Bureaucracy At Its Peak - Kuala Lumpur Trip Part 2

After a well-rested day it's time for more leisurely business. Of course on top of that one would have to find time to collect all documents handed over previously.

As all Malaysians know, it's impossible to travel without a car in Kuala Lumpur. Public transport, though usable, is virtually non-existant once you exit Central KL.

I would confidently say Malaysians' common favorite past times are: eating and shopping. Being one means you must be doing at least one of the aforementioned at a single time. That's why shopping malls are the suns and gods of Malaysians. Nothing unite them more.

So, this is the shopping part. Malls are decorated to the nines already for Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day.

And this is the eating part. Being a Penangnite my taste buds were trained to realize nothing beats the street food of Penang. But of course, it's not economically feasible to sell street food in a mall outlet.

Our hosts of the day - two self-declared "lao char-boh" (old women in Hokkien).

The food was just that - typical mall food.

One thing I loved about Kuala Lumpur is the weather. It never gets too hot - rain virtually finds itself into the capital every evening. After the rain temperatures would drop and you'd have a breezy, cool evening.

Around Jalan Ampang (Ampang Road) on the last day of my trip. Recent economic liberalization sees a healthy boom in banking for South East Asia. Bank of China right in front of Wisma MCA, decorated for Chinese New Year.

Back in the 90's, when Malaysia was still a respected name across Asia, our wise Dr. Mahathir decided to build the then tallest building of the world - Petronas Twin Towers. So that "Malaysians have something to look up to".

What they missed is people have no chance at all to "look down from the world's (then) tallest building". The towers are occupied by offices from top to bottom, and - of course, a shopping mall. Except for the Skybridge on the 41st and 42nd floors - a height easily surpassed by any HDB Flats in Singapore - virtually no one has access to the view from the top.

Nevertheless, the twin towers, along with KL tower, used for telecommunication purposes, marked the trademark skyline of Kuala Lumpur.

Flying back late evening that day by Firefly. Yours sincerely's boarding pass. One thing to advice - Firefly is very addictive, especially when you've experienced AirAsia!