Kuala Lumpur: City of Scents (Day 2)

The morning was very cold and mist partly shaded the Kuala Lumpur skyline. There were 3 little turrets jutting out of the Petronas Towers tips where 2 long wires or ropes hung from the opposing turret points. We pondered what these were for while chewing on peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich around 7:30 AM local time. Perhaps they were bunjee jump cables, they opined. I suggested they were cables that supported the scaffolding where the maintenance staff hung on while cleaning the building windows. Just the other day, Barry and I saw them industriously brushing and wiping the glass walls just beside the bridgeway. For me it all made sense how the city looked so new, as if all the buildings had decided to just sprout out from the ground on the same day. It had always been tedious maintenance! The skyscrapers had to be squeaky clean all the time, the island plots had to have flowers all year round, the waterways and sewege should never have any trash clogs or floating algae. Kuala Lumpur is the city for obsessive-compulsive people!

Two Gardenia bread sandwiches later and a warm shower, Janice had already fled the room to attend the convention. The 3 remaining giddy travelers began planning the day ahead. Next stop: the Hop-on/Hop-off city tour.

The hotel concierge (who had neatly cut fingernails and a very professional demeanor) had given us directions and discount vouchers for the Hop-on/Hop-off bus stop. We started walking toward the Kompleks Kraf, which was the city's gift shop for tourists. We sorta lost our way and had asked for directions from cartographers (I think) who were measuring the roads and stuff. The bus stop was right inside the Crafts Complex with the sign facing the building entrance. All this time we were looking for it outside along the streets. We waited on the carved wooden benches while looking at the other travelers who were waiting for their private tour buses. On the side of their buses read Bas Persiaran. I don't really know if this meant "Persian Bus" or "Bus Pasyalan" in Tagalog.

After about 30 minutes, the bus finally arrived. We paid MYR35.00 each (a MYR3.00 discount) and hurried to the 2nd floor of the double decker tourist bus. The aircon was very cool and everything looked new. The conductress told us there were around 6 buses in operation (which explained why we had to wait 30-minute intervals per station). Our first stop was Bukit Bintang (Bintang Walk). We decided not to go down because it was near the hotel and we decided we'd eat dinner there with Janice later in the evening. We had our pictures taken by the conductress before the bus started filling up with people. We passed by China Town, the Central Market, and then the National Palace. We were given 5 minutes to take pictures so we quickly went down the bus and had our pictures taken in front of the bus. Hehe Agong's Palace, this time, had lots of tourists, some had color-coded shirts (of course they were Chinese!). We had our pictures taken with the guards again because this time they were mounted on horses. After that, we rode the bus again and passed by KL Sentral and then were dropped off at the National Museum. There were old trains outside, kinda like Tutuban Center. We took some pictures with the cars -- I found out then that Malaysia manufactures its own brand of cars, Proton, and the Saga was the first to come out in 1981, if I recall correctly. There was a Chinese woman who pretended she was pulling the horse cart and moaning "Oh! Oh! Oh!" T'was hilarious. I regret not having filmed it.

Ingrid was starving by this time so she ran toward a small stall that sold steamed corn. We were supposed to use the tandas but it would've cost us MYR0.20. (Yes super cheapskates that we were. I calculated that amount and it's far cheaper than paying P20.00 at Shangri-La mall) The entrance fee was a measly MYR2.00 and we hung out the souvenir shop first where I bought myself a stainless steel ring at MYR9.90 I think. Outside the shop, a stairs led to a beautiful receiving hall split by a nice wooden staircase with marble steps going both directions. To the left was the Modern Malaysia museum and to the right was the Old Malaysia exhibit. We went to the right.

The museum, unfortunately, was rather empty. We were a bit disappointed because we were expecting a lot of archaeological artifacts or historic memorabilia. We believed these were hidden somewhere else. Our own national museum has more stuff in it.

We quickly went back to the Hop-on/off stop and passed by the Parliament Building, the Lake Garden (we weren't really interested to see orchidia), and the Bird Park (not into birds too). Our next stop was the National Mosque. It had a very slim bell tower beside it (as all mosques do) and the roof had a turquoise-blue color and folded somewhat like origami. We had to take our shoes off and leave them on a shelf. Women and children were required to wear a lavender robe, complete with hoodie, before going up the stairs. Ingrid refused to do so because she thought it was sexist. Barry and I went upstairs to see the vast hallway. There was a rectangular fountain pool that housed the bell tower. To the right, there was a huge open area lined by thin columns and to the northeast was the prayer hall itself.

The prayer hall was huge! The floor was carpeted all throughout, the walls were heavily embellished with prints, the upper deck was made of wood carvings and above that was a very intricately patterned stained glass window of blue and yellow that stretched horizontally across the dome. Above that was a clock with Arabic numerals and a triangle window, also of stained glass. We had our picturetaking from outside the velvet rope because tourists weren't allowed inside. Before the entrance to the chamber, there were 2 stairways labeled "Perempuan." The women had separate entrances to the wood-lined chamber.

We took some more pictures and went downstairs where Ingrid had already been waiting on the bench under a huge tree. The bus was due anytime now. Unfortunately, we weren't able to visit the Muslim art museum or the old railway because it was already lunch time and we were hungry. But before that, we decided to check out Titiwangsa Lake where the Eye of Malaysia was just to take pictures. It was very hot already, but the view of the lake was very refreshing. We took the cab going back to KLCC Suria for lunch.

I swear, KL taxis are the worst! During our stay there, we only got to use the taxi meter once. Everything else had to be bargained for. The minimum charge is MYR10.00. And here I thought Manila cabs were pretty bad...

I had Sarawak Laksa for lunch. At MYR15.65, it came with a local pink-colored tea drink that had gelatin strands. The laksa was spicy but delicious and the drink had a weird, medicinal taste to it at first, but after a few more sips it was ok. We had Ingrid try the super delicious Daily Express brewed coffee. If you order take away, they use a bigger paper cup and you'll have more coffee to savor!

We took the cab to KL Sentral and rode the LRT going to the Putra Terminal, which was the last station to the left (if you look at the list of stations. I dunno if that's north or what). The train was a bit crowded (it was a Tuesday after all) and I fell asleep after the first few terminals. I realize now why they didn't build subways -- Mahathir probably wanted to showcase Malaysia. And who wouldn't? All the tall residential condominiums were situated outside the country. This greatly reduced traffic in the city. During our taxi trip going to the Batu Caves, Ingrid saw on an ad that a unit costs around 12 million Ringgit. Pretty expensive. One teksi eksekyutif driver we spoke to said the typical salary is MYR2,000, where Malaysians living within Kuala Lumpur usually get MYR3,000. He said it would be difficult to live on less because the rent is very expensive there. I would imagine. Maintaining the city probably cost the government a lot of money so everyone's milking out the tourists who bring the money in. Perhaps we should do that here too (or aren't we arleady?)

It was drizzling a bit when we arrived at the Batu Caves. The facade was gorgeous! It had a golden buddha standing near the entrance where more than a hundred steps paved the way to the 3 huge caves inside the limestone mountain. There was an elementary school to the left, a parking space, and the entrance to the water falls, which had a hefty entrance fee. We didn't bother. To the right were a few shops and eateries. Further front was the entrance to the caves.

Going up the steps wasn't easy. Our hamstrings began to hurt and we had to stop a few times under the drizzle just to rest. It was a magnificent view of the city on the horizon, one of those rare places where a natural heritage site is right beside a sprawling residential complex.

I urged my companions to try the Dark caves tour because I felt they would enjoy the type of adventure I experienced with the Tabon Caves and the Underground River. The entrance fee was MYR35.00 for the tour guide and helmet with headlights. It was actually closing time already but Yan, our tour guide, agreed to show us the cave 1 more time. I sprayed on our unscented Off lotion pray, on my arms, my nape, behind the ears -- any place a mosquito might dare to bite.

The City of Scents also found its way outside of the city. The cave reeked with the smell of guano (bat droppings) but it wasn't as bad as with the Underground River in Palawan. There were only a few fruit bats left in the cave. There were tiny white snails on the ground and where there was guano, there was an entire community of cockroaches on the cave floor. Yan was joking how he loved scaring prissy tourists each time he waved his flashlight toward the cucuarachas. Of course he and his assistant already figured out we were Filipino by our accent. At one point, Yan's assistant came calling him from the entrance. He left us there and told us he'd come back for us in a few minutes. I didn't like surprises so I told the gang to stand back-to-back and check our surroundings for any hiding pranksters. It was a bit of a long wait and Yan came back like he promised. No tricks. He said there was an Arab family wanting to take the tour also but backed out at the last minute. Hence we continued.

The cave was very humid despite the cold weather outside. We were shown the basic stuff -- stalactites and stalagmites, columns -- and eventually reached a spot where cool air blew form some part of the cave (I think all cave complexes have this) and it was very refreshing to stand there with the wind blowing agianst my moist shirt. I couldn't help thinking though where the wind came from or if it was blowing guano debris unto my face.

We were permitted to take some photos at one point and then we went back to the cave entrance. At this point, the 3 of us were giggling -- if for me Kuala Lumpur is a city of scents, Yan would be it's king by the force of his uttered words alone. Hehe

My hair was wet with sweat but we we were happy we took that tour. By this time the rain was stronger. Ingrid and Barry wanted to go down already but I convinced them we're already near the top, might as well go visit the main Batu temples. There were Indians at the entrance and a group of Chinese men. The temple was huge! It was beautiful. The 2 were tired though so we didn't bother exploring any further.

Downstairs, we saw that the whole walkway entrance was flooded to our horror! I wasn't wearing waterproof shoes, and had I wet them, I wouldn't have any shoes to wear for the next day. Barry said we should start going down the steps already. For sure the water would go down by the time we reached the ground floor. It didn't so we waited by the shed and watched an Indian man fill his bucket with water and throw the water toward the drain. Didn't help much. After a few more minutes, the water was significantly lower so we decided to walk at the side. Barry took pictures of this tragic uncomfortable incident and I posed well of course! Hehe

It was difficult getting a cab that would bring us back to the Putra Terminal. It was already traffic at that time and Indian school children were being fetched by their parents at the side of the gate. A pubilc bus came by. The conductor was shouting "China Town! China Town!" We asked if it would pass by Putra Terminal, the man said no. We chose to ride anyway because going down at China Town was certainly better than being stuck there.

The fare cost MYR2.00. The bus was dirty, Del Carmen dirty, but it was more spaceous. There were other Indian men riding in the front and a Chinese couple who followed us. The trip was quick because there was no traffic on our side of the road, and the conductor was right, we wouldn't be passing through any LRT station along the way. We ate our junk food along the way. I wonder why we didn't take any pictures. Haha

We went to Central Market afterwards to look at stuff to bring home. I bought some taro chips (sliced really long and deep fried to a crisp, dipped in sweet n' sour sauce). Didn't really find anything though the shops were loaded with nifty souvenirs. I bought a magazine out of curiosity, being an account executive bombarding local magazines with cosmetics ads. Yes, my clients were indeed global and had a budget for spending. I texted Janice to meet us there after her convention. She came by after an hour or so. We took the cab to Titiwangsa Lake and rode the Eye of Malaysia for MYR15.00. There were more people now and the ferris wheel was colorfully lit. Inside the air-conditioned ferris wheel car, Janice began squirming and laughing. I didn't know she was afraid of heights! We all started laughing and shaking the car and taking videos and talking about our day without her. I had to delete some pictures because my camera memory went full at the last movie clip.

After watching the light and water show (there were 2 mist-makers and projectors on both sides of the lake), we rode the cab going back to KLCC. We decided to eat at Tajine, a Lebanese restaurant. There were 2 Pinoy waiters there, one had a Transformers belt buckle (give-away Pinoy if you ask me) and the other was half-Malaysian. We ordered so much -- mixed grilled beef and chicken with onion-garlic sauce and chapatti, mutton with carrot and garbanzo couscous, a seafood platter, and another viand I forget. I'm generally fond of Mediterranean food however this one we ate was too dry. Each of us paid MYR36.50 plus tip. On the way home, Janice, Barry and I wanted to walk going back to the hotel since it was rather close to where we were. Ingrid wanted to take a cab so she took one. The 3 of us walked right beside the Pavillion mall and reached Prince Hotel in no time. At room 2808, Ingrid opened the door and was asking us where we went. Apparently, she didn't see us continue walking when she got herself a cab. She said she texted us frantically. Haha

For the rest of this entry and for Day 3, you readers should know that I'm basing my thorough account of this vacation on budget accounting notes I made at the end of the day. The next entry written says "Coffee Bean" but I'm totally confused now if we went out again after dinner to go to Coffee Bean, or was it yesterday when Janice treated us to gelato at Bukit Bintang. Yeah, I think we went to out for coffee tonight because I remeber we went back to the hotel around 11 or 12 pm already. Tama ba guys?? I'm so confused.

We slept past midnight already because I remember the lights to Petronas were already shut off and we were all tired. The housekeeping moved the beds a bit. We moved the 2 twin beds to the left beside the window and Ingrid's rollaway bed was on the right beside the closet space.

It was a good night's sleep. Ü

The Prince Hotel: Also fit for Princesses

Kuala Lumpur: The City of Scents (Day 1)

It was around 12:40 midnight when my college buddy and I arrived at LCC terminal (I assume LCC meant Low-Cost Commercial) roughly 3 and a half hours from leaving NAIA 1. The flight was rather smooth and on time, one of the reasons why red-eye flights are an option for me, besides the fact that they're oftentimes more affordable. The downside, of course, was that we had to wait till around 5 or 6 AM before boarding the bus going to the city (for obvious security reasons).



The arrival terminal was very small. It was weird seeing veiled women on the immigration counters taking our passports and asking us questions like, "Where do you work?", "What's your job?", "Who are you travelling with?", and "Where are you staying?" Outside, we were pointed to the nearest currency exchange outlet, which was located inside the departure terminal. I got a little worried that the veiled lady refused to convert my $100 bill. She said they don't take anything older than 2003. With my $50 worth of local Malaysian currency, Barry and I went to McDonald's to order dinner. In a way it was very comforting to see a familiar establishment in a city where people looked Filipino yet spoke a different language. At the counter, I ordered a spicy beef foldover meal which was really just a large beef patty sandwiched into 1 soft taco shell and garnished with coleslaw veggies and sweet n' spicy sauce. With a medium fries and medium coke, that meal quickly cost me MYR11.75, which is around 165 pesos). Barry got himself a double cheeseburger meal at MYR10.25 I think. Nothing different in terms of serving size really.




(To the next few paragraphs, readers beware because I'll tell it the way I perceive it.)


We were quick to observe that the "darker" Indians and Malaysians had blue-collar jobs. They were mostly at the counter or sweeping the airport floors, taxi and bus drivers, etc. Seated, we had the chance to talk to 2 Filipina travelers who were eager to discuss the local showbiz scene. Perhaps it had been to their favor that my job now expects me to be partly knowledgeable about these things. We were sipping MYR2.70 brewed coffee while talking about KC Concepcion and her father Gabby, new TV shows (thank god I went to the ABS-CBN launch) and of course, Pinoy politics and the weather. Susan is a teacher in Laos and Mercy works in a factory that makes fishing baits. They both worked in China but were in Malaysia for a vacation. The 4 of us had nothing to do but wait till 6AM, so it was just great that we the hours passed us by rather quickly, especially since I thought I'd be sleeping in the coffee shop as I had roughly less than 2 hours of sleep on the plane. Susan thought Barry was Malaysian and said I looked Filipino. Strike 1 for Barry. Hehe


At 5:30, we were already saying our goodbyes. Our 2 friends gave us their email addresses and promised to keep in touch next time we'd decide to visit China. During the conversation, we had learned that they were teachers working for CCF in St. Francis Square. It had been their vocation for 7 years to spread the word in China, a very big secret for a noble cause that could possibly cost them their lives. Barry and I had nothing but respect for what they do.


At around 6AM, we rode the AeroBus (aka Sky Bus on various blogs) going to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur's main hub of public transportation. The journey cost MYR8.00 and took about an hour, and already I saw how beautiful and neatly planned out the city was. The expressways were all well-lighted, there were tall condominiums on both sides of the road,

ongoing development projects on the hillsides, palm tree forests covering the Malaysian wetlands, and a view of the Petronas towers and KL tower on the horizon. Travelling at dawn was very relaxing and Barry and I couldn't help but wonder why our cities aren't as well-planned as this.

The KL Sentral bus and light railway station was like a larger, cleaner version of our local Star Mall. There were food and little tiangge stalls near the entrance. Large tarpaulins of people's faces with a blue background hung over the center, advertising a local cellular network. Light passed through the sun roofs and illuminated the walkways toward the ticket stations. Barry and I asked for directions to the Petronas Towers and each bought a MYR1.60 ticket on the LRT to KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Central). Armed with my rolling luggage, we rode the train with 2 Chinese guys who also looked like tourists. We were quick to consider them our Mandarin-speaking Singaporean co-competitors to the Amazing Race Malaysian leg. The train station names were hardly understandable though I quickly learned that Jalan meant "road," Masjid meant "mosque," Awas meant "caution," Jaya probably meant "city," Lelaki meant "male" as with local dialect, while Perempuan meant "female," Lintas meant "walk," teksi meant "taxi," bas meant "bus," ais meant "cold," tarik meant "hot," masok meant "entrance," kuelar meant "exit," tarima kasi meant "thank you," and selamat meant "good" and not "thanks" as it would in Tagalog. I also learned, through a free booklet I got from the airport, that it is customary to point using the thumb with other fingers closed and not with the forefinger. It took me quite a while to get used to that.

The train station was connected to the mall, which was also connected to the Petronas Twin towers. There were no people yet as it had been 8AM on a Sunday. We asked directions and finally found the queue for the free tickets after a while. The line was very long already but more and more people kept coming in. They had me sit down while Barry kept the line for more than an hour. It was here where I truly experienced Kuala Lumpur as the City of Scents. There were Caucasian families and couples, wealthy-looking arabs, medium to light-skinned Indians, a few Japanese, many Chinese tourists, 2 groups of Filipinos, and 1 group of latinos. The waiting area had become crowded and it would've been impossible not to share my side of the marble stairs with someone else. The Indians smelled like Indians (a massala of curry and cumin). The male arabs smelled slightly of perspiration while the female arabs wore very heavy perfume like Chanel No 5 or White Linen mixed with a very distinct, almost cardamom-like, spicyness. The whites, especially the elder ones, really reeked of damp sweat. The same went with the darker locals. The Asians didn't smell like anything.

On the topic of scents and the possibility of being heard talking about racial preconceptions, Barry and I decided to come up with aliases for each group just so that we may talk about them more openly and less filtered:

The Pinoys - "KC" - because Pinoys are so into KC Concepcion nowadays
The Sino-Asians and Koreans - "Kim Chiu" - because they are everywhere and because Kim Chiu sounds like Kimchi
The local Kuala Lumpurian - "Echo" - because our very own Jericho "Echo" Rosales is a big hit with the local tv scene
The Indians - "Melanie Marquez" - because some of them "sMell-anie" so bad

We had about 45 minutes before touring the Petronas bridgeway so we were let in by the ushers into the mini theater where we watched a film with 3D glasses. Here I realized why Malaysia is so rich -- they had petrol! The museum area was ok. There was a cool tesla coil that electrocuted the Petronas scale model every 10 minutes. With enough time, I went to the restroom first (known as tandas). It was here that I discovered how Malaysian toilets had those hole-in-the-ground terns. There was a faucet knob that opened the bidet and on opposite sides, there were "ridges" where people stepped on to squat and do their business. Of course I took pictures! Hahaha

The bridgeway was magnificent. From the top, you could see the KL landscape -- misty mountaintops on the background and tall Petronas-like buildings in the foreground. Everything looked clean and precise. There were a few old low-rise buildings and a few cars roaming the streets at 9:45 in the morning. Barry and I took pictures and videos and waited for the others to finish. While waiting for the elevator, we asked for directions going to Genting Highlands from the usher who looked like Christian Siriano's long lost Malaysian twin. (I swear!)

It was still very early so we walked around the posh mall that housed the necessary brands like Chanel, Gucci, Hermes, Prada, Ermengildo Zegna, VJC (Versace Jeans Couture), Burberry, to name a few. On the top floor were restorans that had remarkable interiors and a skyview of the bridgeway, also the entrance to Petrosains, which is a science discovery activity center that we didn't bother to go into. The only CD/DVD shop they had was Video Ezy which is like their version of Astrovision. It had nothing in it, except maybe licensed dvd copies of "Got 2 Believe" featuring Rico Yan and Claudine Barretto or the whole series of "Pangako Sa'yo" featuring Kristine Hermosa and Jericho Rosales.

We ate lunch at the "Signatures" Food Court where we ate at Mixed Rice. I had fried rice, chicken with sauce (which tasted nothing like Adobo), oily eggplant (that tasted like kamoteng kahoy) and what looked like half a slice of kikiam (that was stale). Everything cost MYR10.00. Pretty affordable and nearly the same price as Pinoy food. What was amazing was that most of the food on display looked freshly-cooked with fresh ingredients unlike the type we see in food courts at the mall. Even in the afternoon or evening, the food looked really fresh. After lunch, Barry and I had a cup of MYR3.30 coffee at Daily Express. It was orgasmic. My dad would've stayed there all day, everyday had he gone to Malaysia with us. The coffee had a smooth blend but still strong and a bit roasted. It was freshly brewed and came with condensed milk (Vietnamese style). It was so delicious, I ordered another one when we transferred seats. It was here, near the window showcasing the vast Suria Mall fountainscape, that I fell asleep. I was just so exhausted and at 12:30, it had been way, way past my bedtime.

Also, you must remember that since we left the airport, we had our luggage with us through the bus, the KL Sentral, the LRT, the queue, going through the mall shops, and into the food court. It was so "touristy" I swear.

After my "power nap," Barry and I had gelato while walking through the convention center. I've never had gelato here in the Philippines and in KL I've had around 3, this one at MYR6.90. We went downstairs to the food court and entrance to Aquaria, their local counterpart for Ocean Park. We paid MYR38.00 for that. It was underwhelming and in my opinion, a bit of a tourist trap. The animals were unremarkable, typical. It would've been better if they had animals from the Sarawak/Borneo region or something.

Our 2 other companions for the trip arrived while we were still in the museum so right after, we walked all the way to Prince Hotel to checked ourselves in. (Yes, I was still dragging my luggage with me through the jalans and menaras of Kuala Lumpur!)

The Prince was a charming business hotel so I expected our room to be very clean and sophisticated. Janice had a convention to attend to so our room was for free. The best thing about the accommodations was that our windows faced the Petronas so at night, the fully-lighted twin towers bejewelled our cityscape. We decided to make the most out of the afternoon by first taking the teksi eksekyutif going to Agong's Palace. We just took pictures at the gate because nobody was allowed to go inside. It was already drizzling a bit so we had to hurry our picture taking. The taxi then brought us to Merdeka Square which has the tallest flagpole in the country to signifying Malaysia's birth of independence. Picture-picture and then transferred to St. Mary's Church which is a small Evangelical church built in 1894. Barry was supposed to bring home a rosary for his Mom because that's what he bought her for every trip. Unfortunately, we didn't see any catholic church throughout our stay, although I did see a Chinese church during one of our train rides. From there, we asked directions going to Puduraya bus station in order to take the bus to Kampong Kantuan to eat dinner at the lake with the fireflies. It was a very long walk through the streets which reminded me of Morayta because it had the LRT going through the avenue. The Indian was nearby and we'd stop by a convenience store for drinks. Puduraya is somewhat the "Baclaran" of Malaysia -- it had the major commuter buses going outside the city. That part of town was very crowded and more polluted than the rest. We were there in the middle of all the traffic waiting for the bus that went to Kantuan. The bus was old, dirty, and downright nasty (kinda like the Del Carmen buses we have along Edsa). Naturally, Ingrid (our other college buddy) didn't wanna ride that crap so we asked for alternative ways to go to Firefly lake. There was none. It was the only way there so we decided to go somewhere else. In retrospect, it probably was a good decision because the trip would've taken us around 2 hours, by that time it would've been very dark (because we were after seeing the fireflies glowing after all ...) and we still had to take a cab from the bus station to the lake. More importantly, we'd have to take another cab ride back to the bus station (assuming it's still open past dinner time) and go back to Puduraya. I see now how that would've been pretty dangerous.

Exhausted and sticky with sweat and grime, we decided to eat dinner at a nearby Chinatown place. The tables and chairs were extended far beyond the sidewalk where cars could only use 1 lane. We bought some dried squid (3 packs for MYR10.00) to bring home. We ordered spicy bull frog (that I didn't try because I don't like frogs), oyster omelette (which sucked), a delicious shitake and beef soup bowl, and I forget the other stuff. Haha The best part was the small coconut Ingrid and I ordered. The water was so sweet and refreshing! The meal was fairly priced at MYR33.00 each considering we ordered a lot.

After that we took a cab going back to the hotel and freshened up. It wasn't long till we prepared for bed, after all the flying, napping, eating, walking, talking, and dragging, it had indeed been a very long day. The twin towers were still lighted from a distance and the tv gabbed on and on until we all fell asleep.

(Barry snored so loud though. There were a couple of times Janice had to wake him up just so he'd stop. Haha)

Inside our hotel room, Kuala Lumpur is a city of lights.