fh_trips | Kuala Lumpur [Thursday, February 27, 2014, morning]

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spring break 2014: bali

Kuala Lumpur [Thursday, February 27, 2014, morning]

Good morning, Fandom! It's a bright, sunny, hot and humid day, with temperatures cranking up to 93 degrees (or 34C), though it feels almost ten degrees hotter (or four...). It's an excellent day to hang out in air conditioned malls--Kuala Lumpur is rightly famous for the quality of its shopping options--or to hang out by the hotel pool if you didn't discover it last night.

Vacation is halfway over, folks! Get in all the lounging and sun that you can!

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Is it really only Thursday?

Students are lodged in deluxe park view rooms (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/accommodation/deluxe-park-view-room/) in the Mandarin Oriental (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/hotel/) with great views of KLCC Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLCC_Park) and large marble bathrooms, and the chaperones are five floors up in the club park view rooms (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/accommodation/club-park-view-room/) where they have access to the hotel's club amenities (weekday deli lunch, afternoon tea and evening cocktails) and you kids don't. Neener. Wake up and order room service (http://photos.mandarinoriental.com/is/content/MandarinOriental/kuala-lumpur-in-the-room-dining) or go off and explore!

[OOC: Your rooms are here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq994Jtyb7HrdDFXUmxTREN1aXlIZndHZEw2d29EUWc#gid=0), make with the dirty in your personal journals!]

Edited 2014-02-27 08:54 (UTC)

Okay, so they only have the one (http://photos.mandarinoriental.com/is/image/MandarinOriental/kuala-lumpur-swimming-pool-4?$GalleryPortrait$), but you can't have everything, right? And the view is pretty stunning.

Edited 2014-02-27 08:57 (UTC)

With a hotel this nice, of course the gym (http://photos.mandarinoriental.com/is/image/MandarinOriental/kuala-lumpur-fitness-center-1?$CarouselCrop$&fit=crop) is just as nice, and they offer a variety of classes, including yoga, zumba and Tai Chi, two outdoor tennis courts and indoor golf.

The Spas at Mandarin Oriental are born out of a sincere understanding and passion for wellness, which they define as a way of life
that focuses on physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. If you haven't been pampered enough in Bali, or have just become accustomed to that as a way of life, check out their menu of options (http://photos.mandarinoriental.com/is/content/MandarinOriental/kuala-lumpur-spa-brochure).

One of the best all-day dining restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, Mosaic (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/fine-dining/mosaic/) serves a delicious mix of local and international cuisine, complemented by interactive live cooking stations and a large dessert bar. Presented in cast iron pans, woks and copper pots or served in individual portions, dishes include Indian classics such as tandoori chicken, Japanese sushi and sashimi, and Chinese dim sum and stir-fries. To complete the experience an open kitchen offers authentic barbecued specialties. Overlooking KLCC Park, the restaurant’s elegant interior reflects the Peranakan culture with intricate hanging pewter lights and beautiful mosaic walls. (Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner)

Enjoying a refreshing al fresco setting, Cascade (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/fine-dining/cascade-restaurant-and-bar/) is situated next to the third floor pool and overlooks the lush green scenery of Kuala Lumpur’s KLCC park and the city skyline. Featuring a wide choice of Mediterranean-inspired cuisine including salads, sandwiches and light bites, the menu also offers a selection of refreshing drinks ranging from freshly squeezed juices to teas and coffees. Effortlessly stylish and wonderfully laid back, Cascade is the perfect choice for chilled-out, poolside dining. (Open 10am until 10pm)

It might be located way out in west KL, but The Curve (http://thecurve.com.my/) beats many of its competitors with its indoor/outdoor layout, range of al fresco dining and pedestrianized walkways. Add to the mix Kuala Lumpur’s only Ikea, as well as an adjoining Tesco, and you have one of the best malls in town.

Edited 2014-02-27 09:23 (UTC)

A huge tankard -- with what appears to be foam overflowing from its brim -- stands at the entrance to the head office of Royal Selangor (http://visitorcentre.royalselangor.com/), one of Malaysia’s most iconic companies. At the KL visitor’s center, you can learn how to make your own pewter dish at the School of Hard Knocks. If you just want to explore, there are free guided tours that take you through the company’s history (it was founded by young Chinese pewtersmith in 1885), the science behind making the alloy and a factory tour. Naturally, there's a gift shop for those who want to pick up a souvenir.

It might be a little cheesy, with its Disney-esque Chinese arch and blue covered walkway, but Petaling Street Market, the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, buzzes with life. Here you'll find a variety of tourist trinkets, T-shirts, electronics and DVDs. As soon as you veer off the main strip, you enter a warren of backstreets where hungry locals go to fill up on bowls of asam laksa, Hainan chicken rice and mee goreng. Eating on plastic stools next to crates full of squawking chickens, it’s a good pit stop before heading back to to the maelstrom for more haggling over bargain goods.

Edited 2014-02-27 09:29 (UTC)

Amid the many attractions set within the vast British legacy of Lake Gardens, none compare in hands-on fun to what's billed as the "world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary," KL (http://klbirdpark.com/) Bird Park. Translation: chase peacocks and hornbills, pose with owls and parrots on one's shoulder, feed parakeets, watch ostriches lay eggs and be awed by soaring storks and flamingos in surroundings that hardly feel caged-in or too commercial.

One of Malaysia's most distinctive geographical features is the labyrinth of spooky caves found within the country's limestone abutments. And you don't even have to be a full-fledged bat to appreciate them, especially when some are found on the edge of the city. KL's biggest blasts of nature are the Batu Caves (http://www.tourism.gov.my/destinations/detail.php?theme=CH&map_code=batucaves&state=selangor), , whose awe-inspiring natural caverns are reachable by a cardiac stress test of 272 steps.

Situated in airy white splendor just up the hill from the Modernist National Mosque (http://iamm.org.my/), visitors might think this place an obligatory nod to the country's dominant faith, funded out of guilt as much as piety. If so, they would be wrong. Thankfully off the beaten path of most tour groups, the museum is a tremendous resource center for Islamic studies and a beautiful showpiece for the best impulses and artisanship that have unified (rather than divided) the Muslim cosmos. The permanent collection, traveling exhibitions and gift shop are all top-flight.

Well, Jackson was right in his element. No, he wasn't going to be visiting Ikea, thanks but no thanks, but he was going to spend a good long while walking around the mall, looking for some souvenirs for his parents.

Or, as his current window shopping outside an upscale clothing store suggested, for himself.

Billy could definitely make do with the one pool, especially considering the view. He was only sitting on the side of the pool at the moment, dipping his feet in and enjoying the sunlight.

So, Rory had been a good mom for the first half of the trip and not really taken time for herself.

That changed today. For, you know, like an hour or two.

She dropped off both of the kids with the hotel daycare, promising to be back after her appointment, and went off to the spa. It wasn't until she was halfway through her massage that she realized how tense she was.

(It helped that the masseuse very firmly suggested she stop checking her phone, too.)

Hot as it was, Celia was in yet another of her light, airy sundresses (http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/supreme-saturday-dress) and frankly wondering why she'd even packed her damn crinoline, anyway. Her clothes weren't on her mind as she wandered through the aviary, though -- she was more taken aback by her first glimpse of an ostrich.

She'd stick to the owls and parrots, thank you. They were smaller than her, at least.

Did someone say spooky? Cheryl was all over this. Sure, there was a lot of appeal to just lying by the pool all day, but the caves sort of reminded her of the tunnels under her mansion back in Manhattan. Aww, nostalgia.

Besides. She might get bitten by a bat, and that way lay all sorts of interesting possibilities. She could be a vampire! Or get rabies. That sounded less fun.

I've been off by a day all week. Dammit, I want that to go in the right direction for once. "Oh wow it's already Friday, I've been thinking it's the wrong day all week!" instead of "UGH IT'S ONLY THURSDAY?"

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Kuala Lumpur [Thursday, February 27, 2014, morning]

HOTEL

KUALA LUMPUR

OOC

Rooms [2/27 AM]

Pool, Gym & Spa

Pool [2/27 AM]

Gym [2/27 AM]

Spa [2/27 AM]

Restaurants

Mosaic [2/27 AM]

Cascade Restarant and Bar [2/27 AM]

Shopping

Touring

The Curve [2/27]

Royal Selangor [2/27]

Petaling Street Market [2/27]

KL Bird Park [2/27]

Batu Caves [2/27]

Islamic Art Museum [2/27]

Re: The Curve [2/27]

Re: Pool [2/27 AM]

Re: Spa [2/27 AM]

Re: KL Bird Park [2/27]

Re: Batu Caves [2/27]

Re: OOC