Places to visit in KL in a day (Part 2)
- Iyay
- Jun 18, 2015
- 5 min read
Next stop: Masjid Jamek, Sultan Abdul Samad Building and Merdeka Square.
This was supposed to be our first stop since the bus dropped us off near the area but we were so hungry so we decided to eat first.
From the Central market we went out at the back passing through Central Market annex where you can find art studios.
Just beside the annex is the river that has a view of Masjid Jamek. We weren't able to go near it though.
(Masjid Jamek from afar)
Sultan Abdul Samad Building was just right around the corner. Just few walks and there we were. The building has an excellent architectural design with a mix of Mughal, Malaysian and British style designed by the English architecture A.C. Norman. It was used before as Federated Malay States office, later became a High court, Federal court and court of appeals until 2007 and now it is home for Malaysian Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture.
(Sultan Abdul Samad Building has better view at night when all its light are lit. Too bad we didn't stay longer.)
Right in front of Sultan Abdul Samad Building is the Merdeka square or Dataran Merdeka. This was the place where Union flag was lowered and Malaysian flag was hoisted for the first time at midnight on August 31, 1957. Ever since then, Merdeka square has been the venue for the annual Merdeka parade.
(The historic square of Merdeka)
(Panoramic view of Merdeka Square and Sultan Abdul Samad Building)
(Music Museum right beside the KL Gallery)
(The National Textile Museum was across the Music Museum. We didn't get the chance to go in though.)
Last stop: KLCC (Petronas tower), Suria
The Petronas tower is quite far from Pasar Seni. You can ride a bus going there but we preferred the Metro or the LRT. We walked towards Central market which is near to Pasar Seni station.
We bought a pass for the LRT using the vending machine.
Step 1: select a language
Step 2: select if single journey or if buying a card
Step 3: select destination and the number of passenger
Step 4: select a method of payment and pay
There 2 options: by card and cash. We obviously selected cash option. The cost per head from Pasar Seni to KLCC was RM 1.60. Then we got our tokens.
(Our token for the train going to KLCC. Dapat ganito na lang din sa Pinas instead of tickets)
I enjoyed using this vending machine. Madaling gamitin, mabilis pa. Kaya kahit rush hour at madaming tao, andaling makabili ng ticket.
To enter the platform you just have to tap the token on the entry gate then it will automatically open. Sa Pinas kasi you have to insert the MRT/LRT card into the ticket hole upon entering eh. I think the token is more durable than the plastic card we use in the Philippines. Mas madali pang gamitin.
Malaysia has several rail lines compared to Philippines. They also have lots of interchange station so madaling magcommute. Since we're at Pasar Seni station and we're going to KLCC we were on Kelan Jaya line.
Another thing I really appreciate with their LRT was the train frequency. In Kelan Jaya line the train frequency goes from 3 minutes to 14 minutes depending on the day and time. They consider the volume of people using the train. Kapag rush hour, 3 minutes. Kapag around 11pm (The train is up until 11:30pm), mga 14 minutes. So you won't see people panicking, rushing and risking their lives just to get in because of the train frequency nga. Obviously marami silang train. Sana ganito din sa Pilipinas.
In terms of the size of the train, may mga trains na maiksi talaga pero meron din namang mga mahahaba. Yung loob ng train is just like LRT line1 in the Philippines.
(The inside of the train)
Most of the stations from Pasar Seni to KLCC are underground so you won't see much view. I also noticed that most stations from Pasar Seni to KLCC has glass barriers and doors just open when the train arrives the station.
(The train platforms with glass barriers. I think putting barriers was their way to prevent accidents)
So we reached KLCC. It was rush hour that time so there were a lot of people. We went straight to Suria, the mall at the base of the Petronas tower. The Suria mall is one of their high end malls.
(A six-floor shoppping mall at the base of Petronas towers.)
We decided to eat in the food court on the 2nd floor. I've been craving for pizza for days so we ordered one. Hahaha..
(Yummy! Oh how I missed you..)
It was already 7:30 pm then and as per tita the buses going back home ( Prima Selayang) are only until 10pm. We planned to get on the bus at 9pm in Pasar Seni.
We took picture of the fountain near Suria. Then we headed out to take picture of the tower for us to get on the bus on time.
(This nice fountain was an attraction to the locals and foreigners)
(Public Bank KL City Main office - This was right in front of twin towers)
(These towers were the skyscrapers of Kula Lumpur. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004)
Time check: 8:30 pm. Time to head back to Pasar Seni where we're going to ride a bus going to back to Prima Selayang.
We took LRT again from KLCC to Pasar Seni. Since it's passed rush hours, there were only few people at the train station. It was only 15 minutes train ride. Then we walked for another 15 minutes from the Pasar Seni train station to Leboh Pasar Besar to wait for bus #43 going to Prima Selayang. We got there on time, 9 pm. Luckily there's already a bus waiting when we got there. The problem was the bus still had to wait for more passengers. We waited for few more minutes before we left.
We got off Prima Selayang at 10pm but without the waiting time and stop overs on other bus stops to gather more passengers we could've arrived 30 minutes earlier since the traffic wasn't heavy.
We arrived in Prima Selayang but we missed the bus stop. Waaaahhh... We insisted to get off because the next bus stop was in Rawang which was too far. Binaba kami ni kuya driver sa island ( gitna ng freeway). Ayun, nakipagpatintero kami sa mga sasakyan para makatawid. Waaahh.. Buwis buhay! Lesson learned: press the Stop button before you get to the next bus stop.
That was an adventure, right? It's always fun and exciting to discover unfamiliar places, try things you have never done and have embarrassing moments at times. Okay lang yan, di naman nila kami kilala eh. Hahaha..
There are a lot more to places to discover in KL. I actually went back to discover more. Check out my other posts to know about my next visit in KL.
Click here to read the 1st part.
Credits: Casio Nicerio for the photos
