Up KL Tower

Manda writes:

At 421m tall, the Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower) soars up towards the clouds and adds another defining characteristic to KL's skyline. Standing prominently atop Bukit Nanas, it is the fourth-highest telecommunications tower in the world - after the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada (553m), the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia (540m) and the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, China (468m).

KL Tower - taller than a palm tree, for sure.

Its logo incorporates the strap line "Come and touch the sky" and today, as we made our way up to 276m-high observation deck, it felt like we were doing just that. We were given a free audio commentary via headphones, which helped explain what we were looking at. A good idea as we often see nice panoramic views from up high with little idea what we're looking at, the exception being the most famous landmarks that we can pick out.

The view from KL Tower of Petronus Towers.

The Petronus Towers have always looked so high up, but from the KL Tower, you're almost equal.

After viewing the city from above, we watched a documentary on how the tower was constructed in 1996, how they worked around a 100-year-old Jelutong tree that was clinging on to the edge of the foundations, and how the tower incorporated the traditional Islamic 'Muqarnas' design. All very informative stuff delivered in a much-appreciated air-conditioned room.

From there we made our way back to PJ where we met Uncle Gary who ferried us from the bus stop to Sun Pyramid Shopping Mall (the meeting point where Peter would pick us up from). There are many shopping malls in KL and we managed to count eight that we'd visited in under a week. These places are often havens offering refuge from the intense Malaysian sun. Like the name suggests, the Sun Pyramid is decorated with an Egyptian theme, complete with large sphinx outside. Inside the shopping centre, there is an ice rink to keep those who are not keen on shopping occupied. We spent a while watching the skaters go around the rink - picking out the confident skaters, the show-offs, the wobbly ones and the ones that would spend the entire session gripping on tightly to the sides. It was amusing to watch and before we knew it, it was time to go and meet Peter.

Peter had been fighting the commuter traffic over to the Sun Pyramid. From there, he drove us a fair distance to Cheras, where he lives. He introduced us to his family who own an eatery in the heart of the suburb. The whole family seemed to be on the premises either helping out or eating there. One of Peter's brothers, also known as Peter, came over to talk to us. He had been working in Finland for seven years before coming back home to help out at the family business. An unusual place for a Malaysian-Chinese chef to be working in but he seemed to have a soft spot for Finland as he reminisced about the past.

After dinner, Peter took us to his house to meet his wife, Ting Ting, and their two children - daughter, Rosamund and baby son, Rafael. Ting Ting was 'in confinement' (A Chinese custom whereby mothers stay at home for a month to bond with the baby and recuperate) as Rafael is just under one month old. Despite being cooped up for almost four weeks, she seemed in high spirits and we chatted the night away effortlessly. Both kids were well behaved and we hardly heard a peep out of them. Rosamund would hide behind her father's legs every now and then, not sure what to make of us strangers. But as the night wore on, she came out of her shell. Together we flicked through their wedding and baby photo albums and they, in turn, looked at some of our favourite photos we had taken on this trip so far.

Meeting with Peter's Family: (l-r) Ian, Manda, Ting-Ting, Rafael and Peter (Rosamund not pictured - she was busy sleeping!).

Peter kindly drove us home at 11pm. He must have arrived back in Cheras at midnight after that round trip. We said our goodbyes once more and Peter headed off in to the distance. As I watched his car pull away, I wondered when we'd next see him.

My train of thought was broken by the sound of barking. I turned to face the obstacle course that I'd have to get through before reaching the solace of the front porch - this included getting past three bear-sized dogs (grizzly bear, not koala!). Gary was still up and the kitchen fridge had been fully replenished with beers. The last time I looked at the clock it was 1am and after that, everything became a blur.