SOUTHEAST ASIAN ADVENTURE:
I truly believe that travel is cathartic for the body and the soul so we try our best to take at least two family vacations every year, one in the summer (or during Spring break) and one during winter vacation. This winter vacation we opted for Southeast Asia for a few reasons. First, we always try to escape the harsh Chicago winter for warmer climes. Second, we were traveling with my in-laws and my wife (and her sister) wanted to take them to experience a Muslim majority country outside of the Middle East. Third, since we last visited Bali in 2008, I’ve always wanted to return. So, Southeast Asia it was and in particular Jakarta, Indonesia followed by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and lastly my lovely Bali, Indonesia. So come on along for our 16 day journey through Southeast Asia.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA:
Kuala Lumpur is the capitol city of Malaysia and personally one of my favorite cities. I had been to Kuala Lumpur (or KL as it is affectionately known) once before about a decade ago and I immediately fell in love with it at that time. There was no way that I was coming back to southeast Asia without coming to KL. So come along with me as I explore Malaysia’s capital city.
EXPLORING KUALA LUMPUR:

What jet lag? The day started bright and early at the Doubletree with a short visit to the gym and a long visit to the breakfast buffet.

Our day 1 agenda included a ride on the hop on hop off double decker bus. I had to mitigate some of that breakfast buffet damage by walking a half mile to the bus stop.

One of the first things that caught my eye from the second floor of the bus was the high commission for Pakistan. I’m guessing that would be British English for the Pakistani embassy. Whatever it is, the architecture really caught my eye.

No, this is not Disney World, this is the Kuala Lumpur monorail which carries about 24,000,000 riders every year.

Trust me, you do not want to know what I had to do to get this person-free shot. Lets just say it involved me literally laying in the street which was still wet with the recent rain water. But, I got it!!

Next up was the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex. We bounced around the shops and bought some souvenirs but what really caught my eye was…
NEXT UP, PUTRAJAYA:

Putrajaya is the federal administrative center of Malaysia and the seat of government was shifted here from KL in 1999.

Perdana Putra, the first of the government buildings completed in Putrajaya. This building houses government offices as well as the office of the prime minister.

The Putra Mosque, also known as the Pink Mosque (for obvious reasons), is one of the most beautiful mosques that I have ever seen.

The Putra mosque is open to everyone although visitors have to be appropriately dressed. Now, what does someone do if they want to visit the mosque but they aren’t appropriately dressed? Well…

the mosque provides garments free of charge that for some reason reminded me of Hogwarts and Harry Potter. Is it just me?

The courtyard of the Putra mosque was absolutely beautiful including it’s views of the Perdana Putra. Any ideas what type of tree this is?
MEANWHILE BACK IN KUALA LUMPUR:

I can’t lie, I wasn’t really interested in visiting the National Textile museum but the external architecture was definitely picture worthy.
KUALA LUMPUR AT NIGHT:

As a Chicagoan I’ve always had a bone to pick with the Petronas Towers which took the mantle of tallest building in the world from Chi-town’s very own Sears Tower in 1998.

the Menara Public Bank building adjacent to Petronas makes a beautiful back drop, especially at night with the color changing fountains.
NEXT STOP, BALI!

We had an afternoon flight with Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur to Bali. Unfortunately check-in was a bit choatic that afternoon with long lines and somewhat confusnig signage.

Eventually we were all checked in and through security and immigration and waiting at the gate for MH853, the…

We boarded on time and we were soon pushing off of the gate. Keep an eye out for parts 5 and 6, flying to Bali and Exploring Bali coming real soon!
Check out my video exploring KL and Putrijaya here:
Check out our other trip videos here:
Don’t forget to checkout part 1 of my southeast Asia adventure right HERE.
Don’t forget to checkout part 2 of my southeast Asia adventure right HERE.
Don’t forget to checkout part 3 of my southeast Asia adventure right HERE.