Kuala_lumpur travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Prior to the building of the Petronas Twin Towers, the Sultan Abdul Samad building has long been a famous landmark for Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. Unique moorish-style design, this building is designed by British architect A.C Norman. The building once served as the administrative offices for the government during the British administration, but now it is home to the Supreme and High Courts. This is the most photographed building in the city.

It is one of the oldest buildings in KL. The construction began in 1893. Some 4 million bricks, 2,500 barrels of cement, 18,000 pikuls of lime, 5,000 pounds of copper, 50 tons of steel and iron and 30,000 cubic feet of timber were used. Work was completed in 1897 at a cost of 152,000 Straits Dollars. The front facade is 137.2m (450 ft) in length with an imposing porch in the center. The porch consists of three horseshoe arches, the piers supporting them being nearly 1.2m (4 ft) in thickness. The 41.2m (135 ft) central tower holds a clock that was first heard during Queen Victoria’s birthday parade in 1897.
It features a 41-meter clock tower affectionately dubbed “Big Ben“, topped with a golden dome and flanked on both sides by two domed towers. During state occasions, colored lights twinkle in the arches, making it look like a scene from an Arabian Nights’ tale. Today, this building is the focus of thousands of Malaysian from all walks of life to gather in front of the building to user in every New Year on the stroke.

Malaysia is well-known for its big bargains and its bootlegs. Petaling Street is the center of Kuala Lumpur’s original Chinatown. Adventurous visitors should not miss a walk on Petaling Street. Chinatown has a bustling market serving as a bargain hunter’s paradise and one of the premier shopping areas in the city with its distinctly oriental atmosphere. If you’re looking for cheap things including clothes, shoes, fabrics, souvenirs, electronic items, jewelers, fruits, traditional herbal medicines, watches, DVDs, CDs and more? Then Petaling Street is the place for you. It is easy getting to Petaling Street. Take a taxi, but also numerous bus companies service the area. To get the best atmosphere you must go at night! Petaling Street still the best place to shop for pirated branded products and large selection of local Chinese food. There are some tips for buyer, most of the items like watches, clothing and all pirated items the discount can negotiate as much as 70% lower than the offer price.

Petaling Street is one of Kuala Lumpur’s, Malaysia, most popular tourist destinations. In the evenings, a line of stalls come to live in front of the pre-war shops, offering products of every description, from fake leather goods to the obligatory “Dunhill” watches. The area attracts many locals and visitors in search of bargain items, including inexpensive dresses, shoes, fabrics and souvenirs – from fake Rolex to fake Gucci bags to the sweetest papayas and pirated CDs. PS is also known for its jewellery shops with their fascinating variety of fine jewellery items beautifully crafted in gold and set with priceless gemstones. It’s one of the few places where the different classes meet and mingle amidst the humid atmosphere!!! It transforms itself into a bustling and lively night market when part of the road is closed to traffic at about 6pm.

Petaling Street however does not exclusively offer pirated products. Haggling is a common sight here and the place is usually crowded with locals as well as tourists. Petaling Street is still a worthwhile place to visit for the food. If you wander into the side lanes, you will still be able to glimpse the old Chinatown, from the lane that sells funeral wreaths to the almost hidden wet market selling live poultry, seafood, and fresh vegetables. The area has dozens of restaurants with a lot of delicious choices and food stalls, serving local favourites such as Hokkien mee, Ikan Bakar (BBQ fish), Assam Laksa and Curry Noodles. Traders here are mainly Chinese but there are also Indian, Malay, and Bangladeshi traders. You are in food haven!

Wear comfortable shoes. It gets to be rather dirty at times. But the people watching, food and cheap goods are totally worth braving the crowd. If you really want to see where the locals go, this is it. Shoppers have to bear in mind that most of these items are in fact, bootleg versions even though they might look seemingly original. Word of advice, bring a local friend who is accustomed with the ways of Petaling Street to help you with your shopping as hawkers around the area tend to swindle unsuspecting tourists and foreigners. Be warned though that it can get rather extremely crowded sometimes but its still remains convenience. The only thing remember to bring enough water because you know, bargaining can be quite tiring!….

Batu Caves is one of Malaysia’s most famous tourist destinations. Every year hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees congregate here for the colourful Thaipusam festival.
The first cave temple was established in 1891, and wooden steps up to the Temple Cave were built in 1920. Of the various cave temples that comprise the site, the largest and best known is the Temple or Cathedral Cave, so named because it houses several Hindu shrines beneath its 100 m vaulted ceiling. To reach it one has to climb 272 steps, a feat performed by many Hindus on the way to the caves to offer prayers to their revered deities. Close to Kuala Lumpur are the Batu Caves. The Batu Caves is a temples where they held a very important festival called “Thaipusam” and every year it is very crowed and people from all places comes to visit and you can also see many tourist here. The other main cave is the Art Gallery Cave located at the foot of the steps. Statues and wall paintings depicting Hindu deities and mythology are displayed here. The walk to the entrance is itself quite a pleasant experience through a lake and ponds filled with hundreds of colourful fish.
The 2.5 million statue has of course entered the Malaysian Book of Records as the tallest statue of a Hindu deity in the country. Lord Murugan, one of the divine powers in the Hindu pantheon of gods is worshipped by more than one million devotees around the world.
Some devotees pierce their tongues with skewers and carry a garlanded wooden arch across their shoulders, while others carry a kavadi (semi circular metal structure decorated with peacock feathers, flowers and palm leaves) walking in procession between the two temples.

The 88 storey monsters soar like imperial gatekeepers into the Kuala Lumpur sky, rising 1483 feet and encompassing 32,000 windows. Made from glass and steel they are built on a geometric Islamic pattern – a traditional eight pointed star. You cannot go to the top, but the 192 foot skybridge which links the 41st and 42nd floors of the two buildings is something special. Kuala Lumpar pans out like an old-fashioned lumpy if gleaming tablecloth below, and you will have to pinch yourself to believe the view. Get there early before the rush – visitor numbers are limited strictly each day. Then take a deep breath and take in what what US$1.2 billion worth of building and the summit of man’s architectural imagination feels like.

In both engineering and design, the Petronas Towers succeed at acknowledging Malaysia’s past and future, embracing the country’s heritage while proclaiming its modernization. The end result, says Pelli, is a monument that is not specifically Malaysian, but will forever be identified with Kuala Lumpur.

Height: 1,483 ft (452 meters)
Owners: Kuala Lumpur City Centre Holdings Sendirian Berhad
Architects: Cesar Pelli & Associates
Engineers: Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers
Contractors: Mayjus and SKJ Joint Ventures
Topping Out: 1998
Official Opening: August 28, 1999