During our 14-day Asian Holiday cruise on Holland America’s Volendam, our itinerary included a two-day stay in Port Kelang, Malaysia, which is the cruise ship port for Kuala Lumpur.
View from the top viewing deck of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpura, Malaysia.
From our advance research on the Kuala Lumpur, we knew that we wanted to visit the Petronas Twin Towers, Batu Caves and the Sunway Pyramid shopping mall with its Egyptian-inspired sphinx architecture.
Our ship arrived in Port Kelang (pictured above), which is about a 32-mile drive from the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The drive, we had been told, can take 90 minutes or longer in heavy traffic. Since we had two days in this port, we booked a hotel room with Hilton Honors points at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur to maximize our time in the city.
One the ship was cleared for passengers to debark, we headed out to find a taxi along with our friends James and Rick, who had also booked an overnight stay. The taxi line was orderly, with a set. We located a van-style taxi (which costs more but was essential for our group) and headed off to the city.
We liked our taxi driver (picture above, far left) so much that we hired him for the full day for our second day.
He picked us up at our hotel and whisked us to our first stop, the Petronas Towers twin skyscrapers. When these were built in 1998, they were the tallest buildings in the world. The tour takes you to the Skybridge located between levels 41 and 42 of the structure. Then you head to level 86 to the Observation Deck.
Two days earlier, I had booked our tour tickets for the Petronas Twin Towers online for the 9:15 am tour. It is a good idea to book tickets in advance as it eliminates waiting in line for the limited number of tickets that are available for walk-ins.
While we were on the Skybridge, we got a close-up view of the gentleman outside washing the windows. We would not want his job.
Back on the elevators to level 86, the Observation Deck offers amazing views of Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding area.
The curved windows allow for great views of both the other tower and the landscape, a long way down.
Back at ground level after that experience, we met up with our driver and headed to Batu Caves, one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India.
The Batu Caves are a series of caves and cave temples in a limestone hill located 8 miles north of KL in the Gombak district. There is no entry fee but donations are accepted.
The 272 steps up to reach the entrance to the caves are very steep. You must be in good physical condition to climb them, and take care not to be carrying anything in a plastic bag that the monkeys will come and snatch from you.
Once you make it to the top of the steps, you enter the caves. There are more steps inside to reach various areas of the caves and the shrines.
Next, at our driver’s suggestion, we headed to the palatial Istana Negara complex, which is the official residence of the Malaysian monarch, currently Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah. The estate covers 13 acres in Kuala Lumpur.
While you can’t enter the Istana Negara, complex, you can take photos outside and watch the changing of the guards who arrive and depart on horseback.
Hot and hungry, we headed back to our hotel to check out, and have lunch.
The Chynna in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton is not your average hotel restaurant. We enjoyed a relaxing dim sum lunch that was full of surprises, like the tea man with his sword-like tea server.
Our final stop on the way back to the ship was at the Sunway Pyramid shopping mall, KL, Malaysia. While we are not big shoppers when we travel, Kuala Lumpur boasts of around 66 shopping malls, including the world’s fourth largest mall, 1Utama, which covers 5 million square feet. We wanted to see the Egyptian-inspired sphinx architecture of the Sunway Pyramid mall.
Inside the Sunway Pyramid shopping mall, you will find an ice-skating rink as well as every international mall store you could think of visiting. We briefly visited Starbucks, a souvenir shop and a tea shop. Prices in Malaysia are said to be the most competitive in Asia, hence the plethora of malls.
Back with our driver, we headed back to the ship in Port Kelang. Although we started our taxi tour from a hotel in downtown KL, you could do the same tour in one long day from the cruise port.
Are you planning to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia? This guide will help you plan your visit:
Lonely Planet Pocket Kuala Lumpur
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Travel expert Samantha Brown seems so fun. We’d love to travel with her.
