Malaysia,Bolehland 10th-14th Aug 2016


Bolehland invited me for 4 days.Myself and mom were all set with our passports, visa and the Ringgits.Flight AK 52 Air Aisa had to leave at 11.30 PM.I took a cab from office to meet mom near the Hebbal flyover .We met and moved towards the Airport.The excitement started when I received my boarding pass.We landed there at 6.10 AM and after a coffee at the Old town coffee shop , Jagsir our guide along with the driver took us to a local hotel for the breakfast.Mom had cooked chapatis the earlier night so that we would not look around hungry the next morning.After the breakfast , Jagsir took us to Batu caves.Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. 

Batu Caves Entrance

Behind me is the Murugan Temple

It takes its name from the Sungai Batu (Batu River), which flows past the hill and also it is the tenth (Pattu in Tamil) limestone hill from Ampang. Batu Caves is also the name of a nearby village.The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusamin Malaysia.Batu Caves in short also referred as 10th Caves or Hill for Lord Muruga as there are six important holy shrines in India and four more in Malaysia.Mom and myself climbed up around 300 steps to enter into the cave .

Inside the cave

Inside the cave

Inside the cave

Outside the temple premises

Inside the cave was a huge area with small temples at the sides.After which there were few more steps which took us to the main Murugan Temple.We made the darshana and came back for our next visit to Genting Highlands.We left Batu Caves by 9 AM and reached Genting base to take our Cable car ride.That was my sec exp in a cable car the first one was somewhere in North India long long ago.

View from Cable car

Cable cars

View from Cable car

Cable car ride


It was a super duper 25 min ride in between the hills and forests.We had to roam around for a while looking at the sign boards to reach the World’s largest hotel,First world Hotel.After checking in the kiosk , we took the elivator to reach our room at the 24rth floor !It was quite tiring . We rested for a while and headed towards the Coffee terrace hotel which was in the adjacent building .

Lunch at coffee terrace

That was so damn tough to find out ! Such a huge complex it was.Finally we reached Coffee terrace and had our lunch and got back to the hotel room carefully noting down the route in our mind so that we would not make any wrong routes again to reach the same place.After resting for a while, we left our room in the evening and started roaming around the hotel and took some pictures before we reached our hotel for dinner.There was thick fog outside and we could feel it in every step we took.

Mom posing in the hotel premises

World's largest hotel

Hotel Coffee Terrace

Inside First World Hotel

Shopping complex inside First World Hotel

Shopping complex inside First World Hotel
Shopping complex inside First World Hotel
Shopping complex inside First World Hotel

Maxims-Adjacent to our hotel

After a heavy dinner, it was time for a good night sleep. It was a tiring day since we walked quite a lot and that was all about Day 1.

Day 2 started at 6 AM early morning with heavy rains outside.Jagsir informed that there will be another person to take us around Kuala Lumpur with few more tourists by 10 AM.Breakfast was done at the food factory which had variety of malaysian local foods .

Break fast at Food Factory

Food Factory

Driver came to pick us at 12 PM due to traffic .We were accompanied by 4 other tourists from India(Maharashtra )who came back through cable car.On the way driver was kind enough to take us to Chin swee templeThe Chin Swee Caves Temple is a Taoist temple in Genting Highlands, Pahang,Malaysia. 

Chin Swee temple premises

The Chin Swee cave

Chin Swee temple premises

Chin Swee temple premises

Outside the temple

The Chin Swee Caves Temple is situated in the most scenic site of Genting Highlands. Within the Temple is seated a statue of Qingshui, a Buddhist monk who has long been referred to as a deity in Fujian province, China for his supernatural abilities to summon rain and drive away evil spirits. .

Chin Swee temple premises

Chin Swee temple premises

The driver dropped us at Hotel Ankasa and the other tourists too had their luch in Ankasa Hotel.We checked in and were told that the luch time was over since it was 2.30 PM but after speaking to our agency guy, we were served yummy rotis , dal,sabjis and rice by a local chef in Ankasa.By the time we had our lunch, the other tourists had already been to KL tower (inside) since waiting was not an option for them as they were heading to Singapore the next day.So we had to wait for our driver to take us to KL tower.We were at KL tower by 3.30 PM.  KL Tower) is a tall tower located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its construction was completed on 1 March 1995. It is used for communication purposes and features an antenna that reaches 421 metres (1,381 feet) and is the 7th tallest freestanding tower in the world. The roof of the pod is at 335 metres (1,099 feet). The rest of the tower below has a stairwell and an elevatorto reach the upper area, which also contains a revolving restaurant, providing diners with a panoramic view of the city.

Lunch at Ankasa

I love KL Tower 

KL Tower behind me

Inside Upside down house

 Upside down house

Inside Upside down house

 Upside down house

After clicking some pics around KL tower and upside down house, driver took us to Istana Negara, former residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme King) of Malaysia. It stands on a 13 acre (50,000 m²) site, located on a commanding position on the slope of a hill of Bukit Petaling overlooking the Klang River, along Jalan Syed Putra.
It was replaced by the new national palace as the official residence of the King in 2011. In 2013, it was converted into The Royal Museum and referred as "Old Istana Negara".

Istana Negara

Later we moved towards National Monument which was so beautiful. The National Monument is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency, which lasted from 1948 until 1960. It is located in the Federal capital, Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Houses of Parliament are situated near the monument.It is the world's tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping.Every year on 31 July on Warriors' Day, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister, heads of military, and the police pay their respects to the fallen heroes by laying garlands at the monument.

National Monument

National Monument

Fountain in front of the monument


From there we headed to Independence square and Sultan Abdul Samad building(Mosque).On the way we also saw, old and new railway station, National bank,Central jail , Parliament House .

Independence Square

Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Our final destination was Twin towers. The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers (Malay:Menara Petronas, or Menara Berkembar Petronas), are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)'s official definition and ranking, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world. The buildings are a landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower. Petronas Twin Towers were once the tallest buildings in the world. Now the world’s tallest twin structures, the 88-storey buildings were designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates with both towers joined at the 41st and 42nd floors (175m above street level) by a 58 metre-long, double-decker Sky Bridge.

Standing 452 metres tall, the Petronas Twin Towers retained its world-title claim to fame until 2004 when Taipei's 101 was built, measuring 508 metres tall. Today, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (opened in 2010) retains the spot as the world’s tallest building. Located in the KL city centre, the Petronas Twin Towers’ architecture is Islamic-inspired and the buildings primarily house the corporate headquarters of the Petronas Company and other offices. When the Petronas Twin Towers were completed in 1998 they were declared the tallest buildings in the world, surpassing the 442-metre-tall Willis Tower in Chicago, U.S.A. At the base of the Petronas Twin Towers is Suria KLCC, an upmarket shopping mall that is very popular with tourists. Tower one is fully occupied by the Malaysian state oil company Petronas, and its subsidiaries and associate companies. Tower Two is mostly taken up by multinational companies such as Accenture, Al-Jazeera, Barclays Capital, Bloomberg, Boeing, IBM, McKinsey & Co., Microsoft, Reuters and more.After clicking some pictures around the tower; we were dropped to our hotels for the dinner and a tight sleep! 

In front of the tower

In front of the tower

Day 2 was very informative and fully scheduled.Jagsir was our driver for day 3 who came to pick up after our breakfast at hotel Ankasa to take us to KL Bird Park at 10 AM.We reached the park at 10.30 AM. Located in the serene and scenic Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens, it is only 10 minutes drive away from the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. It is the home to more than 3,000 birds of approximately 200 species of local and foreign birds.Sprawling approximately 20.9 acres of verdant valley terrain, the park is divided into 4 zones; Zone 1 and 2 make up the free-flight zone; Zone 3 is the Hornbill Park and Zone 4 is where the birds are placed in separate cages and mini aviaries.One of KL Bird Park's most extraordinary feature is that in Zone 1, 2 and 3, birds are let free in the aviary which closely resembles their natural habitat. With this free-flight concept, birds are able to breed naturally in this unique environment. Visitors will have an exciting experience of watching colourful and melodic birds perching and winging about freely while relaxing in a natural and beautifully landscaped surrounding. 

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park


KL Bird Park is also reputed to be the largest walk-in free-flight aviary in the world.We had a wonderful time there spending time with variety of birds and clicking pictures of them.Also we had a look at the bird show which was mesmerizing.

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

Taman Burung Bird Park

It was 1 PM and we were getting late for our dinner.Jagsir was busy picking up other tourists so we had to take a local taxi for 15 Ringgits and reach Ankasa .We finished our luch and Jagsir picked us from hotel to KLCC Aquaria at 3.30 PM. The Aquaria KLCC is an oceanarium located beneath Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre within Kuala Lumpur City Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Well worth exploring, Kuala Lumpur Aquarium doesn’t just ‘submerge’ visitors beneath thousands of gallons of seawater – instead the venue is laid out to take visitors through different watery landscapes, from the highlands and flooded jungles of Malaysia, to the Amazon basin, coral reefs and the open ocean. Your journey isn’t a linear one – start off on Level 1 where you’ll see piranhas make quick work of their meal as well as electric eels, elephantnose fish and electric catfish. Also in this section, visitors can check out the DNA Touch Pool where they can pick up and feel the texture of live corals and star fish. 

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

One of the highlights of Aquaria KLCC is a giant tank (featuring an authentic-looking shipwreck) – a 90m walk-through tunnel with a moving travelator in its centre. Inside you’ll be surrounded by sand tiger sharks, huge stingrays and more. You can take a break from looking at Nemo and his crew, as you head to The Stream which plays host to the giant water rat and the adorable Asian small-clawed otter. Meanwhile, the Jewels of the Jungle section is home to a variety of reptiles, amphibians and insects including the green snake, coatimundi, tarantula and many others; also be sure to check out the exhibit showcasing the life cycle of butterflies. Level 2 sees you journeying through the Amazon Flooded Forest where the oversized araipaima, red tail catfish and many others dwell; next, head up to The Coast to see archer fish, horseshoe crabs and more. Later, develop a deep appreciation for deep sea inhabitants such as the octopus and giant blotched fantail ray at the Oceanarium. Lastly, the Weird & Wonderful section is home to chambered nauticus, sea jelly and more, while the Coral Discovery Section has the requisite array of coral, seahorses and more. What’s more, catch the fish feeding sessions which take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in the 2.5 million-litre aquarium.

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

We had to wait for an hour for the driver after the wonderful marine journey.Later we were dropped to Petronas twin towers where we had around 2 hrs time to roam around the shopping complex inside and also spent some time in Suria KLCC which is a huge park with fountains! 

By 7.30 PM Jagsir took us to KL tower to witness the feel of height from the tower.There was another couple from Bangalore whom we met and had a nice talks through out .

KL Tower Night view

Observation Deck

View of Twin towers from KL tower

We were taken to observation deck(Sky deck was quite costly and also needed some signed documents, hence we did not opt for it )where there were binoculars all around to have a look at the beautiful city.Later we headed to  our hotel and then to the China town just beside our hotel .We purchased tops and some souvenirs and mom purchased fridge magnets for her colleagues.

China Town

China Town

Day 4 was something that I was waiting for .Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia but we had lot of time to reach Putrajaya so we took a local taxi and reached Thean hou Chinese temple. The temple, built by the Hainanese community living in Kuala Lumpur, is dedicated to Goddess Tian Hou (The Heavenly Mother).

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

Thean Hou Chinese Temple

After spending some time there, we drank sugarcane juice and headed back to our hotel .After a bit of enquiry in the hotel, we took a walk to Ganesh hotel near by for the banan leaf south Indian lunch for 11 RM for 2.There was a small mall near the hotel and I purchased a top there! Lots of tops for me from Malaysia.Hurray! Then we moved to our hotel to take our luggage.We had checked out early morning and kept our luggage in the lobby area.Jagsir took us to Putraja and charged 35 RM later since it was not included in our package.Putrajaya was so neat and clean.Wow , really superb view.

Putra Mosque

Behind is the Putra lake

The bridge

In front of PM Office

Putra Bridge

Putra square
International Convention Center

We saw Putra Mosque, Perdana Putra, the Prime Minister's office,Putra Lake,Putrajaya Bridge ,International Convention Center .That was a fantanstic tour .Later he dropped us to the AirAsia Airport and it was time to thank him for being nice to us.In the airport mom purchased some chocolates and I had a pizza.It was 9.30 PM (Malaysian time) AK 53 Air Aisa flight and we landed Bangalore safely at 10.30 PM IST.I am so satisfied with the tour .All those places which I planned was covered with a wonderful weather to support us through out the tour !Cheers Bolehland !

************************************************************************

Country:Malaysia

Independence:1963 Aug 31

National Flower:Hibiscuis

National Bird:Rhinoceros hornbill

National Animal:Malayan tiger

National Dish:Nasi Lemak

Currency:Malaysian Ringgit

Capital:Kuala Lumpur

Language:Malay




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