Completing the KL Visit - Petronas Twin Towers

Petronas Twin Towers is arguably KL's most iconic landmark and almost all postcards and pictures of KL have the towers as their backdrop.

Thus, though it's an obvious tourist trap (the legitimate kind, haha), we felt that we must make our pilgrimage there at least once - we had not visited the twin towers during our last KL trip as it was a Monday and it was closed.

The tix are a little pricey, at RM80 per adult, but if you have a student pass, make sure you bring it as you'll be entitled to a (think it was 50%) discount.
The visiting hours are from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9am to 9pm. But note that there are only limited slots daily, so plan in advance; if possible, buy online, otherwise you can purchase at the Towers' ticketing counter as well.

The nearest LRT station is the KLCC station, but if you stay around Bukit Bintang area, there's a overhead sheltered walkway that links from Pavilion to KLCC:

The sheltered walkway is a 10 min walk that will bring you to the Aquaria KLCC. From the Aquaria KLCC entrance, look out for and follow the signs to Suria KLCC via the underpass. Highlighting the "via the underpass", as an alternate route would be to walk outside along the KLCC park (as we did once) - not recommended during sunny or rainy days! From Suria KLCC, follow the signs to the Petronas Towers.

The Petronas Towers visit is a guided tour, and we were brought to the Skybridge at level 41, then the observation deck at level 86. The tour should take less than an hour.

Skybridge (level 41)

Observation Deck (level 86)

Batu Caves

Batu Caves is a famous Hindu cave temple and is known for being located in a limestone hill as well as its imposing 42.7m tall statue of Lord Murugan, which is also the largest in the world. 

Batu Caves is located just outside of KL, and we drove there after our day drip to Colmar Tropicale, 

Driving there is pretty straightforward; once within its vicinity, just follow the signs. 

Parking's available inside the compound, and yes, the narrow-looking, one-and-only main entrance can be driven through. We drove around the vicinity twice before we realised, when we saw a car driving out through that narrow main entrance, that we could drive in and park inside. -_-"

So, just drive in and park; parking is RM2 per entry, and the carpark inside is quite spacious (but note that we came on Monday, thus less crowded)

Oh, and we saw a train station just outside the Batu Caves, thus for those intending to take public transport, you could consider taking the train, since the station is conveniently located just outside. 

Beware, the steps are steep and narrow, and making things worse are the monkeys running around on the steps. So, be careful and watch your steps!

(Steep climb ahead)

(Nearing the top)

Colmar Tropicale - French Village and Japanese Village

Colmar Tropicale is a hill resort located in Bukit Tinggi, an hour's drive away from downtown KL, and is most famous for its French-themed resort, supposedly a replica of a collection of buildings from a north-eastern village in France dating back to the 16th Century. Another attraction of Colmar Tropicale is its Japanese themed village.

Unlike its more famous cousins - Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Frasers hill - Colmar Tropicale is little known outside Malaysia; we only came to know of this place from a friend who was impressed with the French village.

Colmar Tropicale provides a shuttle bus service from Berjaya Times Square in KL. However, there are only 3 runs per day (1000, 1300, 1700) and is not cheap (RM55 for adults). Thus, we decided to rent a car and self-drive instead.

Aside: Despite being a weekday, the traffic in KL was pretty heavy and was not an easy drive, especially with scooters suddenly zipping past us and cutting across diagonally. To make things worse, the GPS we rented was an older model that need at least 5 min to recalculate the route when we take a wrong turn (the good thing about being stuck in heavy traffic is that it buys you time for the GPS to recalculate the route ;) ).
Once on the highway, it becomes a pleasant drive.

Entry is RM12 per pax, which I assumed includes the parking fee as well, since I didn't pay for the parking :D

(Car we rented)

The French-themed village does look pretty, albeit a little worn out.
This is a very small place, and other than the (overpriced) restaurants and hotels, there is little else in this French village.
Even if you try very hard to walk slowly, you would probably finish walking in 20 min.
But then, you could take part in the guided activities such as playing with rabbits and horse-riding.

Oh, one very important note: even though Colmar Tropicale is located at ~1000m above sea-level, the climate here is still TROPICAL, so don't expect the temperature here to be lower than KL.

Nice scenery from the top of the clock tower at the end of the village.
And yes, this is the entire village.

The Japanese Village is approx 10 min drive away from the French Village.
It is, in my own opinion, a classic tourist trap!
Firstly, we are unimpressed by the landscaping - we think Singapore's Japanese Garden is (much) nicer =)
Next, the "replicas" such as the Japanese restaurant and Japanese huts were small and uninspiring. Furthermore the Japanese hut's main intention was for visitors to rent Kimonos for photo-taking.

Personally, we felt that the best part of Colmar Tropicale is the drive there, haha, but would be a pleasant half-day getaway for those able to manage their own expectations. =)

Don't Go There! Jalan Petaling (Chinatown) and Central Market

Except to take photos. ;)

KL's Chinatown is situated along Jalan Petaling; to get there, take the LRT to Pasar Seni station, then walk east-wards for 10 min.

However, Chinatown was not what it used to be, and has clearly lost its lustre.
The last time I was here, ~7 years ago, Jalan Petaling was so crowded that one could hardly walk. Now it looked like this (and I should emphasize that this photo was taken on a Sat night):

Nearby is the historical Central Market, which was built in 1888. Not sure what are its peak times, but almost all shops were closed or closing for the day around 8+pm on Sat night.

We ended our day at the Bukit Bintang, where the crowds are at on a Sat night =)

(Pavilion Mall)

Merry X'mas!

This is Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT)!!

KL's budget terminal, officially known as LCCT, is sited 20km away from its (occasional) award-winning KL International Airport (KLIA).

Here's what it looks like:

Arrival

 (At least they have fans!)

(I know this is a budget terminal, but at least keep it safe! look at the dented right leg of the gate frame)

Somehow my photo of the Customs area turn out bright and clean. In person, it felt budgety - grey and the ceiling was visibility dusty.

Taxi

Oops, no photos, just a sidenote - there's a taxi counter just before you exit the airport where you can purchase a taxi ticket - a trip to KL centre will cost ~RM$75.

The taxi stand is a fair distance away (~3 min walk) though. Upon exit, turn left and follow the road all the way till you see lots of taxis hanging around. 

Please note that most taxis are quite old and the aircon is weak --> be prepared for a very warm 1-hour ride :/

Departure 

At the departure hall, we need no reminder that this is a budget terminal =)
It offers very limited shopping and dining options, and yes, it's very warm in there.

(It is warm in here)

(The sunset is nice though)

Cameron Highlands - Farm Ville

Farm Visit

Right after our half-day guided tour of BOH plantation, Gunang Brinchang, and Mossy Forest in the morning, we took another half-day guided tour in the afternoon.
This time to visit the farms in Cameron Highlands - another Cameron Highlands icon - and finally ending the tour with a hotpot dinner (one more thing that Cameron Highlands is famous for).


Vegetable Farm

We began the tour with a visit to a typical, small family-owned farm.

Cauliflower does really look like a flower when covered with leaves!

Chinese Farm

This Chinese-style farm is huge and (I think) collectively ran by the village. One defining characteristic of this farm is the bunded fields used to grow watercress. 

A pulley system for transporting goods from the hills to the farm below:

Strawberry Farm

For a fee (can't recall the price), visitors are allowed to pluck strawberries for themselves. 

In fact, entry inside is allowed only for visitors who paid for this right. Since we were not keen, we went to the cafe upstairs instead, haha. 

Anyway, pics taken at the "holding area" before the entrance.

Hydroponics Farm