After which, was to another cafe called Merchant's Lane Cafe. This cafe has a nice nostalgia vibe to it. The idea is to keep its original look as much as possible, but also the founders had a tight budget and the shophouse has already been abandoned for 5yrs, so just spending on the necessary. It is located on the 2nd floor of a shophouse, so do look out for a bright teal-coloured door that leads you into a red-light stairway to the 2nd floor. Merchant's Lane used to be a brothel in the 80s, then a hostel for immigrant workers. Back then as a popular brothel, it became a tradition to put out birdcages downstairs with different birds denoted to different ladies. Patrons check the birdcages outside to see if the lady he wants is available. Next was to the KL Eco Park, where many would be there to take aesthetic photos with the suspended bridge. While my verdict? Not that worth though having to climb 200 steps under the burning sun, and not that the view was extremely great.
Merchant's Lane Cafe
150 Jalan Petaling, KL City Centre, 50000 KL, Malaysia
1130-2130hrs (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri), 0930-2130hrs (Sat, Sun)
KL Forest Eco Park
Lot 240, Jalan Raja Chulan, 50250 KL, Malaysia
0800-1800hrs (daily)
Very nearby is the KL Tower, and there’s lots of attractions over there, but admission fees to these various attractions can be rather costly as compared to other places. Took a Grab there though it’s near as it’s located up at the peak of a hill. What really caught my attention over here is the screaming of two lovely parrots, that were part of KL Tower Mini Zoo. The Mini Zoo is a great place for little ones to interact with small and friendly animals like rabbits and tortoises. There is also an aquarium here, and one of the two observation deck at KL Tower, to catch a bird’s eye view of KL; the other being the Petronas Twin Towers. I came here for the Upside Down House. It’s amazing to see how they managed to construct everything upside down so accurately, and probably the most confusing place for photo taking! The house was actually rather small and you can only be in there for maximum 20mins.
KL Upside Down House Jalan P Ramlee and Jalan Puncak, 50250 KL, Malaysia 0900-2200hrs (daily) Admission RM20
Decided to Grab back to my hotel and be back in my room for some aircon as the weather has been rather brutal, and anyway my next location was karaoke session at the mall opposite my hotel. It started to rain right at the moment when I stepped into my Grab! Got back to my hotel room to freshen up, and reached the karaoke place located at Fahrenheit 88 (shopping mall) at about 3pm. The high tea promotion is at RM35++/pax (RM42.90), which comes with free flow of food and drinks, and 4hrs of singing. The food spread was amazing, with it being just high tea - they do have lunch and dinner buffets as well. Not only the spread was amazing, it tastes so good too! There were like at least 6 options, just for drinks itself.
CEO Karaoke 5/F Fahrenheit 88, 179 Jalan Budi Bintang, 55100 KL, Malaysia www.newaykb.com.my/outlets/ceo-fahrenheit-88-kl/
After which, I went over to Petronas Twin Towers, wanting to snap some sunset shots featuring the towers, but I guess it was kind of overcast - too much clouds for the sun to shine through. Head back to Pavilion, one of the malls located next to my hotel, for movie time again! Watched ‘Aladdin’, and it was amazing! They made Middle East (not quite sure which country is that) look so vibrant and glorious! It kind of reminds me of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, where they made Singapore look so glorious, when in fact the reality is nothing close to that!
Petronas Twin Towers
Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 KL, Malaysia
0900-2100hrs (Tue-Thu, Sat, Sun), 0900-1300hrs, 1430-2100hrs (Fri), Closed on Mondays
Admission RM80
Aladdin is a classic fairy tale story that talks about a homeless young man who has a pet monkey, that goes round stealing to make a living. The princess, daughter of the Sultan (head of the country), who was never allowed to be out of the palace, went disguised as a commoner in secret. They met on the streets and fell in love soon after. After Aladdin found out that she was the princess, and that she can only marry a prince, he was devastated. With the help of a magic lamp, and a series of unfortunate events, Aladdin marry the princess eventually as a commoner. I was pretty much still quite full-up from the afternoon feast, but am pretty sure I will go hungry later in the night. So I went to get some snacks from Family Mart, before I head back to my hotel. I’m loving Family Mart! All the food look simple, yet taste so freaking good!
- - -
Exchange Rate at S$1 = RM3.04
Expenses for Day 5
Hotel > VCR: RM1.60
VCR:
- Soft Shell Crab Burger RM28
- Cappuccino RM12
Grab to Merchant Lane’s Cafe: RM5
Merchant Lane’s Cafe: Iced Latte RM13
Grab to KL Eco Park: RM5
Grab to KL Tower: RM5
Upside Down House: RM24
Grab to Hotel: RM5
CEO Karaoke: RM35++ (RM42.90)
Grab to KLCC Park: RM5
Grab to Pavilion: RM5
Movie: RM21
Family Mart:
- Red Bean Mochi Bun RM3.50
- Strawberry Roll Cake RM3.20
- Ham and Cheese, Egg Mayo Cold Sandwich RM5.20
- Korean Banana Milk RM5.35
Total Expenses for Day 5: RM189.75 = S$62.42
Previous Spending: S$739.33
Total: S$801.75