Day 3
We had again planned to try and get up early to queue for Skybridge tickets. Three alarms were set for 5:50am; our bags were packed for a quick getaway; did we make it? Yes we did! We got up this time and went down for a breakfast to provide the required energy for such an early start. The walk in the morning was pleasant as the temperatures hadn’t yet started to rise; a cool 29C. We walked to where the queue was for about 7:45. The room was FULL of bodies snaking around the lobby where you physically couldn’t see the end. We ended up in a corridor of the building a long way from the front. Some of the early birds had been there since 6am and beyond! Scott was getting nervous and trying to mentally count the number of people in the queue. Scott guessed about 700 so he thought we would be safe in getting one of the 1600 tickets available for the day. That was until he found out that every person was entitled to claim five tickets! Once the ticket ‘office’ (really just several people in red jackets with palm tops printing out tickets) there was a screen that counted down the number of tickets available and at which times. All compounded to leave a very nervous 90 minute wait but we hoped it would be worth it! Finally, Deb reached the front of the queue (only one person was allowed to queue for each five tickets towards the end in order to shrink the queue) and got tickets for the 2pm visit! Yes!
As the day was still early we thought we would go to Little India and the Colonial district for a walk. We hopped in a taxi that seemed to think if he talked a load of bull he could convince we needed to spend 20RM on his journey. Scott quickly told him and tried to haggle him down or to turn his meter on but he didn’t budge so we got into a different taxi. He was an Indian Malay and they are well known for this tourist trick although it is completely illegal! The next driver was a Chinese and much more friendly, however he had to put his glasses on to read the map we were showing him! In the sense he didn’t know a word of English or seem to know where we were going!! Despite this we got to Medeka Square. In its Colonial days you would have heard the whack of leather on willow as it was the cricket pitch for the British but today it is used as a relaxing green area. The taxi was a more reasonable 6RM on the meter! The walk involved views past several architecturally interesting buildings and into the central Little India district. The smells suddenly changes to one of spice and incense and the sights became that of gold jewellery and fantastically coloured fabrics. There wasn’t quite the chaos of Chinatown but it did have its own unique atmosphere. The day was only getting hotter as we made our way back to the monorail and the hotel. The air conditioning on the monorail system was highly appreciated!
We left our room again at about 13:30 to ensure we got to the Petronas Towers Skybridge in plenty of time for our visit. We joined a group of about 40 others in a holding area where we were x-ray’d and searched by security then allowed to enter the lift. The button was pressed for floor 41 and the lift began to ascend at a rate of about 3 floors every couple of seconds. It was all very smooth and the only way you realised you were in fact moving was that our ears kept popping! The lift reached floor 41 and the doors open at the skybridge. The sun was bright and the views were exceptionally good. The entire city was laid out before us. From this vantage point you could really appreciate the feat it was to build such an impressive building. The hotels and office buildings which are tall in their own right were dwarfed into insignificance! The only building that seemed to be trying to challenge the Petronas Towers was the Menara KL which was out to the west and on a small hill and appeared to be at a similar height.
After our visit we returned back to ground level in the same militarily precise Malaysian organisation and couldn’t resist a view back up toward the towers where we had just been. It was almost impossible to make out bodies in the skybridge. As we were walking back we decided to have a sit by the pool for a bit of R&R in the afternoon to have a bit of rest time and make the most of the sun! The pool was lovely and cool and helped relax our tired muscles!
For the evening we caught the monorail back to Little India and had a beer in a bar on the walk. On Saturday evenings they have a spectacular night market called the Pasar Malam. The small alleys of Little India are crowded with street stalls selling everything fake to food and drinks. We were hungry and looking for food. As we walked down the stalls it was unclear what people were actually selling. Bowls of food were on the side waiting to be bought by people (how long had they been there???). The skin of animals were hanging from the stalls (we were sure one was a beagle sized skin). As we were very wary of what they might be cooking we eventually saw a familiar shaped food which was samosas we were told were chicken! They felt safe and were delicious. They were extremely hot with a lovely spicy flavour and only RM (40p) for 3. We continued exploring the stalls but eventually found a vegetarian Indian restaurant that we thought we would try. There was a menu (!) and the food was delicious washed down with a Lassi for Deb and mint and lime drink for Scott. Tomorrow was the day we fly to Sydney so it was going to be another early start in order to fit in what we still wanted to do!
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