Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur, Day 1

Thursday, January 31, 2013 - Arrival Day

Twin Towers with Sky Walk dominates the skyline in Kuala Lumpur.

After a a false fire alarm in Brisbane, mandatory terminal evacuation, another round of security clearances, seven hour red eye flight, and an almost two hour taxi ride (extremely heavy traffic) on a beautiful well kept freeway, we arrived at our hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur at 10:00 am on Thursday.

We were very courteously provided an early check in so that we could drop our bags and tired bodies in our room.  We are on the seventeenth floor of the Renaissance Hotel and have a nice city view and hotel swimming pool. 

Despite our fatigue, once we were organized into our room, we hit the pavement and the hopon-hopoff bus for a tour of the city.  Our intent was primarily to familiarize ourselves to the city and to prioritize the many places we will want to explore a little more in depth.  We will only be here for four days.  We have made reservations to attend a dinner and cultural show this evening, trip to Melaka on Saturday, tour of Twin Towers on Sunday morning, and train trip to Batu Caves Sunday afternoon.

Wow, pretty much describes our first impression of this beautiful city.  The ethnic and cultural diversity is rich and vibrant.  Islam is the majority religion and government here.  In our hotel room, there is an arrow pointing east and prayer rooms in transportation stations to accommodate Islamic call to prayer.

This lovely woman at the crafts center wore a beautiful hijab.  Fashionable headwear abounds.

Chinese New Years is the celebration of the month.  The city is festooned with red lanterns.   Hi tech lampost bill boards with dynamic messages line the bustling streets where shopping, shopping, shopping is the primary activity.  The people and the economy seem to be bustling.

Crafts Center

Central Market 

It's time to get rolling, so I'll get this posted before we head off for days 2-4..

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's.