The more you open your mind to let the things be, the more you enjoy where you are at. No city can be truly explored in 1 day. Having said that, I won’t disagree that a bite into chocolate isn’t enough to get you the full flavour of it. Past June, before heading to my beautiful beachy Langkawi vacation, I stayed in KL (as fondly addressed by locals) for a day and a half on the weekend of Eid.
As luck might have it, I happen to be in one or the other Muslim countries during their fasting month of Ramadan/ Eid, except last year when I was pregnant. The year before last I was in Morocco, enjoying and exploring bazaars & spice markets of Fez & Marrakesh, indulging in gorgeous views on a road trip to Fes, and some finger licking Moroccan flavours while staying in heritage Riads, Casablanca Café. Morocco’s beautiful blue mosaics & mosques particularly Hasan II mosque deserve a special mention as they left an unforgettable impression on me. Before that I was in Egypt, visiting Tutankhamen’s tomb amidst their revolution to democracy.
Back to KL
Malaysia is rich in diversity. Primarily a Muslim county, people from various religions, faiths & nations come together and form this country so rich in its culture, food and crafts. Its diversity is evident from the moment you step onto its soil. Our driver was from Kerala, who told us that most of the city will be closed due to Eid celebrations. Chinese influence is evident as soon as one crosses its country famous China Market. Our receptionist was from Philippines and was a Buddhist. I didn’t intentionally asked about their faiths or countries, had I dug deeper, I would have got more clues on its extensive diversity. Remembering their tag line: Malaysia, truly Asia!
We checked in Hotel Maya, a beautiful and tall property is located at a 10 minutes walk from Petronas Twin Towers. They let us checking early at 8 am. God bless them, as not only was I able to catch up on my remaining few hours of sleep, I got up all fresh, ready and kicking to cease the day. I had booked a local guide to take me around city. Our first stop was Petronas Towers. Due to Eid weekend, towers were closed for the visitors.
Driving across the city, one would see many buildings of national and religious importance. The most significant of those is Independence square also known as Merdeka square or Dataran Merdeka. It is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building, which in itself is an impressive north Indian style aka Mughal style inspired building.
Malaysia is very rich in its art crafts and cuisine. Malaysian Batik is a beautiful form of fabric painting where designs are first drawn freehand using molten wax on big spreads of fabrics. Later an artist hand paints them with beautiful blend of colours. Most of their designs are nature inspired and hibiscus, Malaysia’s national flower takes the center stage in most of the designs. when buying an authentic Batek, remember that since each piece is hand drawn and painted, it’s unique.
After the Batik Museum, we visited a chocolate factory, unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of it, as I was busy trying various assortment of flavours. Truffle and mango topped my list. Mango was yummilicious. The most interesting, though disgusting, was Durian chocolate. Yep! I tried it but didn’t like it.
After an entire day of city surfing, I went back to hotel for lunch as they had promised some good vegetarian options. It was let down, food was extremely oily with no flavour. I was famished so I had it anyway. I caught up on an hour of power nap, before heading out to China town: the heaven of fakes! I visited Ladies market in Hong Kong, and this was very similar to it, though a bit small when compared. I got one fake Versace sling for myself, couple of pair of sneakers for mum and a couple of bags, few ladies wallets, small purses and a mobile cover as gifts for my fancy lot of friends/ relatives.
After soaking up the evening views of KL, we headed to Bukit Bintang or starhill to end our evening with some good food followed by foot thumping music & dance. What a day! KL in 1 day.
