A tale in KL (part 1)

Returning to Malaysia from Vietnam was a little like returning to the US from abroad. The two countries couldn't be more different in just about every way; however we did notice a large population of Asians in both places. 😋 

Kuala Lumpur, or KL as everyone calls it, is about as modern of a city as possible. Towering skyscrapers, manicured gardens and landscaping, organized and orderly traffic, and a bustling city life with all the modern conveniences we have grown to expect. It definitely had a feeling of home.  

On our first day in KL Mark was feeling no better, and Bryan was now following suit. The two spent some time in the drug store and bought enough supplies to open their own apothecary. Our first couple days we spend relaxing and recuperating, which was a welcomed change from our hectic experiences in Vietnam. 

Our accommodations in KL were at the Hilton Double Tree hotel, and they were certainly first class. Our suites were located on one of the executive floors, and we again had access to the executive lounge on the top floor. This privilege granted us a free breakfast buffet, all day access to the lounge, and evening dinner and drinks. All this was purchased using only Hilton points and Hilton Gold status. So basically the entire week, including most meals, was at no charge. 

The morning buffet was simply amazing. The restaurant was divided into three distinct areas: Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian. Each area was decorated to match, and served a variety of foods from that culture. All three sections were included in the breakfast. Each morning we were seated in the India section. The unmistakable aroma of curry and spices permeated the area and gave a feel of authenticity to our experience. Our primary waiter was a 22 yr old young man from Bangladesh. We found out that most of the waiters are from Bangladesh. Our waiter, Tonmoy, was enormously polite and attentive. He brought us juice and drinks even without us ordering any, and was always right on the spot taking used plates and attending to our every culinary need. On his day off, he specifically picked another waiter to take care of us and directed him to bring us fresh squeezed juice, which we found out later was typically at an extra charge. We found all the staff at the hotel to be of the same caliber. Whether they were personally attending to us or if we just passed a staff member in the halls, they all lit up and greeted us like long lost friends. We certainly felt welcomed and comfortable for the entire visit.

Perhaps the most significant and well known feature of KL is the Petronas Towers. They are two identical stainless steel spires and hailed as the tallest twin towers in the world. Petronas Twin Towers were once the tallest buildings in the world. The 88-story buildings are joined at the 41st and 42nd floors (175m above street level) by a 58 meter-long, double-decker Sky Bridge. Standing 452 meters tall, the Petronas Twin Towers retained its world-title claim to fame until 2004 when Taipei's 101 was built.

We took the one hour round trip tour to the top for unparalleled views of the city. While we were there, we watched a camera crew filming some type of commercial. The main character in the shots we recognized as Jason Godfrey.  We saw him numerous times on our in house TV channel in the hotel doing the commercial for the Makan restaurant where we had breakfast.

Since we had opted for a movie experience in Vietnam, we decided to try it here also. The new JK Rowling movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them" was being released that week, and I knew die-hard fans back in the States that were counting down the moments to the premier. We saw it in KL a full day before it was released in the US. It was a good movie, and it was fun poking at friends back home who were still anxiously waiting to see it.

As in Vietnam, the popcorn served was carmel corn, but this theater was larger and had many bins of popcorn, and fortunately one small bin did have regular popcorn. Apparently it is a very slow seller here. This theater had 4 versions of the film. 2D, 3D, 4D and Beanie seating. We weren't sure what the additional ones were, but time wise we were limited so we saw the standard 2D showing. Some kid tried to explain to us in uncertain English that Beanie seating was laying in bean bags, apparently watching the movie projected on the ceiling. 

Halfway through the week, Mark and Bryan were still both feeling a little under the weather, and were buying cough drops in bulk quantities. We still managed a few short trips around the city, and that seemed to be adventure enough.