My second stop on my vacation was the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. I was just leaving the bus terminal and on my way to the hotel I was planning to stay at, when I was intercepted by a local "tout". He guaranteed that his hotel would be better than the one I was going to - just take a look. Well, it was only a two minute walk from the bus terminal, it was OK, and the price was very reasonable. I stayed there for two days.
The downtown area of Kuala Lumpur is very confusing. The streets do not follow a grid pattern and many just end abruptly. It was very easy to get lost. One sight I wanted to see was the "Petrona Towers", which at 88 stories, is the world's tallest building. Strangely enough, the building is not located in the main part of downtown. I had to take the light rail train two stops out of the downtown to reach the building.
It was very impressive. All stainless steel panels and green glass. (nicknamed the corncob buildings). A large shopping mall is located at the base of the building. I heard that the economic crisis had created many vacant office spaces in this building. There was no observation tower for tourists - couldn't go up in it.
Below are a couple of photos of government offices in Kuala Lumpur. You can really notice the Muslim influence in the architecture.
The city also had a large radio tower, which allegedly is the world's tallest, with an observation area similar to Seattle's Space Needle. I went up there one afternoon and got these photos of the downtown area.
Views of the city from the tower.
Click this link to see my second destination in Malaysia, the island of Penang (city of Georgetown).