Just recently, my family and I organized a very nice holiday at Kuala Lumpur (KL) which began last Saturday.. Since we are already back at this point of time, I have decided to separate the holiday into 3 parts, each one for each day we were in Kuala Lumpur.. So for today, we shall catch up on the 1st day which is the journey to KL and the things we did there..
Going to KL by car needs planning, from time to location to rest, if the need arises.. Reason for this is that the distance between Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia is about 320km for those who wants to know..
Well, some people says that the travelling time to there by car takes about 2 and a half hours if you are travelling on the North-South Highway at 110km/h ( 110km/h is the maximum speed limit on North-South Highway except when you are in Melaka area which is only 90km/h.. =_=;; )
So our journey began at about 10am but our true journey begins at 11am due to a massive jam on the causeway and also parts of the North South Highway.. Apart from that, the journey was quite smooth to KL.. While we are driving up to the capital city, we get to see some very nice scenery surrounding both sides of the highway..
The journey took quite a long while, even if it means not going into any pit stops to have our lunch. We drove and drove until we reach the outskirt of KL.. It was a nice sight to see with the clear blue sky shining upon us..
Even though we skipped all the pit stops along the North South Highway towards KL, we still reach KL quite late actually at about 2.20pm.. 10 minutes later, we finally reach our hotel, the Kuala Lumpur International Hotel..
It is a 26 storey hotel near Chow Kit area.. It has a very nice view of the city (if you book the correct rooms)..
We were greeted to a nice lobby area with a “Ang Pao” tree in the center of the place.. The weird part is is that it is located on the 3rd floor of the hotel along with some shops..
Well, nothing particular here.. Lobby looks neat..
But upon close inspection, I spotted something unusual..
So after we finally checked into the hotel, we rest in our hotel room for quite awhile before we decided to go out to have our first day of shopping.. On our way to our first shopping destination, we decided to stop by a road stall to get some finger foods, mainly “Epok-epok”, “Lekor” and “Goreng Pisang”..
As we savor the food, we got treated to a wonderful view of the Menara KL and the Petronas Twin Tower..
So off we go to our first shopping destination, GM Plaza.. I forgot where exactly it is located but driving there by car takes about 10min, if traffic is smooth.. When we reach there, there wasn’t any underground nor ground level carpark entrance.. Instead, we were greeted with 3 car lifts..
As you can see, the shopping complex’s carpark is located on the 8th floor till the 14th floor while the floors below are filled with shops.. Above the carpark is some office units which I wont be talking about..
Here is the basic floorplan on what kind of shops are available on each floor.. (Sorry for the blurriness.. =3 )
Apart from the shops, you can also have a great view of the area around the shopping complex.. It is nice to see a quiet neighbourhood even though the area is crowded with so many buildings..
So back to shopping, as we were walking around the complex, we expected a simple shopping complex filled with a varieties of shops selling different stuffs as according to the simple floorplan at the lift lobby..
But what surprises us the most is that some of the shops there sells alot of watches.. I don’t mean those kind of shops like “Swatch” or “Rolex”.. These shops sell alot more watches than every shops combined in Bugis Street in Singapore..
Yes, they sell “> 9000 watches!!” in the shopping complex..
Yes, I mean really, it isn’t just one shop doing this business in that shopping complex.. There are like 10+ shops selling the same watches and in large quantity just like this one below.. xD
Not only do they have “> 9000!!” watches, the complex also have shops that sells belts too, alot of them.. x.X
Did I mention they were also selling football clubs merchandises too?
Picture speaks for itself.. ^^;;
Well, other than that, I do spot one of the shops selling some anime keychains like Naruto and Cardcaptor Sakura.. Its still better than just watches, belts and football clubs merchandises.. Apart from that, there are also shops selling jeweleries, clothings and even hardware appliances too.. xD
Another shot of the Petronas Twin Tower from GM Plaza.. It was slightly hazy on that day itself..
We shopped at GM Plaza for about 1 and a half hours before we set off to our next destination, Central Market.. This place was the best place to find the best food and also get some nice souvenirs and even some cool t-shirts..
It has been a year since we stepped foot in it and sadly the whole place was given a makeover; now most of the shops sell antiques and souveniers though the good foods are still there.. We still enjoyed visiting it one more time at the least.. ^^
Next up on our list is Petaling Street, about 5-10mins walk from Central Market.. This street is equivalent to Singapore’s Bugis Street but in a much bigger scale.. From the outside, it looks like an entrance of Chinatown..
But once you step inside, it is just like a big bazaar area filled with many shops selling alot of good stuffs to buy such as shoes, bags, clothings and much more.. Day or night, the place is packed with so many people buying stuffs due to its central location.. This is one place where you can try and bargain for items you wished to purchase.. ^^
As you go further inside, the pathway becomes narrower and narrower until it is small enough to fit 2 person going to and fro.. But with such a good will to shop, you won’t be bothered so much by it..
So we ended our day after getting some stuffs from Petaling Street.. We sure had a great time there.. After shopping, we had our dinner at a A&W restaurant nearby before heading back to our hotel to rest for the day..
Well, thats it for the 1st day in Kuala Lumpur, hope you guys enjoy the pictures I took, though some are quite blurry.. Sorry about that.. Well, the post for the 2nd day will be out quite soon so do wait for it.. xD
4 Responses to “A Day In Kuala Lumpur 1: Journey to The North”
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Should have dropped by at Sg Wang, which is just a couple of blocks down Petaling Street, since that’s pretty much our otaku central. ( ﾟ ヮﾟ)
Wow at the watches and belts, Lol at the Male clock.
@ Shin: Really? I forgot about it lol.. It is a pity I didn’t ask my parents to go there too since we are nearby.. =_=;;
@ Zhlink: Indeed.. > 9000 watches and belts to see and buy.. You will bound to find the right one for yourself.. xD
lol @ > 9000 watches… I wonder are there really anyone who buy that… lol xD As for me I don’t want to see like > 9000 person wearing the same watches as me… lol That’s just, weird.
Anyway nice coverage! I get to see what is Malaysia like… Thinking of going there someday to visit my friend… xD