Kuala Lumpur
I was told that Singapore can be done in a few days and I would get bored. I haven't found that to be the case but had planned a one day excursion to KL prior to arriving in Singapore. Found a budget airline to fly, Jetstar based out of Australia. It was nice pleasant enough of an experience. Being on a budget airline, I didn't realize that everything is chargeable even water on the flight. For the price and shortness of flight, I suppose I can suffer through the flight. Landed into Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Not as nice as Singapore but I found it interesting they incorporated a jungle garden in the middle of the arrival hall; it is an outside garden.
Took the airport express rail into KL Stesen Sentral Station. The website shows the stations in a very modern light but the station is still under heavy construction, so it isn't quite like the pictures online. Transition to the subway lines to the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpar. The monorail was closer to the hotel but the station was located outside of Sentral Station which discouraged me from pursuing that option. I would say that KL's transit system seems a bit of a hodgepodge but it is pretty reasonable to use. I only say it is a hodgepodge because it looks like various types of transit is used for the entire system.
When I arrived at the Sheraton, I was upgraded to the Club level room which was nice. I would not advise paying for the benefit as the club lounge access wasn't really worth the price and free internet is available in the public areas. Another important nuance is the club access only gives you internet access only in the lounge, not on the Club floors. Not having made any plans for the day, took the Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour and saw the major attractions of the city.
Spent some time at the Petronas Twin Towers (the last stop on the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus) having lunch in the food court and finding a cupcakery. I found the mix of modern and muslim traditions interesting. At one point, the towers were the tallest building in the world in the late 90s early 00s. It is still advertised as the tallest "twin" towers in the world. :) Because there are two buildings, the buildings are connected by a skybridge which appears as a popular tourist site. It was closed when I was in town but the weather was pretty cloudy so I don't think I lost out much. By the end of the route, the typhoon rainstorms came in and I opted to stay in for the night at the Sheraton.
The next morning, opted to have breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Essence. It was the best breakfast buffet I've had in a long time, there were six stations of various local foods prepared in small batches. The food was fresh and the staff was super friendly. I think I spent two hours there easily. Luckily, my room rate included breakfast so I don't know how much it typically goes for nor did I stay long enough to try it at dinner or lunch.
Being comatose from breakfast, spent some leisure time in the hotel before heading back to the airport to head back to Singapore. A word of advice, never allow the taxi to haggle with a flat price to destinations. It is always best to meter your fare but they will insist on trying to get the set fare because it is more than the metered fare.
Took the airport express rail into KL Stesen Sentral Station. The website shows the stations in a very modern light but the station is still under heavy construction, so it isn't quite like the pictures online. Transition to the subway lines to the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpar. The monorail was closer to the hotel but the station was located outside of Sentral Station which discouraged me from pursuing that option. I would say that KL's transit system seems a bit of a hodgepodge but it is pretty reasonable to use. I only say it is a hodgepodge because it looks like various types of transit is used for the entire system.
When I arrived at the Sheraton, I was upgraded to the Club level room which was nice. I would not advise paying for the benefit as the club lounge access wasn't really worth the price and free internet is available in the public areas. Another important nuance is the club access only gives you internet access only in the lounge, not on the Club floors. Not having made any plans for the day, took the Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour and saw the major attractions of the city.
Spent some time at the Petronas Twin Towers (the last stop on the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus) having lunch in the food court and finding a cupcakery. I found the mix of modern and muslim traditions interesting. At one point, the towers were the tallest building in the world in the late 90s early 00s. It is still advertised as the tallest "twin" towers in the world. :) Because there are two buildings, the buildings are connected by a skybridge which appears as a popular tourist site. It was closed when I was in town but the weather was pretty cloudy so I don't think I lost out much. By the end of the route, the typhoon rainstorms came in and I opted to stay in for the night at the Sheraton.
The next morning, opted to have breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Essence. It was the best breakfast buffet I've had in a long time, there were six stations of various local foods prepared in small batches. The food was fresh and the staff was super friendly. I think I spent two hours there easily. Luckily, my room rate included breakfast so I don't know how much it typically goes for nor did I stay long enough to try it at dinner or lunch.
Being comatose from breakfast, spent some leisure time in the hotel before heading back to the airport to head back to Singapore. A word of advice, never allow the taxi to haggle with a flat price to destinations. It is always best to meter your fare but they will insist on trying to get the set fare because it is more than the metered fare.
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