I had my first day in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, and after getting up and going on the computer, I had breakfast at the hostel-the breakfast wasn't expensive by US standards-about $2.00 for an omelette, toast and coffee-so I ate it-it tasted like the typical breakfast prepared in a bar (Which it was)-just ok. The Wifi cut off while I was using it, and I went around the corner to Mcdonalds, where I could get a coffee and oatmeal for $1.10, so I had a few breakfasts I guess, and then went to the visitors information center to learn about Kuala Lumpur.
I learned I went to the wrong visitor information center-while there we're numerous brochures on subjects regarding a day-pass for transit, maps on other sections of the country, etc. But the lady there said I was in the wrong spot (I think-her English was hard to understand)-so I took the tram past the central market towards the business center of town-and went to another location-the Malaysia Tourist Board.
Here the guy was very helpful. He told me of where to go and gave me brochures of the country of Malaysia, of which I can check out various spots and places to visit. I told him I was interested in history and culture and he told me where to go.
He showed me orangutan forests and other places such as small towns. He also told me where to go in town, such as a natural history museum. I also learned the until the 50's-Malaysia was under British rule, and there was a lot of Chinese influence-since Chinese we're hired for the mines. (The only think I knew about Malaysia before was the plane that was never found)
I took my large collection of brochures to the Pertronas towers to read in air conditioning. There was a large mall underneath the towers where I read the books. I found a soft couch and bought some popcorn there (Which was more then the cost of most meals). The mall had luxury retailers such as Gucci and Marks and Spencer-which was made all the more surprising since the bathrooms didn't have toilets-just a squatty potty.
The Skybrige connecting the towers was closed-but I was able to walk a bit to the KL tower-a large communications tower and I went to observation deck. Actually, I had a choice to go the closed observations deck or the open-air roof. The deck was about 1/2 the price of the roof so that is where I went-and it was a good choice. It was cloudy and misty over the skyline, so I am sure it would have been cloudy and misty on the roof. The view was nice-I could even locate the hostel from the roof. A video kept playing showing how amazing Malaysia was.
Later on after an hour there or so-I walked back to the hostel and had free dinner. (dinner is free at the hostel-but is just a choice of rice or noodles). Later on I went back to the rooftop bar.
