We woke up early after a great night's sleep in our comfy (and DARK!) hotel room. It was strange to not have the sun shining noon-bright at 7am like it does in Japan. We ate a yummy breakfast at the hotel, which was one of the best complimentary breakfasts I've ever had. After breakfast we walked over to the Petronas Towers to get a ticket for the viewing platform. Only a few thousand tickets are given out every day, so we were told to get there early to get a ticket. The line opened at 8:30 so we aimed to get there around 8, and ended up getting in line at 8:20. There were hundreds of people already in line! We waited for about an hour in a very cramped area, and watched the status of the available tickets dwindle away on TV screens around the waiting area. We realized we weren't going to get a ticket until later that afternoon- which would affect our plan for the day. Finally it was our turn and we were trying to decide what time to go in, when all of a sudden a lady came over and said two people didn't show up for their time so we could go immediately. We were so excited! We were shuffled into a room and give a green lanyard to wear around our necks... I guess to keep our group all together. We watched a short video about the Petronas Petroleum Company and then waited another 15 minutes or so before getting in the elevator to go to the skybridge. The skybridge area is only 42 stories up, and what looks to be about 1/2 of the height of the towers, but it is the tallest viewing skybridge in the world, so that's cool! We got a cool view and it was neat to see the architecture up close. Here are a few pictures of us on the skybridge:
After the skybridge we walked around the mall that is at the base of the towers. It was very nice and fun to do a little shopping someplace a little more upscale, even though we didn't buy much. They had a Tiffany Co. so I was able to get my engagement ring shined there, which is country #3 that my ring has been polished in. I love Tiffany! We also ate at a California Pizza Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants. I felt like I was back in the USA! It was awesome.
After we walked around the mall for a bit, we pit-stopped back at the hotel to drop off some things and to put on some sunscreen, then made our way to the craft complex. We were expecting some stalls with crafts, ala a craft fair, but it was not like that at all. It was more like a mini-mall of stores selling craft-like things. It was fun, but just not what we were expecting. While we were there it started raining really hard out of nowhere. It eventually stopped so we could walk home, but there were branches and puddles all over the sidewalks. It cooled it down a bit though, so that was nice! We then went to a few more street stalls selling sunglasses and bags and watches and bought a few more gifts and souvenirs. We went back to the hotel to enjoy the pool but it was still sprinkling a bit and they closed the pool due to rain... which I thought was a bit extreme. I was bummed, because we wouldn't know when we'd get to use it since our flight the next morning was at 6am and the pool closed before we'd be back after dinner. But I dealt with my disappointment as we changed to head out for the night.
We took off to walk to KL tower, which looks like a spinning-top on a big pole!, then go to Chinatown, then maybe go to a bar or a club for some fun. We took off with our map and started walking to KL tower. We could see the tower the whole walk, but must have taken the wrong road because we walked more than 1/2 way around it and couldn't find the entrance. We got our bearings thanks to a road side map with a "you are here" arrow and decided we were closer to Chinatown than we were to the KL tower entrance. We decided to hit the tower on the way back to the hotel instead. So we navigated our way to Chinatown without getting hit by any cars (harder than you might think...). We were wondering if it'd be similar to the Chinatown in Yokohama, Tokyo, but it was WAY different. There were people selling things everywhere, and lots of places to eat.
We found a restaurant where we could sit at a table to people watch. We had a great Chinese food dinner and some beers to help cool us down. The food was delicious, but it was annoying to have to shoo paddlers away from us while we ate. I do NOT want to buy a DVD or knockoff purse while I am eating, thank you very much!
After we ate, we walked down Peddler street, which was just crazy to me, but reminded Dereck of his trips to Thailand. There were knock-off everythings... want some "Prada", "Gucci", "LouisVitton", etc... there were even some really really bad ones, like a climbing backpack called The Sport Face in the same logo as The North Face. It was pretty funny!
After we were done with peddler street, we made our way back to KL tower, and this time found the correct entrance.
We got there about 9:30 and the tower closed at 10pm. It was practically empty, which was nice, and the night-time view was awesome. We got a great view of the Petronas towers all lit up, and the rest of the city as well. I wish I had a better camera, because my photos didn't do it justice at all! Here is what I was able to take:
The tower itself was really cool, but they had some strange attractions that were part of the package you had to buy to go to the top. Ours included a virtual F-1 racecar ride and a mini zoo. It was strange. The racecar ride was cheap- and we only got a few minutes so neither Dereck or I actually finished our whole race. The zoo was pretty funny.. apparently you could buy a whole chicken to feed to the giant snake, but we didn't do that... obviously!
After the tower we walked bye a few fun looking clubs and bars on the way back to the hotel, but both of us were hot and exhausted, and knowing we had to get up so early to catch our flight the next morning, we decided to just go back to the hotel and shower and sleep! It was a great day in KL though, and we were so happy we got to do so much, all without taking a single taxi!
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