Short Visit to Kuala Lumpur and Doubletree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur 2-4 November 2023.

We had an enjoyable flight from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia and we were met by our driver and driven the 50 minutes to central Kuala Lumpur at the Intermark Mall where rthe Doubletree by Hilton is located. this is now a very busy large city with a ,maze of freeways and a multitude of high rise buildings.

The whole city is a buzz with vibrant activity and there is a significant volume of building construction.

The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel is in a near perfect position some 500 metres from the two Petronas Towers and we are located in a suite 2809 which is very comfortable. We used Hilton Honors points and we are very pleased. Both of us were tired from the day / afternoon of travel from Langkawi and we unpack as little as possible.

Our trip is fine but our driver cautions against going out as there is likely to be a strong storm hit with thunder, lightning and very heavy rainfall. We heed his advice and stay inside thre Hotel and the Shopping Mall area. It proves arises decision as there is a violent Thunderstorm at 4.45pm fpr about an hour. This proves to be a standard daily practice following temperatures of 33 Degrees Celsius and reasonably high humidity.

This is just a very short stopover before we head to Bangkok on Saturday for 3 days in that city at the Shangri-La by the river.

It is some 12 years since we were here in Kuala Lumpur and the changes and growth are immense. Like much of what we have seen throughout our 4 weeks in Vietnam , Cambodia and Malaysia ,they are young expanding nations with tremendous economic growth. Here there is also some influence from Chinese in terms of infrastructure and financial clout, but not to the extent as we saw in Cambodia. There is also some remaining and older UK and USA influence, but this is waning in terms of competing with the Chinese influence.

The hotel is very comfortable and our suite is first class. We have access to the Executive lounge on 34th floor and we check in at that point having been welcomed as family on the ground floor. After we unpack and check out the local area and take some photos of the Intermark Mall, we will return to the Executive lounge for a drink and light evening snack.

All very civilised and the light food is all we need following the luncheon s nacks on the flight on Malaysian Airways from Langkawi.

We then return to our suite and fall into bed at 9.15pm and have a good evenings rest.

The most significant change is the expansion of the Sky Rail and also the many new high rise buildings.

There are not the many Honda scooters , but like all Asian capitals there are a multitude of motor bikes and scooters.

It is apparent that this is a younger population with young people everywhere. all trying to make a dollar and sell you something. The Muslim presence is apparent in both dress and language. It is clearly the dominant religion and culture in this bustling metropolis.

The following photos reflect the Red Line.

The trip took approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes and it was getting hotter as we arrived back at Stop 1 to transfer onto the green line.

Similarly, the weather is showing signs of derterioratring as clouds build.

The traffic is heavier getting out of the city and we travel further to many of the new residential towers.

We also visit the National Palace the National Mosque as well as the Orchid Gardens, the birds and butterfly pavilion. It brings back many of the areas we visited during our prior visit.

As Ken gets back to the City area, he has to walk to find a taxi and comes through many of the new shopping malls.

Jeanette has been out and about but didn’t find many shops.

We had light snacks in the Executive lounge dining Area between 6.00pm and 7.25pm .

During the afternoon there was a significant electrical storm and a dumping of heavy rainfall and much lightning and thunder. Fortunately, we were both inside. But it was far heavier and more extreme than yesterday’s mid afternoon downpour.