window or aisle? :: a travelogue

I went to see the Petonas Towers after this. What an awesome sight! I didn't expect to be awed very much, but it is pretty breathtaking to look up at a set of twin towers. . . perhaps the only one of this kind and stature left? I think all the other super-scrapers in the world have only a single tower. Sadly, I couldn't go up to the SkyBridge to get a view. I got there about 11am and they were sold out of the free passes. I guess they only hand out 1200 passes a day and when they're gone, they're gone. I'll have to catch it the next time I'm through KL. I then proceeded to walk towards the KL Tower, the 4th tallest freestanding radio/microwave tower in the world. I wanted to go up in the air today and I wasn't going to let a silly ticket quota stop me. Unfortunately, an odd location did. I walked to the base of the tower and nearly around 3/4 of the hill (it's built on top of a hill) and could not find a way up. Kinda bummed me out a bit. So, I found the nearest MRT stop and took the train to one of the two MRT stops for Chinatown.

I walked through that area for a while. It wasn't spectacular, but it was a good Chinatown from what I've seen. The main hawker area is called Petaling Street Market. It's covered, so it's friendly to the tourist in the afternoon heat. After this, I visited a large 5 storey Superstore in Chinatown called "UO Superstore" or something to that effect. Ground floor was a supermarket with fresh produce, meat, fish, boxed goods, dairy, etc. 2nd, 3rd, 4th floors were clothings, housewares, electronics, and that sort of fare. 5th floor was a very small food court, but the prices were cheap. One serving of Tandoori for 2RM. If I hadn't already eaten, I think this would have been an excellent choice. Looked like a lot of locals ate there, so I stored it to memory for future use. After wandering through the store I hopped back out and wandered through a bit more of Chinatown on my way back to the MRT. Had to change to the Monorail line mid-journey. On the walk to the monrail, I noticed the pathway (through a forest) up to the KL Tower. Kind of slapped myself on the head as I had walked through this area already and missed the lone sign. Yet another example where careful pre-planning would have paid off. Continued on to the monorail connection and got back to my hotel (where I left my backpack in the AM). I was just going to sit in the hotel lobby/bar and have something very cold to drink, but I noticed that the hotel is connected to a "Forum/Gallery/The Shops at ..." kind of place. It is eerily deserted compared to some of the other similar types of places, but on the ground floor there are a couple of cafes, coffee shops, and delicatessen-type places. So, I sat down and had an Iced Lemon Tea and a bottle of mineral water. Fired up my laptop and found that this place is connected to the KL metro-wide WiFi network. What a deal! Only 33RM for a month of unlimited WiFi access...and it's pretty fast, too! I'm happy with the day so far.

I'll head out in about an hour and a half to catch the train up to Butterworth. 2nd class sleeper upper birth is all they had available, so we'll see how that treats me. It should be fine. . . I just don't want to sleep through the stop at Butterworth. That could cause some serious problems.

Here is some photo goodness of the Petronas Towers: