Twin Towers and Tat Markets

This morning I woke up at 9, got ready, had breakfast and walked to KLCC park. It wasn't very far. Despite being in the middle of the city it was quite a beautiful park. It was quite peaceful. There was a large lake with water fountains in and the noise of the water from the fountains drowned out the traffic sounds. I took some photos and wandered round to the bottom of the twin towers, which were set next to the lake. The KL Petronas twin towers are 452 metres tall,  the tallest twin towers in the world.

At the bottom of the towers was a shopping centre. I had a wander round, looking at all the delicious cakes in the many bakeries, and looking in Marks and Spencer to see if it was the same as UK Marks and Spencers. It was. I bought a ticket for the towers but was told I'd have to wait an hour for the next group as it was a structured visit. So while I waited I went to a cake and got some a sandwich. I had chicken pastrami and cheese on ciabatta with about 5 potatoes wedges. By the time I finished it was time to go and check in for my tower visit.

The visit had two parts. The first part was the sky bridge, which connects the two towers. Apparently the towers can sway and twist in the wind so the bridge is built with a huge ball bearing on each end to allow for movement. The sky bridge is 170m above street level, weighs 700 tonnes, and is 60m long. We got a lift up to the 41st floor to access it. It was a really quick journey. The lift goes at 5/6m a second. From the bridge you could see out across the city. I got a really good birds eye view of the park and could see all the nearby skyscrapers and out across into the distance.

The second part of the visit was a trip to the observation deck on the 86th floor. The towers have 88 floors in total. The observation deck was 370 metres above the street. From here I could see slightly more as there were windows in more directions that just either side of the bridge. I could see the KL tower just past the other twin tower. I had a look round and took many photos and then it was time to leave. We were only given a certain amount of time at each level and visited in groups.

Once I was back down on the ground, at about half 2 I had some time to kill. I was going to go on a tour of a cultural village that was about a half hour walk from the towers. I got a drink and sat in the park just watching the world go by. I started making my way to the village around 3:45 as the tour started at half 4. When I was about 10 minutes away, it started chucking it down. I had no coat or anything and all my stuff was going to get soaked and if it was anything like yesterday's rainfall, it would not be fun walking round a village for 3 hours in the rain. So I found shelter, hailed a taxi when one went past and went back to the hostel to wait until it stopped.

After the rain stopped, after 6pm I got the monorail to Chinatown,  as I'd heard there was a good market and there was lots of food stalls that I could have dinner at. The monorail was rammed. When I got to the platform there was already a full train there,  just sitting while people who couldn't get on just stood there looking at it, and all the sardines already on the train stood there looking back at them. Eventually this train left. People crowded round the doors on the platform which lined up with arriving trains doors. When the next train turned up, people were pushing to get on before passengers had got off, but I made it onto the train. Then I realised I had got on the wrong train. I stayed on for two stops anyway as I knew the next train going the other way wasn't due straight away, and the second stop was a lot less busy than the first. I got off, changed to the right platform and a minute later a half empty train turned up. I was even able to get a seat.

At the next few stops I'd just come from though people squashed into the trains, shoving others in an attempt to fit on. At any stations a small amount of people would get off and a hundred would try and take their place. I was surprised no one got crushed. Apparently there are normally more carriages per train but are only running 2 carriage trains during Ramadan.

When we got to the stop I wanted, I got off and walked for about 5 minutes to the market. It was a big market but there was about 3 different types of stalls; watches, shoes, or bags. There were about 5 food stalls. It was a bit disappointing. I got some dumplings from a nearby restaurant and got the monorail back. One positive was the the market was decorated with pretty lanterns, which unfortunately don't look as nice in the photo. When I got back I showered and got into bed.