My first stop of the day (at 12pm!) was Low Yat Plaza, a modern shopping mall in Bukit Bintang. This mall seemed to specalize in electronics, so there wasn't much for me to see there. I had lunch at Shikaya, a Thai-Japanese fusion restaurant. I had the Thai Vaki Tori- chicken satay and rice. It was decent, but I still think the street vendors have the best satay.
Afterwards, I stoped at the Thai spa on the same street as my hostel. Since I had all day, I opted to do a hour and a half package for about $30. I got a Hot Thai Compress Massage, and an Aromatherapy Massage. The spa was beautiful- clean, mood lighting, relaxing music, the whole nine yards. I asked afterwards and all the masseuses were Thai, and the owners were Malay. It really was an authentic Thai massasge! Wow, did that feel great!
I took a taxi ride to Merdeka Square next. I "borrowed" a KL travel guide book from the hostel and "accidentally" forgot to return it at the end of my trip, whoops. It won't be missed, there were probably 75 different travel guides other backpackers had left! So, Merdeka Square is the city's historic center, going back to colonial times when the British played cricket on the green lawn. There are many famous buildings in the area, and a perfect place to see a large variety of architecture.
Some of the buildings surrounding Merdeka Square are the Dayabumi Complex, Muzium Negara, and the Sultan Abdul Samad Builing. The Dayabumi Complex is some sort of religious building, though I'm not sure what exactly for. My travel guide says that it is a good example of modern architecure influenced by Islamic art.
The Sultan Abdul Samad Building was under restoration, so it is hard to get a feel for what it exactly looked like, and I couldn't really explore those "horseshoe arches and the fine design details... and arched verandah and stair towers," guess I'll have to come back someday! It was built in 1894 to house British government departments and it is now home to Malaysia's judiciary. I think the clock tower is very pretty.
I explored Chinatown afterwards, which was just a short walk over a bridge. There were so many people there, I think mostly because it was Chinese New Year and people were getting things ready. This neighborhood is where the cultural and commercial pulse of the city beats most insistently. There's a lot to see, and the architecture is also great. Theres culture and history around every corner in this neighborhood.
Central Market is one of the major attractions. It was built in 1930 and was originally the city's we (in other words, live animal) market. Now, it has been transformed into a shopping area with a large variety of stalls. There is a lot of trinkety things, but you can manage to find a few authentic things too. I ate lunch here at Old Town Coffee, and bought a few presents for some lucky people back home.
Central Market is on the left.
Before I went back to the hostel, I walked to Masid Jamek, the oldest mosque still standing in KL. It was built in 1909 and has a lot of charm and character. However, I couldn't really go in, because my jumper had spaghetti straps, and the man at the information desk passing out shawls was closing. However, I did quickly snap a picture before I was shown the door.
Jalan Petaling is really overrated, and even though my travel guide told me that, I still had to go and see for myself. The place was buzzing with activity and it wasn't even sunset, when the crowd really picks up. There were tons of Chinese and Indian men drying to get me to buy DVD's, vendors selling Peking Duck, and other vendors selling fresh fruit. The street vendors were crowding up the main drag by the time I left, and to be completely honest, I had had enough of people selling me DVD's.
Lots of shops were selling Chinese New Years supplies, here is a picture of what one of those stores look like:
I went back to the hostel later on in the evening to get ready to take the bus to Kuala Perlis for the second part of my vacation, and had no idea what stress/drama/confusion would await me in just a few short hours! Uh oh...
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