THE SUMMER LAYOVER AT KUALA LUMPUR
It’s a bittersweet feeling
every time I am in Kuala Lumpur. More
than a layover, it has been an intangible repository of memories spent with
different set of friends. It’s been a
while since I last visited the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For the first quarter of
this year and at the height of summer, my ingress in the city have been frequent. The shortest, being 12 hours and an overnight
stay being the longest. It has served as a layover for the long trips that our
group has scheduled in Southeast Asia.
JALAN ALOR FOOD STREET
Stalls aligned on both sides
of the busy street of Jalan Alor was a charm.
The patrons have increased in number as the midnight approaches. Twice had I went back to the said street
after an evening flight from Manila, and the area gets livelier each time.
Hawker stalls and seafood restaurants
became an instant drinking spree during night time. We came for dinner and ended up
drinking. But the same is expected
anyway.
BATU CAVES
The midday sun was
unforgiving. Our group having been in
Kuala Lumpur City for quite a number of times, we have run out of things to do
and places to visit as part of our itinerary - of the unknown and less
travelled.
MY travel buddies and I,
then decided we go visit the world’s tallest Murugan statue in Gombak,
Selangor, Malaysia. The site is now
easily accessible through a commuter train at Batu Caves commuter station
unlike before where we were left with no choice but to ride a bus and walk
towards the entrance gate.
The vicinity is now
commercialized. There are a lot of
vendors and patrons and the macaque monkeys remain a mainstay. The limestone hill of Batu Caves providing a
series of cave connections is an important religious landmark for Hindus.
I opted not to take the
flight of stairs leading to the limestone hill and view the temples at the
cave. I decided to just lounge at the
souvenir shops at the foot of the hill and people watch.
CENTRAL MARKET
The Central Market is always
part of my itinerary whenever I visit Kuala Lumpur. It has become a familiar place for me to buy
cheap souvenirs and dark chocolates to be specific.
There are times that an
event is held at the front of the Central Market and we are fortunate to have
witnessed the same.
PETRONAS TOWER, KL TOWER AND THE STREETS
It is an inevitable backdrop
while wandering on the streets of Kuala Lumpur that the Petronas Tower or the
KL Tower takes a peek.
The imposing structure of
Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 until
2004. The vicinity that surrounds is a
good place to lounge as well. From the
KLCC mall and the gardens that serve as picnic area and photo shoot stage,
respectively, the visitors of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, even for just a few hours
before heading to wherever destination will be, are definitely entertained.
Street art is becoming
common as well on the sidewalks of the city.
The bare walls and fenced gates before are now vibrant and colourful. The city is evolving each time I visit.
A layover in Kuala Lumpur
even for just a few hours can be a revelation as well. Instead of just being at the airport stuck
for hours and waiting for the next flight, why not take the bus or train to the
KL Central and do an instant exploration.
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