Tuesday, March 27, 2018, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia

The lively capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur was built by Chinese tin prospectors in the mid-1800s.  They had come here in search of fortune, and found it by clearing wide swaths of jungle for a new mining town.  Since then, the city of KL, as the locals call it, has grown into a stunning mix of colonial, Moorish, Tudor, neo-Gothic, and Grecian-Spanish architecture.  The two-story shop-houses of Old Market Square, with storefronts below and residences above, reveal the lives of merchants.  The magnificent Petronas Towers are a centerpiece of this fascinating city; the side-by-side twin spires resemble a pair of rockets, connected by a two-story sky bridge that spans the 41^st and 42d floors.

Our welcoming party.

Due to rain it was a two-hour bus ride from port to our first shore excursion stop.

National Museum, a fascinating collection that chronicles the nation’s past from prehistory through the Malacca Sultanate, colonial era, and present day.

We did not remember Portuguese had been so involved in India and SE Asia.

Model rubber tree; rubber plantations had been an important part of Malaysian economy.

We had forgotten the Communist threat to this area 60 years ago.

One of two Malaysian automobiles.

Pre-school kids waiting to visit the museum.

National Monument, a huge bronze monument built in tribute to the valiant soldiers who gave their lives during the Communist Insurgency of the 1950s.

Plaques in ceiling of memorial with military units that fought in wars.

Names of war dead contained in this receptacle.

Note the roof appears to be a partially opened umbrella.  Very different for a mosque.

Malaysia railway offices.

Historic 1910 Kuala Lumpur Railway Station (below).

Merdeka Square (Independence Square) with the wide cricket green.  This is the flag pole where the British lowered the flag for the last time at 10 PM August 31, 1957 and Malaysia raised theirs.

British-style Sultan Abdul Samad Building.

Our bus driver "at rest" while we sight see.

A shophouse is a vernacular architectural building type that is commonly seen in areas such as urban Southeast Asia.  Shophouses are mostly two or three stories high, with a shop on the ground floor for mercantile activity and a residence above the shop.  This mixed-use building form characterizes the historical centees of most towns and cities in the Southeast Asia region.

Shophouses, like terraced houses in England and townhouses in the US, abut each other to form rows with regular facade, with fire walls between them and adherence to street alignment.

Golden Triangle, the city’s entertainment district, contains many high-rise buildings including the soaring Petronas Towers, resembling a pair of steel-clad rocket ships linked by a towering catwalk. This architectural wonder is the pride of Malaysia.

The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers, are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat official definition and ranking, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world.  The buildings are a landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower.

The history and notable events of these twin towers is fascinating and can be found at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Towers

The passage way between the two buildings is at floors 41 and 42.  It was added so that if there was an emergency in one of the towers, occupants could switch over to the other tower for evacuation.  The passage way is not firmly fastened at the ends so it can slide back and forth in the event of a significant earthquake.

The twin towers complex is owned by the Petronas Oil Company.  Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) established in 1974, is Malaysia's fully integrated oil and gas multinational ranked among the largest corporations on FORTUNE Global 500®.  As the custodian for Malaysia's national oil and gas resources, they explore, produce, and deliver energy to meet society's growing needs.  Detailed info of this Fortune 500 company can be found at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas

Shopping mall in the center area between the twin towers.

Views along the way back to cruise terminal, about an hours bus ride.

Large, government sponsored high rise apartment buildings.

Every where in Asia there is a lot of apartment buildings under construction.

Homes away from the capital very near the cruise terminal.

Mean while, back at the cruise terminal, we will soon be heading toward the island of Penang with the capital of George Town.