Kuala Lumpur was not on my radar when we started planning this trip. Originally we were going to go straight to Cambodia from Bali. Turned out the least expensive flight put us through KL so we decided to check it out! So glad we did because it's a pretty cool city! We stayed at the beautiful Face Suites Hotel in the KLCC ( Kuala Lumpur City Center). Our studio apartment on the 50th floor was incredible, it was massive and well outfitted with a washer dryer, kitchen, walk in closet and beautiful marble bathroom. The real selling feature is the view! Overlooking both the KL tower and Petronas Towers it's a spectacular sight. Just above us on the 51st floor was a large infinity pool and gym overlooking the city. I still can't believe we only paid around CAD $100 per night to stay here! Our first 24 hours in Malaysia was a bit unexpected. During our drive to the hotel our driver warned us to stay away from certain parts of the city and to not wear red or yellow. Turned out a major protest was taking place over growing tensions towards the Malaysian government. After trying to find more details about this situation I found it difficult to find much about it. We decided to stick around the hotel that day and enjoy the rooftop pool. In the afternoon the protest of yellow shirts marched right past our hotel. Thousands of people showed up in various parts of the city wearing red or yellow shirts depending what side they were on. Despite all this there were no major injuries or incidents and the police seemed to handle everyone and traffic really well. These protests are illegal but the government doesn't seem to react harshly to them as long as people behave. Several of the organizers were arrested however. On Sunday with the protests over we headed out on a bus tour. Our first stop was at a pewter factory just outside the city. This may not sound very exciting but it was actually really interesting what they can do with this material and how integral it is for the growth and wealth of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's economy, especially that of Kuala Lumpur, boomed upon the discovery of what our guide referred to as white gold and black gold. Black gold includes the tin used in pewter which is mined throughout the region, oil and coal as well. White Gold includes palm oil, sugar and salt. The rainforests of Malaysia are rich with spices and herbs that fetch a high price as well. Because of this Kuala Lumpur is one of the fastest growing and most developed cities in South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur has plans to construct 300 new high rise buildings by 2020. It's easy to see the gentrification taking place especially around our hotel in the hear of the city where new buildings are going up. At the same time of it's growth Malaysia has pledged to reduce it's emissions by 45% by 2030. Time will tell if they can meet these lofty goals. Our next stop was to a craft store where they hand paint silk. It was beautiful to watch, we even picked up a couple items. Our final stop was the famous Batu Caves. The caves are home to Hindu temples and have been used in one form or or another for centuries. The temples seemed out of place in the cave with their flashing lights and brightly painted deity figures. The temples are still used and construction is constantly going on to build up and reinforce the caves and expand the temples. The caves themselves were spectacular with high ceilings and impressive stalactites. Next to the Temple Caves is the Dark Cave experience where you can pay a small fee and be led through an adjoining cave in the dark. We didn't have time unfortunately you take advantage of this but it looked awesome! Our last day in KL we hoofed it and covered a lot of the city. First we headed to China Town. Malaysia has an absolutely huge Chinese population making up about 30%. There were excellent markets here where you can find just about anything at a great price. After a romp through the market we headed to the Butterfly gardens. This is a must do for nature lovers in KL! The garden isn't very big but it's home to hundreds of different types of butterflies in a tranquil setting. We made a quick stop at the I heart KL sign at the KL City Gallery (gotta get that photo op in). The Gallery was pretty lame to be honest, the highlight was the scaled city model of KL which was pretty impressive. Our last stop was Bukit Bintang an area known for shopping and entertainment. We had a heck of a time trying to find it and got lost several times. By the time we found Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang, KL's most famous street, we were too tired and hot to stick around for when it gets busy. Jalan Alor is a street dedicated to food and is open from 5pm-12am daily, it doesn't really get going until after dark though.
We only scratched the surface of all that KL has to offer. It's a entertaining city worth a few days if you find yourself this way! Now we're on our way to Siem Reap Cambodia! We're joining G Adventures here for a 10 day cruise down the Mekong and we can't wait!!
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