Lately while traveling, I have been struggling to get a good sleep and it was quite frustrating. I find myself most of the time merely just closed my eyes to rest.
It was 6.40am and the sky was still dark, casting a stillness over the quiet street below.
The sun rose after 20 minutes at 7am, lighting up the sky with shades of gold, red and clouds tinged with purple rays. I was feeling excited to start the day with a list of places to cover.
By 8am we were fully prepared and ready to begin our long day of exploration. Glancing out of the window, I noticed Intermark Mall was located at the right of our hotel, just about 7 minutes walk away. I thought it was more convenient to have our breakfast at this mall.
Intercontinental Hotel is located besides Citibank, our hotel was near the banking district as I saw many banks from the surrounding area. We spotted the twin towers at various corners of KLCC, the iconic towers were impossible to miss. It was nice to soak up at the sight while we strolled to the mall.
As it was only 8.30am, breakfast options were limited. We only spotted McDonald, PAUL and DÔME Cafe opened at this hour. I chose DÔME Cafe as the other two choices are common in Singapore. I wanted to try something more unique here.
DÔME Café has a charming old-world European interiors that drew my attention as I passed by. The dome shaped ceiling seemed to contain some stories with the map of the ocean.
I had a cup of Hot Honey Lemon at RM16.04 (or $5.35) before tax. I found the amount of honey added was too sweet to my liking, a less sweetened version would be more preferred. The lemon slices helped to provide a touch of acidity and citrus flavour, balancing the sweetness.
DÔME Café served All-Day Breakfasts and for a lighter option, I decided on Eggs on Toast at RM15.09 (or $5.03) before tax. The bread was lightly toasted with crunchy crust, complementing the soft and creamy scrambled eggs.
The Intermark, 06, Jln Tun Razak, Kampung Datuk Keramat, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Operating hours: 8am to 10pm daily
Majority of the shops were still closed by the time we finished our breakfast at 9.15am. I chanced upon Big Pharmacy which had start operation and went in to check in out. I got a box of Chocolate Butter Cookies at RM11 (or $3.67).
We returned back to hotel around 9.40am for toilet break and to keep away my purchase.
As I gazed out of the floor-to-ceiling window, I spotted Ampang Park LRT station just opposite our hotel. Though KL has an extensive train system connecting various parts of the city, we just use Grab for transportation during our trip due to the reasonable fare, comfort and time saving benefits.
We had a 25 minutes rest and left our room at 10.05am to our next destination.
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is known for their abundance shopping destinations and amazing food scenes. Beyond these, the vibrant city has other attractions and interesting places to explore. Being a typical tourist, I went to check out these attractions. One of the places I found was Zoo Negara which was 20 minutes drive away from our hotel, we took a Grab ride and the fare was RM24 (or $8).
We reached Zoo Negera at about 10.35am. The zoo covered 110 acres of land with over 5137 specimen from 476 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Despite a number of visitors visited the zoo like us, the zoo did not feel overcrowded, allowing us to explore at a leisurely pace.
The first animal I saw was a giraffe, it was munching on some leaves hanging on the pole. We were lucky to catch the giraffe in action because shortly after snapping the photo, it walked away to the shaded area. There was only one giraffe spotted.
We came across the free flying zone where pelicans were free to soar around, flying over from the lake to this open area.
This was the lake that the pelicans flew from. I love looking at beautiful scenery like this, the lush greenery exuded a positive energy and a sense of tranquility. It would have been better if the weather was not so hot.
I was initially standing near the railing to take photo of the deer, my attention was suddenly diverted by the sight of a monkey approaching. I stepped back just in time as the monkey climbed up and sat on the railing. It was really a close encounter with the monkey.
The animals looked weary and lonely for some. Looking at their enclosures, it seemed like they needed some refurbishment to make the enclosures more conducive for the animals to live in.
I was attracted by the scenery ahead, I saw a viewing point at the hut looking place ahead. Going to stop by there later.
Visiting the home of camel and panda. The panda was the most fortunate animal in the zoo, enjoying the comfort of a cooling air-conditioned enclosure. This area attracted the largest crowd as everyone sought refuge from the heat in the air-conditioned space.
We spotted two giant tortoise munching on their lunch.
I was starting to feel tired from the constant walking under the scorching sun. After two hours of exploration, we finally completed our tour of the zoo.
Zoo Negara
Jalan Taman Zooview, Taman Zooview, 68000 Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia
Operating hours: 9am to 5pm daily
Entrance fee: RM88 (or $29.33)
It was 12.30pm, we decided to hail a Grab ride to our next location, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, a shopping mall at Bukit Bintang. The journey was about 20 minutes drive and the fare was RM21 (or $7).
It was about 1.10pm when we reached Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, it is a large 7-storey shopping mall. It seemed even better than Suria KLCC with a good mix of luxury and mid range stores, you can get almost everything here.
We were in need of a place to rest so our first stop was to find a lunch spot. We settled for Dai Cha Dim, a casual Hong Kong style restaurant serving authentic cha-chaan-teng favourites.
I had Signature Milk Tea at RM7.80 (or $2.60) before tax. The milk tea has a smooth and robust flavour, with the signature taste in every sip.
I had Curry Pork Chop Rice at RM24.80 (or $8.27) before tax. It came with generous portion of pork chop and curry filling the plate, and a fried egg placed crowned the rice. Break the egg yolk apart for a silky and creamy texture.
Lot 6 . 01 . 03, 168, Jln Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily
After the lunch, we spent the next 1.5 hours to shopping. One place I knew I will spend my money at was their supermarket, I always love exploring supermarket when traveling. It was hard to resist buying various snacks to try and share with others. I spent RM102.97 (or $34.32) at Mercato Supermarket.
We decided to grab back to our hotel at 3.40pm to drop off our shopping bag before proceeding to our next destination. The journey was about 10 minutes drive and the fare was just RM8 (or $2.67). However, halfway through the ride, it began to rain and disrupted our next outdoor exploration plan.
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