Malaysia Travel Blog: Last Day in Kuala Lumpur – At the KUL Airport

Kuala Lumpur Travel Blog: Part 9

My last full day in Kuala Lumpur was Dec 20, 2018. My first flight was at 10:25 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. I got up very early, aiming to leave the hotel by 6:30.

There was no Uber in Kuala Lumpur, but there was the Uber replacement called Grab. I had to open an account just for this one trip to the airport. The Grab picked me up in front of my hotel at 6:25. Reaching the airport took less than an hour and cost RM 65.00, around CA$ 20.

After reaching the airport I went through security and everything, assuming I was done and would be looking for the lounge. However, it turned out that KUL airport is a little different and I had to take a shuttle to go to another section of the airport.

There were airport personnel guiding travelers through the proper gates to take the shuttle. It was crowded, but didn’t take long to board the shuttle rail. I felt like the other airport terminal was far away from the first terminal, but I finally reached it. 

My first leg of the journey was from KUL to SIN, business class on Singapore Airlines. My lounge was Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). So, I started looking for this lounge.

Asking here and there, I finally arrived at the lounge. Singapore Airlines SilverKris at KUL was a comparatively small lounge that I will review in the next post.

Malaysia Travel Blog: The Kuala Lumpur Tower (KL Tower)

Kuala Lumpur Travel Blog: Part 8 | A Tower Inside a Forest

My last full day in Kuala Lumpur was Dec 19, 2019. I had a Half-Day Kuala Lumpur City Tour starting at 9:00 AM. My flight from Kuala Lumpur would leave the next day on Dec 20 at 10:25 AM.

My Half-Day Kuala Lumpur city tour lasted only 3 hours and I didn’t have any repeats from my Discover Amazing Kuala Lumpur City Tour, except the National Mosque.

This time, I had two female companions from the USA, so we were three people in one car.

We took some pictures in front of the Petronas Towers, which once used to be the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004.

We also visited Kuan Ti Temple, Sri Mahamariamman Temple, KLCC Park, The Kuala Lumpur Tower (KL Tower), and much more. The Kuala Lumpur Tower, at 421 meters tall, gave me an opportunity to experience aerial views of greater Malaysia.  KL Tower is located within the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, making it the only tower in the world located inside a forest.

After finishing the trip, I was back in my hotel by 2:00. I went to the mall in the same building for lunch and evening coffee. I spent some time taking pictures of the hotel (DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur) swimming pool, which was pretty nice.

DoubleTree Hilton Hotel was one of the best Hilton hotels I have stayed in, so I was happy to have free time to spend in the hotel vicinity and in my suite.

Tomorrow, I will be heading for Toronto. My flight will leave KUL in the morning and this all-business-class-trip will have 3 different flights. I will talk about all that in upcoming posts. 

Kuala Lumpur Full-Day City Tour – Part 4 Batu Caves Tour

Malaysia Travel Blog: Discover Amazing Kuala Lumpur City Tour

Kuala Lumpur Travel Blog: Part 7

Batu Caves Tour

Batu Caves was only 20-minute drive from Kuala Lumpur. I was again mesmerized by the greeneries everywhere in Malaysia. Once we left downtown Kuala Lumpur, the scenery changed from skyscrapers to suburbs and mountains.Batu Caves is home to a huge 154-foot (47-meter) Hindu gold Lord Murugan statue on top of the mountains. The statue is gold painted and can be seen from afar.

Also, there are 4 four limestone caves: Temple Cave, Dark Cave, Cave Villa, and Ramayana Cave. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is a very popular spot for tourists, pilgrims, and rock climbers.

I saw lots of flower shops at the entrance. Religious people buy flowers for gods and goddesses. To reach the top, I had to climb a steep flight of 272 steps. I thought of not going up, but ultimately decided to conquer these steep steps. The guide stayed on the ground.

As I was climbing up, the panoramic views of Kuala Lumpur were changing step by step due to the elevation level. It was intense, hard work, so I took rest after every few steps and started again. 

There were lots of long-tailed gray macaque monkeys all over. Tourists were feeding them, and they were not afraid of humans. Sometimes they were climbing on tourists’ heads or shoulders.

Once I reached the top, a spectacular vista of Kuala Lumpur reaching far away opened up in front of my eyes. At the base, the other caves and entrances could be seen. I saw some Hindu temple and shrines as well.

Climbing down the stairs was not difficult. I was surprised that I was able to make it and didn’t feel any pain in my legs. Tomorrow I will another short tour and I’ll be leaving Malaysia the day after.

Kuala Lumpur Full-Day City Tour – Part 3

Malaysia Travel Blog: Discover Amazing Kuala Lumpur City Tour

Kuala Lumpur Travel Blog: Part 6

National Mosque (Continued from Kuala Lumpur Full-Day City Tour – Part 2)

There were many reflecting pools and fountains throughout the mosque. A sense of tranquillity and peacefulness existed throughout the complex.

I noticed there was a point up to which non-Muslims can go inside the mosque. The employees were not letting visitors inside, which seemed to be the main prayer room, unless they were Muslims. 

Some of the Kuala Lumpur skylines were visible from the mosque. I saw 2 buildings connected on top, which looked like a boat, next to the St. Regis hotel. This building complex kind of looked like the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. I was not sure if these 2 buildings were a part of the St. Regis hotel or separate.

Independence Square & The King’s Palace

From the National Mosque, I headed to Independence Square. This is also known as Merdeka Square or Dataran Merdeka. Independence Square features a panorama of long-stretch, fascinating buildings in an array of architectural styles. Here the remnants of the British Empire are clearly visible.

The King Palace is the official residence of the Malaysian supreme king and a symbol of Malaysian sovereignty. The palace is made of many golden domes and structures influenced by Islamic-style architecture.

The palace complex was huge and tourists only can come close to the entrance gate. The main palace was far from the gate, but still visible.

I stopped at a few more locations here and there. I will be heading to the Batu Caves, which are located north of Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur Full-Day City Tour – Part 2

Malaysia Travel Blog: Discover Amazing Kuala Lumpur City Tour

Kuala Lumpur Travel Blog: Part 5

Kuala Lumpur Cocoa Boutique

My tour guide took me to the tour vehicle, which was a car. It appeared that I was the only one on the tour, which was not a bad thing. Our first stop was at the Cocoa Boutique, the largest chocolate boutique in Malaysia.

There were more than 300 varieties of chocolate or chocolate-made art works. Some of them were really big, like a big dragon made of chocolate.

The personal chocolate guide there gave me a tour of the store, providing details on the history of chocolate and even how some specialty chocolates were made. Everything seemed to be overpriced and I didn’t buy anything. That place was crowded even in the early morning.

National Mosque

The next itinerary on the list was the National Mosque. This place was huge. I had to enter my name and country of origin and remove my shoes before entering the mosque. All of a sudden a man came out of nowhere, running towards me and trying to tell me something. I eventually discerned that he was saying Justin Trudeau was a very, very good man. He saw Canada next my name and came running to me just to tell me that.

The National Mosque architecture reflects contemporary traditional Islamic art with the help of calligraphy, ornamentation, and other past and present art works.

The roof of the mosque was the most strikingly designed and unique. It looked like a multi-fold umbrella that symbolizes the aspirations of Malaysia as an independent nation. The minaret is 73 metres high (240 ft) and the main roof has a 16-pointed star. 15,000 people can pray in the mosque together and it is situated among 13 acres (53,000 m2) of gardens in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.