KL

Petronas Twins, originally uploaded by Dianthus.

D and I headed down to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, so I could apply for a new visa and D had some meetings set up. We learned a few lessons on this trip. One, flying cheap airline wasn’t necessary the best thing. Our flight was delayed for an hour, we had to buy snacks on the plane, and where said airline flies in to is not the major airport, but a smaller one an hour drive outside the city. Our taxi driver from the airport was quite a character and made the ride slightly more entertaining. As we got closer to our hotel, we were able to get glimpses of the Petronas Twin Towers. I had been stoked to see these buildings, knowing that they were once the tallest buildings in the world and watching a Discovery Channel show on the design and construction of them. I wasn’t disappointed. They were stunning all lit up. The towers are surprisingly delicate. They don’t give the impression of being as tall as they really are.

Friday morning it was off to the Thai embassy to apply for my visa. After some confusion about where to go, which line to be in and a super fast walk to an ATM for Ringget (we had been told to bring dollars), my application was submitted and they told me I could pick it up on Monday. What a relief! D and I spent the rest of the day exploring around the Patronas Towers. The actual towers are offices for a large petroleum company, but they smartly built a shopping mall at the base. My planning/design nerd brain kicked in, and was impressed with the entire complex. The Towers and adjoining shopping complex back up to a large park area with the KL Convention Center on the side opposite the Towers. It was very nice, and judging by the amount of people we saw, well used. We walked around the park taking pictures and people watching. We decided to stay and have dinner at the mall, since I had spied a California Pizza Kitchen there. I know, I know, but sometimes it’s nice to have something familiar.

On Saturday, we explored Bintang Walk, another shopping area within the city. We went and had breakfast there, since we had been unimpressed with the breakfast offerings at the hotel. After breakfast, we wandered around some more and rode the KL Monorail back towards the Towers. We walked through what seemed like the foreigner/visitor area, complete with lots of over-the-top bars. It was entertaining to say the least. We had an early dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and headed back to the hotel. KL has been much more hot and humid than we’ve been used to.

The rest of the trip, we’ve mostly been around the hotel and over to the Towers. I picked up my visa from the Embassy (yay!) on Monday morning, and spent part of the afternoon at the park. It finally got too hot so I headed back to the hotel to cool off. The head of the office here kindly invited D and I over to his house for a drink, and we had a fun filled evening talking with him and his wife. They are both very interesting people having lived all over. They invited us to stay for dinner. It was so generous of them, and it was extremely nice to have a home cooked meal after a month in hotels and eating out.

Soon we will be back in Bangkok, and hopefully moving into the townhouse. I can’t wait to see the boys!

*Update
We are back in Bangkok, after another ridiculous flight on forementioned low cost airline. Another hour and a half delay in KL! Never again low cost airline!