Day 12 - Wednesday 18 January 2017

KL tour........Today is really the only chance to go sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur. When I designed this tour I had in mind one overnight stay in KL and even that wasn’t necessary. I could have made it to KL International Airport for my late afternoon flight directly from Malacca. But the point is that the stopover has given me the time to look around KL, somewhat of a concession to Katoon. Quite what I expected to do today I’m not sure. But I get I piece of luck that simply wasn’t on my side in the early part of the tour.
KL Hop-on Hop-off........When we make it out into the street it’s not exactly early. I try to extract from Katoon what it is that will meet her needs in KL today. Then, directly opposite Swiss Inn, I bump into a guy selling something which usually has the effect of shutting down my system but he’s selling a tour. Aware that a tour arranged from the lobby of Swiss Inn is 80 ringgit per person I’m surprised that this offer is for just 45 ringgit. I must stop now and find out what it’s all about.

When I’m handed the brochure, I realise that this is an official tour on an open top bus. It soon becomes clear that I don’t have the time or the money to take a sightseeing tour in any other way. It’s a done deal as I wait for the next bus. Once on board I realise that it is a circular tour of about 2.5 hours but the joy of it is, you can get off at any of the 23 stops and wait for the next bus. At the present time we’re issued with a voucher. At various points on the circuit, an inspector arrives on the bus to issue tickets in exchange for the vouchers. Most people will have purchased 24 hour vouchers but the clock only starts ticking when the tickets are issued. In our case we probably joined at about 11.30am at Stop 8, Chinatown. Our tickets get issued at midday which means they are still valid until midday tomorrow. Of course you could do two or more tours before then but most people would want to get off at some point to enjoy a city attraction. As we work through the stops its decision time as to what to delay the tour for, bearing in mind that every stopover will cost at least 30 minutess but occasionally at the driver’s discretion you may be able to get off for a short while to take photographs and get back onboard again. With some advice from the agent we start to develop a plan but quite honestly it can’t be too ambitious. On the bus there is a prerecorded audio guide which is quite basic but I’ve no intention of researching every location covered. Instead I only list here the hop-off points although I can add something to the sights I selected for stopover. Those marked '*', I would later regard as a missed opportunity.

08. Chinatown........Google Map
09. Central Market........Google Map
10. Little India*........Google Map
11. KL Sentral........Google Map Train and bus station.
12. National Museum*........Google Map
13. Royal King's Palace (Istana Negara)........Google Map. This is the first stop we get off the bus. I'm led to believe it's a 10 minute stop here but the driver has reduced it to 5 minutes. It isn't enough. While there's no entry to the palace, there a good photo opportunity here as there is at Buckingham Palace. As we head back to the bus it pulls away; a bit mean of the driver to my mind. There's no option but to wait for the next one.
In Malaysian, “Istana Negara” translates to “National Palace,” and Kuala Lumpur’s Royal King’s Palace serves as the official residence of the supreme King of Malaysia. The king relocated to a newly built Istana Negara in 2011, and while you can’t enter, it’s possible to see the beautiful architecture of the palace from afar and watch the hourly changing of the guards.
14. Lake Garden*........Google Map
15. Bird Park*........Google Map
16. National Mosque........Google Map
17. Merdaka Square (Malay: Dataran Merdeka)*........Google Map Merdaka Square is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Literally Independence Square, it was formerly known as the Selangor Club Padang or simply the "Padang" and was used as the cricket green of the Selangor Club (now Royal Selangor Club). It was here the Union Flag was lowered and the Malayan flag hoisted for the first time at midnight (time: 12:00 AM) on 31 August 1957. Since then, Merdeka Square has been the usual venue for the annual Merdeka Parade (National Day Parade).
18. Madan Mara........The Madan Mara is popular shopping centre in the city. This is our second stop for no other reason than to eat lunch. The Malay version of fast food is cheap and filling consisting of a chicken kebab and satay.
19. PWTC........Google Map
20. Titiwangsa........Google Map
21. Palace of Culture........Google Map
22. Citibank........Google Map
23. Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC)........Google Map KLCC is a multipurpose development area located around Jalan Ampang, Jalan P. Ramlee, Jalan Binjai, Jalan Kia Peng and Jalan Pinang. There are a number of shopping complexes such as Suria KLCC and Avenue K. There are also hotels within walking distance such as G Tower, Mandarin Oriental, Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur and InterContinental Kuala Lumpur hotel. Designed to be a city within a city, the 100-acre site hosts the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers. Built between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1994, the Petronas Twin Towers was the tallest building in the world from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2004. Currently, it still holds the record for the tallest twin buildings in the world. It is the headquarters of Petronas, a Fortune 100 state owned oil company and also the largest company in South East Asia. A public park and a mosque are also built in the area and open to everyone.
This location is a must for any visitor to KL. Just to walk around inside the shopping complex is an experience while the park at the back is green and lush with a swimming pool and other features designed to reduce the claustrophobic effect of so many skyscrapers in the area.
01. Matic........Google Map
02. KL Tower........Google Map The Kuala Lumpur Tower is a tall tower completed on 1 March 1995. It is used for communication purposes and features an antenna that reaches 421 metres (1,381 feet) and is the 7th tallest freestanding tower in the world. The roof of the pod is at 335 metres (1,099 feet). The rest of the tower below has a stairwell and an elevator to reach the upper area, which also contains a revolving restaurant, providing diners with a panoramic view of the city.
03. P. Ramlee........Google Map
04. Aquaria........Google Map
05. Karyaneka........Google Map
06. Bukit Bintang........Google Map
07. Tengkat Tong Shin........Google Map

For more information on landmarks included in the Hop-on Hop off tour click on ..links..

Relief........Back at Chinatown (08) I’m on my last legs. I’ve been nodding off through the last few stops. It’s time for a rest, now around 5pm. Before 7pm we venture out for dinner and despite so many restaurants in Jalan Sultan, Katoon insists on being picky and I end up paying more than is needed for nothing particularly special. Figuring I should be ok now with the few ringgit I have left, I call in at a liquor store and buy a small bottle of brandy and that will do nicely for the last full day of this tour. Next Page.