LittleSandyBeach

On Christmas Eve morning we fancied treating ourselves to something more than a yogurt for breakfast! We found a cafe called Antipodean which has locations across Asia.

After battling through the crowds in the shopping centres we went for a stroll through KLCC park.

We then came across ‘The Whale’ sculpture in the centre of the park that is a famous photo point as it’s directly in front of the Petronas Towers.

In the evening we went to Avenue K mall just opposite the towers to watch the snowfall. We thought it might be busy but weren’t prepared for the thousands of people crammed on the pavements. We got our pictures then escaped quickly!

We then went back across the road to watch the Symphony Lake Water Show that runs every night between 7.30pm-10pm. It was a nice surprise to see the towers all lit up like Christmas trees!

On Christmas Day we got treated to a couple of free vanilla lattes in our hostel, in custom drawn cups and Lotus biscuits!

We then walked to our Christmas lunch at The Cellar. There was a lovely atmosphere in the restaurant with the Christmas music playing. The food was amazing (especially the beef!) and the red wine went down well!

Tasha went for dessert of sticky toffee pudding and I went for a Christmas tradition of Whiskey on the rocks!

On Boxing Day we went to the Telekom Museum…. As you do! It was actually quite interesting and had the history of how people have communicated on the Malay peninsula and also across the whole since the beginning of civilisation up to the modern day.

Yesterday we headed across to the famous Central Market just a few minutes from Petaling street. It was established in 1888 as a wet market and the current art deco-style building was completed in 1937.

It’s very modern inside and there are hundreds of small shops and stalls selling everything from snacks to souvenirs. There’s also a variety of art galleries housed in the old cineplex.

We then went into a nearby Chinese Temple called Guan Di Temple. Guan Di temples honor Guan Yu, a revered Three Kingdoms-era general deified as the god of war, loyalty and righteousness.

The last stop of the day was Merdeka Square (Independence Square). It was here that the Union Jack was lowered and the Malaysian flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on 31st August 1957. We overheard a tour guide say there were over 20,000 people there to witness it.

The current flag pole is 95 metres tall making it the second tallest flagpole in Malaysia and one of the tallest in the world.

The main building next to the square is The Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was built to house the offices of the British colonial administration. It currently houses the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Communications. It is currently under renovation.

There’s lots of art again like Penang down many of the side alleyways. They vary a lot, some being small and hard to spot to huge, vibrant paintings covering the walls.

In the evening we went to check out the ‘River of Life’ area. It’s where the Klang and Gombak rivers converge. At night water vapour is pumped from the walls and then it is all illuminated in a cobalt blue creating a magical atmosphere.

On the walk back we passed next to the central market where they have a night market selling lots of different snacks, drinks and desserts.

This morning we made the journey outside the city centre to probably the most famous attraction in Kuala Lumpur, The Batu Caves.

Batu Caves is a 325m mogote (steep sided hill) with a series of limestone caves located around 13km outside of KL central. There is a Murugan statue which is 43m high, making it one of the largest in the world.

We then made the long, steep walk up into the main cave. It gets extremely busy and is 272 steps in 30 degree heat so it was so much fun!!…

Then around 20 more steps you get into another large cave. This one is especially impressive as there’s an opening in roof of the cave which is rather unique.

We’ve still got four more days here, so let’s see what else we can discover!