Exit Melaka - The trip from Melaka to Kuala Lumpur was only two hours and we couldn’t get into our accommodation at the Etika Inn until after lunch so we decided on a leisurely morning before taking the local bus from Dutch Square to Melaka Central bus depot to board a coach to Kuala Lumpur. Hereafter known as KL. A good coach trip, arrived KL Bus terminal at about 12.20pm, then took a local train to Plaza Rakyet station which is the closest to Chinatown where we stayed. Local light rail is called the LRT. Booked into Etika Inn, pleased we didn’t bring a the cat from Melaka, nowhere to swing it. Room hardly bigger than the bed, only one could walk around at a time. Air-con, wifi and en-suite all worked well. TV was poor, only CNN worth watching.
Made our way to the PETRONAS Towers to book into a tour. All booked out that day and we were told to come back at 8.30am the next day to queue for tickets. They had tour one every hour and every ¼ past the hour. PETRONAS Twin Towers are owned by the Malaysian Government and are part of their strategy to be financially and recourse rich by 2020. The Government oil recourses funded the building.
Before leaving the PETRONAS building we ran into an interesting Malayan man named Azmi (pron askme) 
who told us he intends to emigrate to Perth in the near future. He had already put his two children through the Perth University and has decided to move there to be near them. They have both graduated and working in Perth. He could talk with a mouth full of marbles underwater but never the less an interesting man. We have since exchanged emails, so, maybe we will meet again some day. We really liked his business card, it read, a foodie, a family chef, a mentor and coach. Previously employed by Texas instruments and had his own consulting firm.
Went back to Jalan Sultan for a meal and a beer. We had a Malayan Hotpot with chicken and a seafood chilli that consisted of prawns, stingray, vongele and vegetables at a street side kitchen. Excellent.
Went back to the PETRONAS building at 8.05am the next morning and waited till 9.05am to get two tickets @ MYR50 each for the 5.00pm tour. We then decided to visit the Royal Selangor Pewter factory.
Took the LRT to Wangsa Maju station and then a taxi (MYR5) to the factory. It was a fascinating tour by a special young guide who was allocated to just us. We both had a go at ‘beating the dents’ in a beer tankard. Apparently it takes their tradesperson 6 months training before they master this, our guide reckons it would take us 6 years.
Of course we wanted to buy something but due to our already overloaded backpacks, we could only buy a very small money tree which we hope will start bearing fruit in the immediate future. Took the LRT back to home base at Pasar Seni. Walked to the KL Bird Park which is allegedly the largest indoor walk in aviary in the world. It is a magnificent place. We were attacked by the most beautiful Rosellas, Lorikeets and Parrots we’ve ever seen. Memorable.
Walked for about 2 hours around the park. Then walked back to Pasar Seni to get the LRT to KLCC station to go for our tour of PETRONAS Twin Towers.
Whilst it is an impressive high rise building with the outside made entirely of stainless steel and the engineering feat to construct it was remarkable, it was a let down. Nothing startling inside and they made a 20 minute tour last for almost 60 which also took the gloss off it (you can only take so many photos).
The towers are bridged at the 41st floor by a walkway (170 from the ground) and the main observation area is on the 86th floor (385metres above ground). See photo.
While we were waiting to go on the tour, we ambled into an ‘geek’ store and scored an Ipad 2, 32gb for A$465. (saved over A$100 and it has made the job of keeping track of photo’s emails and blogging so much easier.
Went back to Jalan Sultan again for a street side meal. Had skewers of chicken, lamb, broccoli, bok choy and corn. A very healthy meal for MYR46 (A$15)
KL is an impressive city but we were pleased we only allowed two days and looked forward to going to Penang.
