Kuala Lumpur

With less than 24 hours allocated in our schedule, we had to maximize our stay in Kuala Lumpur, but unfortunately, we arrived from Genting Highlands at around 9 PM. Our original itinerary was:

Day 1 - Batu Caves, Bukit Bintang, Petronas Towers at night
Day 2 - Petronas Towers (Skybridge), Shopping

When we arrived late, we immediately decided to cancel the Skybridge because we still did not have tickets and we had to wake up early to line up for them. We also had to move the Batu Caves trip to the morning.

We checked in at Swiss Garden Hotel. We got a Deluxe Room with breakfast for RM276, thanks to their Early Bird promo. The room was nice, nothing fancy but quite neat. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures. We wanted to have dinner at Nando's since we heard that this restaurant is a must-try for KL first-timers. The hotel staff said there was one near Puduraya bus terminal, so we walked towards the terminal and immediately found the resto. Sadly, they were about to close at that time, so the staff told us to go to the Bukit Bintang branch. We were very tired and hungry, so we took a cab and asked the driver if he knew Nando's at BB. But before we could turn left at BB coming from Puduraya, we got stuck in traffic, so we got off, paid about RM10 (if I remember correctly) for that short less-than-a-kilometer, traffic jam-packed ride and started to look for Nando's. We weren't able to see it, even the policemen told us conflicting directions, so we had to settle for... KFC. After our quick dinner, we rushed to get to the Petronas towers because the lights were scheduled to be out by 12 midnight. We weren't the only ones trying to catch the towers' lights that night.

The building across the towers

KL Tower as background

When the lights went off, we rode a cab back to the hotel and had a good night sleep. As a result, we woke up late the next day! We had a quick breakfast and asked the hotel staff for directions to Batu Caves. We walked to the Imbi station of the monorail and got off at KL Sentral. The fare was RM3.20 for both of us. From KL Sentral, we rode the KTM Komuter to Batu Caves, which was actually the last stop of that line. This cost us RM4 for both of our tickets.

Inside the Monorail train

Quite noticeable about KTM Komuter is the interval of trains. They were far in between so missing a train can really ruin your schedule, though they weren't really on schedule if the displayed time at the station will be used. It was almost 11AM when we reached Batu Caves, and hotel check-out time was 12PM, so once again, we had to rush. We just took some pictures, bought some souvenirs and weren't able to climb up the stairs.

Considering our experience with the KTM Komuter, we got a cab going back to the hotel. The driver asked for RM40 and since we didn't have much of a choice, we just obliged. Tough luck again, there was traffic jam even at the express way. We asked the driver if he knew any other way, and he asked for an additional RM5, so I agreed as long as we can get to the hotel on time. From that point, he turned to the next right, and I thought we were getting farther from our hotel, but he knew what we was doing, so before 12, we reached the hotel. I told the concierge that we'll just pick up our baggage and he was kind enough to tell us that he had to update our card key. After check out, we deposited our bags at the hotel lobby and walked to BB, still searching for Nando's. Luckily, there were shops along the way, so we got to shop a little, and ate at Nando's located at the Pavilion. My wife ordered a Hot Peri-peri while I got a Lemon & Herb chicken. My chicken had a flag on it that said "Not so brave".

After eating, we still had to rush to the hotel to catch our flight. We asked the hotel to get us a cab to LCCT, and they got us one for RM80. We wanted to enjoy KL as much as possible but we didn't have enough time, so hopefully we can come back there soon.

Here are some links:
Swiss Garden Hotel
Petronas Towers official website
KTM Komuter