Kuala Lumpur

Port Klang, where the cruise ship dock is located, is about 35 miles from central Kuala Lumpur. Since walking around the port area was a non-starter, we chose a bus tour into the city for the day. We were off the ship at 8:15 and on our way by 8:30. Our first stop was at the Royal Selangor pewter factory showroom. This company was founded in 1885 by a Chinese man who had moved to Kuala Lumpur. We saw some demonstrations of how pewter is cast and finished, and then of course had the obligatory showroom for purchases. The items on display were interesting and ranged from a spectacular peacock to a pewter Han Solo encased in carbonite.

Leaving the pewter factory we drove to the Malaysian National Monument. This enormous bronze sculpture done by Felix de Weldon, who also did the Iwo Jima memorial, commemorates those who died fighting for Malaysian independence. This fighting was primarily against the Japanese occupiers in WW2, but also includes those who fought in the “Malayan Emergency,” where Malaysians fought against the British.

After the monument we visited Independence Square, a large open space where the British had a cricket field and social club, and stopped by the national mosque. Then a quick photo stop at the old train station and off to lunch at a downtown hotel. After lunch we went to the Petronas Towers. At the time of their completion in 1996 these were the tallest buildings in the world. Viewed from around the city they have a very different look from when you see them up close. From ground level you can see the almost art deco look of the curved metal.

Our last stop was at a marketplace for shopping. This was preferable to us over a modern “luxury” mall, and we did make a couple of purchases as the prices were quite low. Then it was back to the ship.Read more