Happy Leap Day.  William’s foot still hurts, so I’m off on my own today to the Singapore National Gallery.  Along the way I continue to be amazed at how clean the city is.  I guess outlawing chewing gum and spitting is just an indicator of their commitment to cleanliness.

The Gallery is housed in the Old City Hall and Supreme Court Buildings, which are joined by an atrium and walkways. In the City Hall Chamber there’s a 10-15 minute dynamic video presentation of the nation’s past which took place within or around the building, from it’s completion in 1929, through Japanese Occupation, through forming their own government and finally independence in 1966. Very interesting!

​The Gallery contains art from Singapore and throughout South East Asia. Some of my favorite pieces are a self-portrait of Georgette Chen and her portrait of her husband Eugene as well as the ceramic Mother and Child. Of course there are other pieces which catch my eye as well.

There’s an exhibit of the Singaporean photographer Chua Soo Bin. I found a quote of his to be very insightful.

​In addition to the art I also enjoy the beauty of the wood in the former courtrooms.

I finally make my way to the Padang Deck on the top floor of the City Hall building. It provides a wonderful view of some of the city.

William has been in the hotel room resting his foot all day (which is feeling a little better) and he is very motivated to go out for dinner. We slowly walk over to Jumbo Seafood, which is well known for it’s Chili Crab and Black Pepper Crab. Of course I order crab. A 1.1 kilo mud crab prepared chili style to be precise. William selects the bbq’d ribs and we add some seafood rice. Oh my, we have a ton of food and it is delicious! William helps me with one crab claw and I help him with one rib, but otherwise we individually polish off our entrees. Mmmmm.

During dinner we vow to return to this wonderful city and really get a chance to enjoy it together.

William has a rough night and even walking to the dining room of the hotel for breakfast is a major event. Oy! - of course we have a room that is the furthest distance from the elevators. He decides to hang around the hotel room for the day and rest the foot.

In the late morning I grab my hat and the Sony camera and head to the River Walk. Singapore is extremely safe and clean - the perfect city if you must explore on your own. I cross the Read Street pedestrian bridge that we watch from our balcony and take a right to walk through the restaurants of Clarke Quay toward the downtown core and Marina Bay beyond. It’s a warm day with the sun shining, but much of the walkway is shaded by trees. I relish the views of historical buildings, modern skyscrapers, public sculptures and people enjoying the parkway along the Singapore River.

Along the way the Marina Bay Sands (the three tower structure connected by terraces on the top) periodically peeks out. When I arrive at the Esplanade I have a clear view of the structure across the water. The flower-shaped ArtScience Museum is to the left of Marina Bay Sands and the Convention Center is in front. Wow!

​By early evening William is a little stir-crazy and we both are getting hungry so we slowly walk across the bridge to Octapas, a Spanish restaurant. We enjoy some beverages, tapas and a paella.

Our first full day in Singapore, yeah! This island-city-state is actually comprised of one major island and 62 small islands, covering 725 square kilometers (~280 square miles) of land with a population of ~ 6 million. For perspective, the State of Delaware is ~ 2,500 square miles. Time to explore!

Our room at the Swissotel does not include breakfast which gives us an opportunity to try something outside of the hotel. Across Clarke Quay and within within Fort Canning Park we find the Fabulous Baker Boy. We have a very good breakfast and then start our walk through the park toward the National Museum of Singapore.

Canning Park lies on a hill and escalators have been installed to help get from one level to the next. This is William’s idea of how to do stairs in a park! However, when we are three-quarters of the way through the park his foot begins to hurt. By the time we arrive at the museum it is really hurting. He hobbles through 75% of the museum and then makes his way to the cafe while I finish looking at the exhibits.

The National Museum dates back to 1887, with it’s most recent refurbishment in 2015, just in time for Singapore’s Golden Jubilee. The museum provides insight into the history of Singapore. A special exhibit highlights life during the Japanese Occupation in World War II.

​The Glass Rotunda has a special exhibit “Story of the Forest” which is digital art based upon natural history drawings of the museum. It’s very different and fun.
 
We taxi back to the hotel where William puts his foot up while I go to the pool. His foot hurts just laying on the bed so we order room service for dinner. The foot is red and swollen near the big toe, but he did not hurt it in any way - this is a first for him. Tylenol relieves some of the pain. Weird. In the evening in addition to watching movies on TV we do more people watching from our balcony.

We arrange with the concierge desk of the condo for a ride to the airport. Our stay in KL has been very nice, but it is time to move on to Singapore. Our driver texts me via WhatsApp that he is here as we are in the elevator to the lobby. Perfect timing!

The driver turns out to be quite a talker - he didn’t stop during the full hour that we ride to the airport. We learn his life story. He discusses China’s loans to build infrastructure in Indonesia. He tells us that the government is in the process of building a new city closer to the airport which will become the new capital of Indonesia. He reminds us that the King of Indonesia moves every five years through a number of Sultan families. He talks about the collapse of the government over the weekend then adds “Sure, the government collapsed, but look around. People are still going about their daily life. No impact”. Whew, we’re exhausted from listening when we arrive.
 
We purposely have left the condo extra early because we were not sure what to expect at the airport with the coronavirus scare. We are concerned that there might be long lines due to extra screening, etc. It turns out that the impact is that the airport is almost deserted. There are six agents waiting to do check-in’s for JetStar Airlines with no one in line. We’re asked if we have been to China in the past 14 days. We walk towards Immigration and there isn’t a person in front of us, even though only three booths are open. We breeze through and go find the lounge to await our 50 minute flight to Singapore.
 
Arrival in Singapore is very easy and the taxi ride is less than 20 minutes to the Swissotel, which will be our home for the next four nights. Due to the coronavirus they have setup body temperature monitors as people enter the building. We must also fill out a form with our travel history during the check-in process.
 
The Swissotel is right on Clarke Quay where we have a room with a balcony overlooking the water and the restaurants on the quay. After dinner we lounge in chairs on the balcony and do some serious people-watching late into the evening. William enjoys a cigar (which is allowed on the balconies) and we sip a beverage. Fun!

On our last full day in KL we have a lazy start just hanging around the condo and doing a little organization for packing.

In the early afternoon we walk over to KLCC and pop into Galeria Petronas. This free art gallery is right within the mall at Petronas Towers. The pieces range in style, but one of the more interesting sections for me is the portraits of artists.

​Following lunch we waddle back to the condo - for some time by the pool for me and some time chilling in front of an old movie on TV for William. When I return from the pool I sit on the balcony and once again see the city in the distance that appears only when the clouds clear. It sometimes seems be floating in the sky. My curiosity is heightened and I text our host. He quickly responds that it is Genting Highlands, about 45 minutes away and one of the foremost tourist spots near KL. I look it up and learn it has a cable car to the summit and at the top are amusement areas and a resort. Flashback to Vietnam’s Sun World!!!

I signed us up for an Airbnb Experience (a.k.a. tour) to Batu Caves. Jeff (our host) picks us up at 10:30 and we join Ketan, a chef from Chicago for the tour. On the 30 minute drive to the caves Jeff gives us some background on Indonesia, talks about the resignation of the Prime Minister which occurred over the weekend and answers our questions.

As we arrive we learn that the caves are in a limestone hill. The caves contain Hindu shrines and are dedicated to Lord Murugan. To prove it a huge gold-colored statue of Lord Murugan is at the base of the 272 colorful steps leading to the caves. We go through the temples at the base, even receiving blessings from the priests who place and red and white dots on our foreheads.

​Jeff provides us with bottles of water, warns us about the monkeys stealing shiny objects and food, and we begin the climb up the steps. There’s a landing area after each section of steps which allows us to catch our breath as needed. The monkeys also like to entertain (or steal) along the steps.

​At the top we walk into the largest cave, appropriately called Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave. There are a number of temples on the floor of the cave then another set of stairs to reach the upper temple. We take our time walking around and learn from Jeff that the temples are the site of the Thaipusam Festival which draws Hindu pilgrims from Indonesia and across the world. The monkeys who occupy the cave seem to be as big of a draw for tourists as the temples.

Following the caves Jeff drives us to a restaurant/coffee shop. This is a very local place - we appear to be the only “outsiders”, but we are greeted with wide smiles by the staff and patrons. Jeff orders hot coffee for William and Ketan and a tea for me. All come with some amount of evaporated milk in the cup. Oh well. Jeff also orders us “toasts”, a typical KL breakfast or snack. They are tasty bread slices which have been toasted and a liberal amount of butter and jam spread in the middle. Mmmm.
​
On the drive back we learn a little more about Jeff. He completed his first degree, worked for a while and now is in school to be a construction estimator. He runs these Airbnb tours on weekends and during his school breaks. Brilliant! William and I comment that we wish that it would have been a possibility for us when we were in school, especially when William returned to school for his second degree.
 
The entire tour took 3 - 3.5 hours, with an hour of it in transit. It was interesting, and good to get out of the KL city center, but it was nothing like our temple experience in Cambodia.

William is the chef of our protein heavy daily breakfasts at the condo, which means we are ready for lunch (our main meal of the day) around 2 pm. So we primarily try out Kuala Lumpur’s international food scene for late lunches. Unfortunately we have opportunity to try only a minuscule sample of what is available, mostly restaurants within a 20 minute walk from the condo.

Our first full day here we used Google Maps to help us find Tatto, an upscale Italian restaurant where we are one of three tables during the mid-afternoon. Their mushroom pasta brings a broad smile to William’s face and I thoroughly enjoy their whitefish entree.

​Two Sons Bistro is in the mall at Petronas Twin Towers. They offer an executive lunch with various Malaysian entrees. My chicken choice comes with a leg and thigh covered with curry, a spicy vegetable medley, and a tower of rice. I am careful to avoid the entrees with chili peppers next to the names, but still I feel heat - especially from the vegetables!

​Healy Mac’s is an Irish Pub which we repeat during our stay, partially due to the food, partially due to the Kilkenny beer, and partially due to their broadcast of New Zealand rugby matches.

When meandering near Merdeka Square we stop in a spot for Indian Butter Chicken. It helps that Little India is just a couple of kilometers away. The dish is okay, but not nearly as good as what I have experienced in Bangalore.

Again walking around the Mall at Petronas Towers in search of food we stumble across Thai Odessey, a cafe associated with a Thai spa. Ah... Chicken Massamam!

Madam Kwan’s is a Malaysian chain of eight restaurants owned by Kwan Swee Lian. We tried getting into the one in KLCC during the regular lunch hour and there was a long queue of office workers. We save it for a Sunday where there isn’t much of a queue, but after we are seated we find out that families love it - the noise level from little voices permeates. I choose Char Kway Teow as my entree, which is a dish of flat noodles, dark soy sauce, chicken, prawns, squid, egg and bean sprouts. It has just a bit of spice and it’s delightful. Apparently Madam Kwan’s is big enough to package their own snacks.
​ 
We found all of the restaurants we tried to be quite reasonably priced. With a glass of wine and a beer we usually spent the equivalent of $31 USD including service charge and tax. Of course, if we would have gone to a high end restaurant with steaks imported from Australia or Japan the price would have been much higher.

If/when we return to Kuala Lumpur we’ll check out more of the food scene.

Yesterday we stopped at the ticket booth for the Petronas Twin Towers tour and bought tickets for today’s 12:15 tour. Reading reviews online it sounded like we had little to no chance of getting same day tickets and modest chance of getting tickets for the next day. We were surprised that there were plenty of tickets available yesterday as well as today. But then we remembered: the major tourist-providing country for this region (China) has stopped all tours.

Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest towers in the world from 1998 until 2004. Petronas is short for Petrolium Nasional Bernard, is an oil and gas company fully owned by the Government of Malaysia. I guess that explains where the money came from for such a magnificent building.

​We stand in line beginning at noon and promptly at 12:15 they begin processing our group. First we have a temperatures taken then go through the security check. First stop is the 41st floor Skybridge, which links the two buildings. It’s actually a double-decker bridge, but the 42nd floor is only used by the occupants of the building. We learn that Tower 1 is fully used for employees of Petronas and it’s subsidiaries - I think they said 12,000 people. According to a video William watched while on the tour the Skybridge is not actually attached, rather it slides in and out of the towers as they sway. I am very glad he didn’t tell me that until after the tour.

​After 10 minutes on the Skydeck taking photos our group is called to the elevator for our ascent to the 86th floor Observation Deck. The elevator ride is smooth and quiet other than when a woman coughs. She started laughing and everyone joined in - of course thinking about the Corona Virus.
 
We have 15-20 minutes on the Observation Deck, looking out the windows at almost a 360 degree view, watching videos and looking at the displays. It’s a straight ride down the 86 floors in the elevator which lets us out in front of the gift shop (of course).  I look at my watch, and yes, the tour is exactly 45 minutes as they had advertised.

We use the second day of our Hop-On Hop-Off ticket to do Hop-Off exploring. We start at Merdeka Square, which is Independence Square. The British flag was lowered here and the Malaysian flag raised for the first time on August 31, 1957. Running alongside the square is the 1800’s Sultan Abdul Samad building with it’s clock tower and copper domes.

​We walk around for a bit, stopping by an area known as the River of Life. It is a walk along the Klang River. The city has invested significantly in cleaning up the river and turning the area into a venue for relaxing and dining.

​After lunch we check out Central Market. The market, built in 1928, is now a tourist attraction with various stores and stalls. Although there are some original products and handicrafts it has it’s share of cheap tourist stuff. Oh well.

Central Market is just a short distance from Petaling Street and China Town, a must see!  We wander through the booths and stores of China Town - many selling knock-off products ($10 Rolex, anyone?). At one point we take a route through the back-side of the kitchens for a block of small restaurants. Let’s just say it was a bit scary.
​
On the edge of China Town is Sri Mahariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in KL, founded in 1873. The impressive five-tiered gate tower with depictions of Hindu gods was built in 1972. From China Town we Hop-On the bus again and it takes us back to the Petronas Twin Towers, just a 15-20 minute walk to our condo. It has been a fun day.

​We spend our first few days in Kuala Lumpur chilling out and predominantly enjoying the condo while we begin to catch up on e-mail, photo processing and blogging. I savor relaxing by the pool in the afternoons. In the evening we sometimes go up to the rooftop deck and enjoy the Petronas Twin Towers - it is almost as if they are next door. The Towers at night as well as the pool chairs offer an opportunity for William to practice with our new photography tripod.

​Today, Tuesday, we are ready for some adventure so we purchase 48 hour tickets for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. Each of the two routes takes two hours to complete. We do both routes by primarily sitting on the bus watching the people on the streets, the sites, and listening to the live narrative. There’s a mix of old and new along the routes. The city has some amazing recent architecture in addition to the Petronas Twin Towers, and there are cranes everywhere we look working on new condos, business buildings, hotels and mixed-used buildings. The Exchange 106 Skyscraper is now the tallest building in Malaysia, while KL Tower is a communications tower is the third-most famous building in the city. But the Merdeka 118 building is currently under construction and it will become the tallest in KL and South East Asia, and the second tallest in the world.
​
Along the red bus route we spot Healy Mac’s Irish Bar. Since we have a track record of sampling Irish bars throughout the world we decide that is the spot for our late lunch. William sips on a Kilkenny while he waits for his rib lunch and I have a glass of wine to accompany my croque monsieur. Ok, so we didn’t go with traditional Irish food, but pork is not something we’ve found in the Kuala Lumpur restaurants up until now, a reflection of the Muslim population.