Not really bicycle touring. We took the bus from Penang to Kuala Lumpur and rode about 4km from KL Sentral to Chinatown. Four days later we left KL by train to Tampin, and we didn’t cycle at all during our days in the city. It appeared to be a very unfriendly city for cyclists, but we can’t really say firsthand.
Back in Lanta we bought plane tickets from Singapore to İstanbul, and in Penang we planned out the rest of the days. We will have time for a little riding — from Tampin to Singapore — but we basically skipped the whole bit from Kangar to Tampin. I don’t really know what we missed.
Before getting settled in Kuala Lumpur, it took some time checking quite a few hotels before we found a good one that would accept our bicycles. What a surprise then to see this view of Merdeka 118 from our balcony!
A lot of what we did in Kuala Lumpur was walk around and look at buildings. We didn’t even have to leave the hotel to see the second tallest building in the world! For good food all it took was walking downstairs to the street where there were many options. On our first night we had this chicken and rice clay pot just in front of our hotel.
Across the street from there on our last night we had Malaysia’s classic nasi lemak.
One of the best meals of the whole trip (10 weeks from Bangkok to Singapore) was this eggplant dish on the way back to our hotel from Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC).
In the center we saw a fountain show which I enjoyed more than the ones in Dubai or Singapore for some reason,
but the real reason to go to KLCC is to see the Petronas Towers, the tallest buildings in the world when they were built in 1998. Now they don’t even make the top 20!
Speaking of tall buildings in Malaysia it’s my understanding that the three-story Railway Administration Building (aka KTM Berhad Headquarters) was the tallest building in the country upon completion of construction in 1917.
What a difference a century makes. Now Kuala Lumpur’s skyline looks like this from the National Mosque
or like this from Jamek Mosque
or like this from Independence Square.
I just mentioned a couple mosques that we visited, but our favorite was definitely Masjid Wilayah with its eclectic architecture taking elements from Egypt, Morocco, Persia, the Ottomans, India, and local traditions. The dome architecture is modeled after İstanbul’s Sultanahmet mosque with the blue tiles and floral patterns from Isfahan’s Shah Mosque. The minarets are Egyptian and the arches Moroccan.
You can’t make out the Persian muqarnas (just above our heads, but too far away) in this photo, but the portico might remind you of the Taj Mahal.
We enjoyed the landscaping.
There are also Hindu temples in Kuala Lumpur. Sri Mahamariamman Temple (name sound familiar from Penang? seems to be a popular name in this part of the world: Bangkok and Singapore also have temples of the same name) was near our hotel.
It took slightly more effort (a short train ride) to see the Hindu temple at Batu Caves.
On the day we headed west from our hotel and visited the National Mosque, we also spent an hour or so at the Islamic Arts Museum.
Highlights included this early 19th-century wooden façade from Gujarat
and — from Iran as usual! — this small 14th century monumental mihrab.
I don’t know that I have ever seen such a large piece of a kiswa before. This one covered the kaaba in 1964. We’ve all seen photos of course, but here we go — in person! This piece must have covered a whole side.
Have I lost you yet? Can I ground you with some food?
We went to the same dim sum place for breakfast every morning.
Too many buildings and religious sites? There’s an orchid garden in the Perdana Botanical Gardens (though Singapore’s is better),
and nearby is a butterfly garden (though Konya’s is better).
Ok already, let’s get on the bikes!
Byebye, KL! Another 30 years?
