Kuala Lumpur

 Kuala Lumpur   

For my first full day in Kuala uempur, I went for a walk around some of the sights to see. Just up from my hotel was the start of Chinatown and the Chinese market. They sell a lot of goods and are prepared to haggle but it is not a night food market. That is along a street running paralell to this one. 

The KL Tower which was where I was heading for a view over the city. 

I passed the entrance to the Taman Eko-Rimba Kuala Lumpur (TERKL). It ia a raised canopy walk through some rain forest. Just beyond was the steep road leading up to the base of the KL Tower.

Another iconic building, tall, without being compromised by other tall buildings around it. 

The Petronas Towers, a side view and not the well known twin towers pictures. With the rise of other buildings around it, it has lost some of its grandeur.

A closer view of the towers from further around the viewing platform on the KL Tower.

A general view of the skyline of Kuala Lempur. There are some green spaces but the towers are taking over.

Another view.

My hotel somewhere near the base of the tall red building top left of the photo. The open area to the top right is the site of a new development so return in a few years time and the skyline will have changed again.

Another iconic building. I had omitted taking a photo of the Upside Down House near the base of the KL Tower, both on the way up and on the way back. I wasn't fussed about taking a photo of the World Peace Gong and the Blue Coral Aquarium also wasn'y on my list of things to see.

Not to be overshadowed by George Town's street art, there is a series of street art adorning Kuala Lempur...

...but it wasn't as impressive to me as George Town's efforts. 

I was disappointed at the riverside walk, it had potential but had escaped any beautification. 

The junction where the Gombak River on the left joins the Kland River on the right. The junction is prettiyly lit up at night in blue and iy much prettier at night than during the day.

At the junction is the beautiful Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque, built in a Moorish style.

                                       

Next to the bridge looking upstream to the confluence pf the two rivers is an old building. Its facade is covered with the River of Life mural. To my mind, they have taken a grand brick building andruined it with some tacky grafetti. 

Nearby is a major cross roads. On one corner stands the National Textile Museum in a beautiful building with a strong Moorish influence in the design. It was formerly the Federated Malay States Railway offices.

On the opposite corner is another grand building. This was the former Chartered Bank building used as offices.

Next door is yet another beautiful building now occupied as an art gallery.

Behind it is the library which is a juxtaposition of traditional and modern architecture.

                                                  

All three buildings face the country's second tallest flagpole at 95 metres. The tallest is the recently erected 99 metre tall flagpole opposite the Sarawak state legislative building.and beyond that is...

...the Merdeka Square (Independence Square). It is a large grassed area. It was formerly used as cricket field for the djacent Royal Selangor Club which was a country club for wealthy British and governemnt officials. On one side is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. 

The building originally housed the offices of the British colonial administration, and was known simply as Government Offices in its early years. In 1974, it was renamed after Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan of Selangor at the time when construction began in 1894.

Opposite the Sultan Abdul Samad Building is the Royal Selangor Club, with more than a passing resemblence to a cricket pavillion.