 3rd world.

Chinatown- Nothing like some good ole bargaining in the open market

KL Monorail- A very modern monorail line runs through portions of the city, granted a good chunk of it runs through the ghetto, go figure.

Petronas Towers & KLCC- The world's tallest twin towers (were the tallest buildings until Taipei 101, 508 m opened in late 2003) standing at 452 m are leased by the Petronas oil company.  The two-story skybridge links the two towers 170 m above sea level.  The floor plan of the towers is designed after common geometrical motifs found in Malaysia's Islamic heritage.  On the ground floors adjoining the towers is the massive 6 story Suria KLCC mall followed by 50 acres of open park space.  Not only do we have one of the prettiest skyscrapers in the world, but also an awesome mall and amazing park space.

View from the skybridge

On the lower level of the skybridge, which is open freely to tourists on a first-come-first-serve basis

Looking down towards the KLCC mall and parks area

Inside the Suria KLCC mall