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11th December 2007 Tuesday

Istana Negara

National Palace

The Istana Negara is the official residence of His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Her Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong. It  was originally the residence of a millionaire, Mr. Chan Wing  built in 1928.

During the Japanese Occupation from 1942-1945, it was used as the Japanese Officers’ mess. After the surrender of the Japanese, the building was bought by the Selangor State Government and after being renovated, it became the palace of His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor until 1957.
The Federal Government then bought the palace in 1957, to be converted into the Istana Negara. Since then it had undergone several renovations and extensions. But the most extensive upgrading was carried out in 1980, as it was the first time that the Installation Ceremony of His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong was held at the Istana Negara. Prior to this the Installation Ceremonies were held at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Hall in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

This majestic building is nestled within a serene and beautiful 11.34-hectare compound with a variety of plants and flowers, swimming pool and indoor badminton hall. It is located at Syed Putra Road right in the heart of the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The building has several halls for specific purposes such as the two main halls, the Throne Hall (Balairong Seri) and the Audience Hall (Dewan Mengadap) on the ground floor.

The whole area is fenced up and the Royal Insignia of His Majesty is placed on each steel bar between two pillars of the fence. At the front of the Istana Negara, there is the main entrance which resembles a beautiful arch. On each side of the arch, are two guard posts to shelter two members of the cavalry in their smart full dress uniform similar to the ones at Buckingham Palace, London.
 
 

Main Palace Entrance is a favourite picture spot for tourists. But the palace grounds are not opened to the public or tourists.

Here is quite a tourist attraction where tourist are all interested on the hoseback guards

We had one photo with one of them.

It was around mid day when HOP ON HOP OFF bus arrived Titiwangsa Lake Garden. We got down and went to the Eye on Malaysia. This wheel is modeled after London Eye, and is the tallest (60m structure) observation wheel in South East Asia.

This viewing wheel consists of 42 fully air-conditioned gondolas, 39 of which have the capacity to carry a eight passengers.  Tickets are available for RM 15 Adult and RM 8 Child.

 

Ticket Prices

The rate for a ride is Rm. 15 Adult and Rm. 8 for child.

Xing is form 1 this year, was considered as adult. So out family of 4 was counted as 3 adults and 1 child and that is RM 45 + 8 total Rm53.00

Launched in January 2007 as part of the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 celebrations.

 

 

 

There are 42 gondolas on the Eye on Malaysia and each ride is about 15 minutes for 6 full rounds.

The tickets is  RM15 for adult and RM8 for Child.

The loading however was pretty quick since they are able to load up to 8 persons into each of the 3 cabs simultaneously.

The cabs were also air-conditioned so that definitely helps during hot sunny days! The were also speakers in the cab playing the Visit Malaysia Theme Song

The Wheel open at 10:00 am . By the time we arrived at 12:00 noon, there were may people but not crowded.  Every one lined up for the tickets. Because not many visitors, we have a whole cab for our family of 4.

The view from the top was great even though the sky was overcast.

We could  see Twin Towers from up there and we also got a good overall view of Lake Titiwangsa.

The view from Eye on Malaysia is lovely. You can see across the serene lake all the way till Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower, but a bit blurry due to the bad weather.

 

From top of the wheel - a breath-taking view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline against a groom  overcast.!

KL was overcast during our trip.
The blue building on the right is Istana Budaya (The Palace of Culture). This theatre is the cultural centre of Malaysia with various classical concerts and opera held here.

Around 1:00pm  the ride ended and as we walked toward to bus stop to wait for the HOP ON bus. it came at the right moment.

The journey back to our hotel in China Town is a slow and time consuming on the busy road of KL City. The weather was also no fine. As you can see the above and below photos, the sky was gray.  KL lost much of her color and beauty under a moody gray shy.

It took us more than an hour on the tour bus to travel from Eye On Malaysia to Times Square because of traffic jam. By 2:20pm we saw this tall and magnificent building of Times Squares (photo below)

Berjaya Times Square is the largest shopping mall in Malaysia with 3,450,000 square feet providing more than 700 shops. This huge building housing the biggest Borders Bookstore, Metrojaya Department Store, Cold Storage Supermarket, Ampang Superbowl and the largest IMAX Theatre in South East Asia.

More about Berjaya Times Square...
The HOP ON Stop number 6 is just beside this Time Square and the bus stopped for several minutes here. Half of the passengers got down here. We did not visit this largest shopping mall in  Malaysia as we have a tight schedule. We leave this mall for explore the next time we come to KL.
3:00 PM We are back to hotel room from Eye On Malaysia using HOP-ON HOP OFF BUS. Tonight we will go to Mid Valley Mega Mall.  For now we have some time to shop around in Petaling Street.

People of all races and tourists flocking to this area from afternoon till late night.  Visitors traveling on buses and taxis around Kuala Lumpur are bound to pass by this busy street, and thereby, a glimpse of Petaling Street.

We left the 2 children in the hotel room as kids will be swept up by the massive crowd of shoppers perusing each stall in the narrow street. Here is not an atmosphere for me but enjoy being dazzled by the array of items on sale, as well as feasting on the delightful local food served.

Bask in its atmosphere of noise and colors, enjoy the culinary delights on offer, and shop for amazing things. This is the cultural experience of Kuala Lumpur Chinatown.

We went to Mid Valley for dinner.  By the time we reach there and found a confortable to sit down for dinner it was 8:30 pm.  In the FOOD JUNCTION stall no: 4 the HOUSE OF NOODLE I ordered a bowl of hot Kuey Teow Soup. Rm 5.57 (Including 5% Govt. Tax)

Fairies in Mid Valley Megamall gave us the most happy moment of this Kuala Lumpur trip. Before we came we have no idea of Mid Valley has Fairies to entertain children during this Christmas festive season.

We were  surprised when bump into these fairies walking around and dancing at Mid Valley Mega mall. We discovered a magical scene at the centre court surrounded with hundreds of people. Many of them are tourist from China, India and Arabic countries.

Christmas Magical Fairies in Mid Valley Megamall.


Mid Valley Megamall is famous for exquisite Christmas decor. Each year in Midvalley Megamall the Christmas decorations are elegant and creatively done. Theme for this year of 2007  is Magical Fairies - an inspiration from William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

Themed Fairy Whispers at Mid Valley Megamall - the mall has been transformed into a mystical forest where fairies dwell. A magical setting with wild flowers, fairy dolls, and wild fruits and berries and butterflies.

The centre court is not the only place that is magical. Over at the north court is a different kind of forest where wild mushrooms and Christmas trees thrive.

The children are mesmerized by the enchanted forest. Both young and old were squealing with delight, taking snapshots of the forest and many, especially the little ones, were seen reaching out to touch the fairy creatures lurking inside the trees.

Physalis, an orange flower supposed to be the abode of fairies, is everywhere in this man made forest forest. This colorful forest is the prominent part of the Christmas decoration in Mid Valley.

Fairy Whispers at Mid Valley Megamall


Fairies spread their wings and dance at the mall daily during the Christmas season
Dec 8 - 25, 2007 Show Fairies

Enjoy delightful performances by dancing fairies, swaying to magical holiday tunes. Weekdays, 8pm, Weekend and PH: 2pm, 8pm.

Dec 12 & 19, 2007  Fairies Garden Party

A party invitation for children aged 3 to 10 years. Door gifts, story telling, and games for an enchanting day out. Register at the information counter. Dec 12 & Dec, 2007

Before the trip I have been looking in Tawau a traveller purse for carrying the passports but could not find one. The one that I have been using was bought in Paraguay in 1997 and now has trouble with the zip. Finally I found one at Rm30.00 in Mid Valley Megamall 2nd Floor UNIVERSAL TRAVELLER SHOP

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 08:04:49 AM