We left in the morning and made the 4-hour drive uneventfully. Our first stop was at Midi 57, a newly opened Italian restaurant that had been featured in the Expat magazine. It boasted top quality wood-fired pizzas, lots of pork, and pasta. Everyone enjoyed this non-halal treat, and the kids got to know the pizza chef!
After lunch, we visited the National Museum of Malaysia. Here I learned much about the country's long history of colonization (by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British, the Japanese) and eventual independence (merdeka). Mark especially enjoyed the steam locomotives out front!
We checked into the Intercontinental KL and then walked through KLCC park to the Trader's Hotel. On the top floor, we enjoyed drinks and amazing city and Petronas Towers views from the hip and stylish Skybar. (Kids allowed until 7:00 p.m.) After, we hopped in a teksi to the Jalan Petaling (Chinatown) and browsed the famous night market: endless rows of yummy street food and knock-off handbags, watches, DVDs, etc.
The next day, we enjoyed our hotel's fabulous buffet breakfast, then headed to the playground where we melted in the morning sun. Air-con was welcomed by all as we left the park and headed inside to Petrosains, an interactive children's science museum. We spent hours playing and exploring the world of hydrocarbons, energy, life and physical sciences, and once again, I missed my petroleum geologist dad!
A coffee fix, some shopping, and a brief respite at our hotel, then out "satu lagi" (once more) to Changkat Bukit Bintang, a wonderful street with restaurants from all over the world. We found our mecca at Loco's as we've been starved for good Mexican food. The duck chimichangas, fish fajitas, and margaritas were simply amazing! (See Adam below with a "Diablo" margarita.)
The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and drove to Ampang Grocers, where we proceeded to spend an embarrassing amount of money on things that can't easily be found in Penang. It had me missing the huge selection of American grocery stores, but then again, my waistline might not like all the highly processed foods we hauled home!
On our way out of town, we stopped at the famous Batu Cave temples. We climbed a long stairway past the largest statue I've ever seen (dodging Hindu worshipers, tourists, and food-stealing monkeys) up to a temple set within the limestone cliffs. During Thaipusam, almost 1 million people flock here to present their offerings to the Hindu gods. I can only imagine the crowds on those slippery steps and am thankful we didn't come then!
While in KL, we also had the opportunity to watch many people jump from the KL Tower during their annual BASE jumping weekend. The picture below doesn't do it justice; the jumpers look like specks off to the left.) Still, there's not too much air between there and the ground, and some sure took their time popping their chutes. What a rush!
