When I last checked in, our flight was taking off (2:15 am) from Beijing Capital Airport, bound for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Flight attendants awakened us at 6:15 am for a light breakfast. The plane landed at 8:05. Immigration was easy (short lines), and our bags arrived quickly.

We were met as we walked out by our tour people and escorted to our vehicle and driver/guide Rahman. Putrajaya is the first area we visited. Our guide called it the “Washington DC of Malaysia”. It’s the home of all the Malaysian Government offices. Completed in 1997, the area was developed and built around a man-made lake and designed solely for this purpose. The homes in the area are all “tech green” (climate and power all controlled remotely by cell phones). It’s a beautiful area with many unique buildings, bridges, and housing.

The Putrajaya Mosque

Legs have to be covered, so robes were available on loan for visitors not in proper attire to visit.

This mosque can host up to 20,000 followers for prayers. HUGE!

Next stop is lunch in a restaurant on the lakeshore. It’s a gorgeous setting. We had our first encounter with Shark Fin Soup. We didn’t understand when they told us what it was, so when it arrived at the table, we ate it. It wasn’t bad. After lunch, we continued our trip into Kuala Lumpur, stopping at the Petronas Towers (the tallest twin towers in the world at 1483 ft.). They were the tallest building in the world from 1997 to 2004, but have since been surpassed by several buildings.

Our lunch area

The Petronas Towers

On the streets in Kuala Lumpur

Our hotel for the night is the Hotel Majestic, a historic building from colonial British times, and renovated into a modern hotel. After we got to our room, and refreshed ourselves, we boarded a shuttle bus from the hotel to the main shopping area, Bukrit Bintang. It’s Saturday night and swarming with people. The malls are huge and colorful, and there must be hundreds of places to eat. Besides seeing the sights, I’m looking for a Starbucks. I’ve been collecting signature mugs from Starbucks in most of the countries we’ve visited since we moved to China. I’m now the proud owner of the Kuala Lumpur mug.

Ou room in the Hotel Majestic

I’ve never seen so much glass in a restroom. I’m not sure how practical it is.

Shopping in downtown KL