March 2010 - Weekend Trip to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

KL Tower

Kimberly at bird park at KL Tower

Family photo in front of Petronas Towers

Large Buddha statue at Batu Caves

Petronas Towers at night

Weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur

In March 2010 we did a family long-weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to visit with friends the Rusch family. This trip coincided with the Hindu holiday of Nyepi.

Where we stayed

We spent a total of 4 nights in Kuala Lumpur. On our first night and last night we stayed at the Westin which was a very comfortable and centrally located hotel. Nearby the hotel are many restaurants and shopping. If visiting KL we would recommend the Westin for comfort and convenience. The other two nights we stayed with our friends Paul and Dawn.

What we did

A trip to Kuala Lumpur would not be complete without a visit to the Petronas Towers. We didn't actually go up to the observation tower as we didn't think it was worth the hassle. The observation deck at the KL Tower is actually much higher than the Petronas Towers observation platform. We did visit the park surrounding the towers and the large upscale shopping center at the base of the towers. We also had an opportunity to attend a concert at the Petronas Tower concert hall on the Monday night .
We visited the Batu Caves which are about a one hour drive outside of the city. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India. You can see from some of the photos on this page that at the foot of the stairs there is a large statue of Murugan, a hindu deity. It was interesting to see inside the caves after climbing the steep steps. After seeing the main attraction there is another cave tour available which we all went on. Although this extra cave tour was interesting it really wasn't worth the time or effort.
We visited the Taman Negara National Park which has the reputation as the world's oldest rainforest. We spent a few hours hiking in the woods and went to the hilltop where there is a canopy walkway amongst the trees. We didn't get a chance to try the canopy walkway as it was way too crowded. Overall a worthwhile visit.
On our final day in town we visited the Kuala Lumpur Tower which is a communications tower. The tower is 421 meters which currently makes it the fifth tallest freestanding tower in the world. On the day we visited the visibility was good so the observation platform provided nice views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline and surrounding areas. At the foot of the tower there is a small zoo and Formula 1 race car simulation (I guess in recognition of the upcoming Formula 1 race to be held). It was well worth the effort to visit the KL Tower.
In addition to the various sites we visited we spent a few days with our good friends the Rusch family (Paul, Dawn, Jayce and Leo). It was good seeing them and we hope to plan some future family trips together in the region in the not too distant future.