Day 97 – KLCC Park and Changkat

Turns out I wouldn't be taking the “hop on hop off” bus afterall. I
looked at the map and noted that I saw a good 50% of the attractions
that were listed on the map, so I wondered if I actually really wanted
to spend the money to go to the other destinations. I waiting for
about 45 minutes at one of the stops, and no bus came, which made it
easier for me to decide to skip it. No one else was waiting with me,
which made me think that business was slow in this season, and there
weren't many buses running. There would probably be long waits at
every stop I take.

I roamed around KLCC Park, which is a large business park completely
surrounded by skyscrapers in every direction. There was a running
track for midday jogging, and a mosque nearby. I walked around on a
Friday at 1:30pm and saw many Muslims walking towards the mosque. It
was probably time for one of their daily prayers. It was incredible
just how many of them were in the small mosque, with hundreds of shoes
lined up outside.

Afterwards, I headed to the cinema to watch an Arab movie called
Captain Abu Raed. Not a very popular movie amongst the locals, I had
the entire theatre to myself like it was my own living room.

At the end of the night, I headed out with some new friends to the
Changkat area in Bukit Bintang to have drinks and party on my last
night in KL. The area is a major expat area, with many European pubs
lined up on the street. The clubs don't close until around 3-4 here,
and we stayed until very close to the end, settling for some drunken
Malaysian food afterwards to soothe the drunkenness.

KL Tower to the Left, Petronas Tower in the Middle, and Mosque on the Right

Ramadan Performance at KLCC Suria Mall

Friday Prayers at the Mosque - Look at all the shoes!

Day 96 – Another Lazy Day in KL

These lazy days are great, when I don't feel the pressure to get all
my sightseeing done. Some people say there isn't anything to do in KL
except eat and shop, and I gladly will take the opportunity to just
chill out for a while, take a break from “traveling.”

I spent the majority of the day in Bukit Bintang, and planned the rest
of my KL trip. I had fears that I would not be able to get out of the
city during the Eid ul-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, since everyone would
be traveling out of KL to their hometowns to celebrate with their
families, but luckily, I managed to book a couple buses and a sleeper
train headed to Bangkok. I would take a bus to Malacca for one night
of sightseeing, and then head on another bus from Malacca to Penang
Island for another night of culinary paradise. Then I would take a
sleeper bus from Penang to Bangkok, just in time to meet with a friend
I met in the Philippines!

Tomorrow, I will be a real tourist and take one of those “hop on hop
off” open buses to all the major tourist locations throughout the
city.

Bukit Bintang

Penang Loh-Mee

Day 94 – Bukit Bintang and Ramadan Celebrations

The CS Scene in KL is pretty large, probably due in part to the level
of development in the city as well as the number of travelers who
decide to pass by this city enroute to another destination. I ended up
meeting another CS-er, Andrew, for the day. Being non-Muslim, he was
able to drink (some rather expensive) beer with me!

We headed in the morning in search of some Dim Sum, since I have been
craving it for the longest time (I miss the Dim Sum at Empress in
Monterey Park, CA) but we were unsuccessful. We had a different
Chinese breakfast before heading to Bukit Bintang, known as the little
“Times Square” of KL. There were a ton of malls in the area, along
with a bunch of massage parlors, probably because there were many
hostels in the area catered for tourists.

I took the opportunity to drink beer for lunch and during happy hour,
and Andrew explained that the beer was expensive in Malaysia because
of the heavy tax imposed on it, since the country is predominantly
Muslim.

By the end of the night, I met up with my host again and had dinner
with his friends. He offered me one of his traditional Malaysian
outfits to wear for the Ramadan buffet we were going to eat at the
Doubletree Hotel, and I happily obliged, since I wanted to take part
as authentically in the celebration (despite the eating and drinking
earlier...). The meal was extravagant and excessive, which I couldn't
complain about, since I would be able to try a wide variety of
Malaysian cuisine, along with Indian and Chinese, all in one sitting.
The food was delicious, as was the various little desserts and drinks
offered.