Thursday, 24.5.2018:
After 4 flights I finally had a more relaxed day ahead of me. Before exploring Kuala Lumpur again I tried the Shangri-La's breakfast which was amazing. Lots of different culinary flavors from all over the world, and additional staff that prepared omelets or noodle soups:
My personal highlights were the Peking Duck bites, the Currys and the chocolate fountains (yes – there were multiple ones).
Afterwards I packed my camera bag again but went for the lighter option (only two lenses, no tripod) as it was super hot that morning already. I took a cab to Central Market where I started my sightseeing day, and I explored the colonial heritage of Kuala Lumpur around the Sultan Abdul Samad Building:
There are various walking tours in the city center, each of them with lots of info signs. I started out with the 'Colonial Walk':
The heat was starting to become insane (ooof) and I went back to Central Market, starting another walking tour to Sri Maha Mariamman Temple and the Guan Yu Temple:
After walking for a few blocks I came across the Jalan Petaling, where lots of fake merchandise could be bought (no thx):
After crossing through Petaling Street I had enough sightseeing for the time, and I took the next cab back to the hotel. It was early afternoon already, and my own lazyness drove me to the Shangri-La hotel pool. To be honest though – swimming in that small paradiese in KUL's concrete jungle was awesome, especially as you could look at the KL Tower and the Petronas Towers from the water.
I hardly relax when I'm flying around (I could never do beach vacations at the moment), so I showered and went out with my camera again. There was another thunderstorm coming according to Google Weather, and I wanted to visit KL Tower before that hit. KL Tower has two major advantages for photographers compared to the Petronas Towers:
- You have the Petronas Towers on your photos
- KL Tower has an outside observation deck
There was no line to go up, even better!
Once I was at the observation desk I started taking a ton of photos (as always), including some from the new(?) skyboxes:
The thunderstorm was getting closer, so I went down and ran back to my hotel – and exactly when I arrived there, hell broke loose and the rain started. Some trees near the hotel were even uprooted:
I sat through the thunderstorm with some snacks and drinks in my room, while editing some first photos in Lightroom / Photoshop. The rain eventually stopped in the evening, so I went out to Pavilion Mall to get something to eat. I just walked there from the Shangri-La, and the atmosphere after the storm was super relaxing (and finally less hot!). As always when I have the chance, I went to the Din Tai Fung branch in the mall to get some Xiao Long Bao, Wontons and Peanut Noodles:
At 9:30PM it was time for the "Last Order" and I headed out and walked back to the hotel. After all the walking and all the heat, I just fell into the bed and had another awesome night of sleep.