Ohh…it’s already the last day of the month. The Easter long weekend is ending in a few hours too. I spent my afternoon today at the Fort Canning Park. I have been to this park before few years ago but that particular visit was quite a brief one and didn’t cover many parts of the park.
Today I decided to explore every corner of this huge 18-hectare hill park. It was also not too sunny (cloudy with occasional rain in between) during my visit to the park early today. Once arrived at the park, I climbed a lot of steps to reach to the top of the 48-metres high hill where Raffles Garden, Raffles House and Fort Canning Lighthouse are located. Raffles House was once a place of residence for Sir Stamford Raffles, the British colonial official who was largely credited for the founding of contemporary Singapore.
I then walked the entire loop of the park that surrounds the Fort Canning Reservoir. I first passed through the Sang Nila Utama Garden (a historical garden with a series of Javanese split gates and ornamental pool) and then the Shrine of Sultan Iskandar Shah (or famously known as Parameswara, the last Sultan of this island kingdom). There are actually a lot of historical sites within this park.
I then went to visit the Fort Canning Heritage Gallery located inside the Fort Canning Centre building at the park right in front of the Fort Canning Green. The gallery spans two levels and traces the rich history of the hill and showcases the rare artefacts found there. After that, I checked out the adjacent 9-Pound Cannon, Artisan’s Garden (archeological excavation site with discovered artefacts that show possibility of a palace of a Malay kingdom on Fort Canning Hill), Spice Garden (replica of first experimental botanical garden by Stamford Raffles) and Farquhar Garden (previously owned by William Farquhar, the first ruler of British colony of Singapore).
After passing through the ASEAN Sculpture Garden, I made my way to the famous Tree Tunnel at the park. This is the most popular spot of the entire park due to a spot along the spiral staircase with a circular void above for fantastic pictures. There were so many people queueing for the photo spot eventhough it is already drizzling.
I then went to see the Fort Gate and visited the Battlebox, a historic World War II bunker constructed under the hill as an emergency, bomb-proof command centre during the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore. It is now a museum depicting the final days of the Battle of Singapore (when British lost the island to Japan invasion). Walking inside the underground labyrinth structure here makes me felt like I was in a movie set for a horror movie. Pretty cool experience visiting this museum though.
After that, I walked past the Jubilee Park and saw the Forbidden Spring (or known as ‘Pancur Larangan’, where the wife and consorts of the Malay kings used to bathe). I then reached the end of the loop after passing through the Five Kings’ Walk (a short walking trail with storyboards about Singapore’s five kings in the 14th century). There’s some good views over the city from this pathway leading back to the Raffles Garden.
I then made my way back home after spending 3 hours at the park. If you are going in a slow and a more relaxed pace (and if you are a history buff), you could easily spend more than half a day over there at this huge park located right in the middle of the city and has a lot to offer to visitors. There’s just so much things to see over there.
Chinese New Year (CNY) is now only two weeks away. CNY decorations are all up by now everywhere across streets and in malls. The most famous of all in Singapore would be the huge dragon display (in conjunction with the upcoming Year of the Dragon) at Chinatown which many had previously shared and mocked on social medias for very much resembling the guy from the 2016 viral hits ‘Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen’.
I saw this famous display finally when I was in Chinatown just now. It actually looks good though and way better in the evening when it is beautifully illuminated. By the way, the whole Chinatown area is so crowded especially along the main pedestrian streets where the market stalls are. Besides than the usual souvenir stalls, there are way more stalls set up now that sell CNY goodies, biscuits, decorations, etc. I joined the crowd just to feel the very happening CNY atmosphere at the scene.
Before going to Chinatown, I actually went to the nearby URA Centre to visit the Singapore City Gallery earlier today. It is an urban planning museum of 3-storeys that charts Singapore’s urban transformation and future plans. There are various exhibits of design sketches, physical models, technical drawings and interactive displays in there, perfect for architecture enthusiasts like me.
It demonstrates how far Singapore has come to in terms of its development in master-planning, architecture and built environment and further shows its strategic plans for the future. The highlight of the gallery would be a huge physical Central Area model. It is an 11 metre by 10 metre architectural model of Central Singapore scaled in 1:400. You can see the Central Business District (CBD), Marina Bay, Stadium, Chinatown and even Orchard Road from the model. It is very detailed.
The model is frequently updated and is used by Urban Redevelopment Authority architects as a working model of the area to simulate new growth areas and discuss options between community, developers and government. In addition to showing currently existing buildings in the area, the model also models plans for as-yet-unbuilt buildings. On top of this model display on Level 2, there is also another slightly smaller model of the entire Singapore on Level 1. The former is still the most fascinating one out of the two. I spent about two hours checking out the exhibits in this gallery. By the way, this gallery is free for all.
Got myself very eager to go for a walk around KL city today. The weather is pretty good today and I decided to stop at three consecutive MRT stations along Kajang Line to visit The Exchange TRX, Pavilion KL and Merdeka 118 Tower.
The Exchange TRX is the newest mall in KL and is part of the Tun Razak Exchange complex. It is a huge retail mall underneath a 10-acre central park (TRX City Park). It has presence of a lot of well known retailers and restaurant franchise including some that chose TRX as their first setup in Malaysia. In the coming February, Apple is expected to open its first Malaysian store at this mall too.
This is my first time visiting the mall since it opened just last month. I also took the chance to visit the lobby level of The Exchange 106 Tower (453.6 metres tall and is currently 18th tallest building in the world). It is only 1.7 metre taller than the iconic Petronas Twin Towers (451.9 metres tall).
Next up, I made my way to Pavilion KL at Bukit Bintang area not to go for shopping, but to quickly check out its annual extravagant Christmas decorations and displays at its main entrance and central atrium before they are gone (CNY decorations are going to take over very soon…haha). The decorations in this mall never fail to impress.
It is weekday today and yet there were so many people patronizing both The Exchange TRX and Pavilion KL during my visit today. I guess many were already on holiday this week to clear off their annual leave.
Finally, I went over to check out the Merdeka 118 Tower. The tower is now completed but not opened to the public yet. Merdeka 118 is the world’s second tallest building/man-made structure and has a height of 678.9 metres with 118 floors. It is located right opposite my former secondary school (Methodist Boys Secondary School Kuala Lumpur – MBSSKL). I’m very excited to visit this tower soon once it is opened and head up to its public observatory levels. It looks super massive!
That’s all for my little exploration around KL city today. Huh..huh…5 more days to 2024!
I’m back! Have just returned early this morning from quite a dramatic trip to Hong Kong for the past 4 days 3 nights. Why was it dramatic? The trip to Hong Kong was originally planned because of a concert we would be attending that me and my sisters managed to bought the tickets (and it’s my favourite singer). I have been waiting for the concert for almost a year. However, the concert is now postponed to a later date as the singer has not recovered from long-Covid effects. Flight tickets and hotel payments already been made and hence we still went ahead for the trip (purely for travel this time) while I continue to just wait patiently for the concert. It is what it is.
Then, when we arrived at Hong Kong on last Monday, we were welcomed with category 8 typhoon! Haha. Our flight was delayed by over 2 hours because of that too. There’s nothing much we can do and explore on the first day due to the strong winds and rain and many businesses/shops were closed that day. Well, at least we got to experience how typhoon feels like for the first time. Fortunately, weather gradually improves on the following days until it was extremely hot and sunny on our final day in Hong Kong yesterday.
Without further ado, here below are the highlights of our trip;
Day 1 – 17th July 2023 (Monday)
Arrived at Hong Kong in the afternoon and immediately made our way to hotel for checking in. Had a little chat with the taxi driver who took us and talked about food, the area where we will be staying and the current typhoon situation in Hong Kong while passing through famous landmarks like Tsing Ma Bridge and International Commerce Centre tower (tallest building in Hong Kong).
The typhoon was downgraded to level 3 by late afternoon and we went out for a late lunch nearby our hotel. During our lunch, we met a TVB actor (not famous one as he only played minor roles). We then walked around old Kowloon area and along Nathan Road covering Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei and Jordan neighbourhoods. We visited the Sneakers Street and Temple Street too. Temple Street particularly looked very deserted with very little vendors setting up their stalls along this famous street. Because of the lack of open shops and very wet surroundings that day, we got back to our hotel early evening (also to catch some rest after a long day in the plane and airport).
Day 2 – 18th July 2023 (Tuesday)
Started the day with a lovely breakfast at Australia Dairy Co, a very famous ‘cha chan teng’ (Hong Kong style cafe) which is just a few minutes walk from our hotel. We then took MTR (subway) to cross over to Hong Kong Island.
Once we were at Central, we took the Peak Tram to go to the top of Victoria Peak, a popular spot to check out the breathtaking view of Hong Kong city skyline. The tram’s track goes up to about 400 metres and it was quite a steep incline. Our tram tickets cover the admission to Sky Terrace 428, Hong Kong’s highest viewing platform that offers 360 degree panoramic view across the city. It was really cloudy during our visit and hence we couldn’t snap some cool shots. However, the view was still very spectacular particularly for me who loves and admires city skylines! There is also a Madame Tussauds Museum in the Peak Tower but we skipped that one.
We made our way back down the hill via the tram again. Walked around the city for a short while and saw some iconic buildings such as the HSBC Headquarters and Bank of China Tower. We then went on board another type of tram (double-decker city tram) to go to Sheung Wan to do a little exploring. After that, we proceed to visit Causeway Bay, a major shopping district in the city before heading back to our hotel in Kowloon for lunch (had dim sum) a brief afternoon rest.
We went out again in the late afternoon to visit the Avenue of Stars, a busy waterfront promenade along Victoria Harbour which honours celebrities of the Hong Kong entertainment industry. There are plaques containing handprints or autographs of various famous Hong Kong stars such as Stephen Chow, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Andy Lau, etc along the avenue. Statues of late Bruce Lee, Anita Mui, McDull (fictional cartoon character) and Hong Kong Film Awards’ trophy are also displayed. With the amazing city skyline view along the waterfront too, there’s just so much to see over there.
We then had a quick stopover at the nearby K11 Musea, a very ornately-designed shopping centre. The thing that intrigued me the most from the mall is the buttons for its lifts which is in the form of a book display at the side (that’s so interesting!). We then went back out to the promenade to catch the daily 8pm city light show (felt the light show a bit underwhelming though).
We were supposed to be watching concert for the evening. Now it is replaced with a visit to Lan Kwai Fong and we had to take subway from Tsim Sha Tsui back to Central again. Lan Kwai Fong is a popular street in the city for drinking, clubbing and dining. However, we were left disappointed by the lack of activity around the area that night. It was already over 10pm and the place looked quite empty with only few bars opened and not many people around. It felt so different to what we usually see of that street in past TVB series (that was depicting the street as very long and lively).
Day 3 – 19th July 2023 (Wednesday)
It’s the day for our one-day trip to Macau. We took 1-hour ferry ride (by Turbojet) from Sheung Wan’s ferry terminal to Macau Outer Ferry Terminal at noon. Once we reached Macau, we went to visit the Senado Square, a historical paved town square in the city surrounded by European-styled buildings. We then passed through St Dominic’s Church and walked along the bustling street of Rua de Sao Paulo filled with souvenir shops. Due to our limited time in Macau, we didn’t have the luxury to explore most of the shops around the area. We just went in to one of the shops to buy some pastry souvenirs and tried some Portuguese tarts.
We then arrived to the most recognizable landmark in Macau, the Ruins of St Paul’s. Countless people filled the area and the grand steps in front of the iconic church’s front facade for pictures. The ruins of the religious complex which was originally built in 1640 is now restored into a museum.
We then climbed over some steps to visit the adjacent Monte Fort, a historical military centre of the city and is now also part of the Museum of Macau. There are many cannons that line the walls of the fortress and from there, we were able to view the city skyline of Macau made distinctive by the gold-coloured leaf-shaped Grand Lisboa Hotel Tower and the Macau Tower.
After that, we went to Cotai Strip, a strip of large and luxurious hotel-casinos in the Cotai section of Macau. We went inside the Studio City to check out its casino (I didn’t play anything in there though). The resort’s two hotel towers are connected by a unique figure-8 ferris wheel. We then walked past The Parisian and The Londoner (both are also hotel-casino complexes) before reaching The Venetian. Here we checked out its beautiful interior mall designed to resemble Venice and we had our dinner here as well.
We then headed back to the ferry terminal for the ferry ride back to Hong Kong in the evening.
Day 4 – 20th July 2023 (Thursday)
It’s our last day in Hong Kong. After checking-out of our hotel and a breakfast (had polo bun today), we went to Tung Chung to take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride to Ngong Ping Highland in Lantau Island. The 25-minutes ride offer beautiful views over hills, cityscapes (you can also view Shenzhen far at the back from the ride), Hong Kong International Airport and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (longest sea crossing in the world). This cable car ride is a must if you are planning to visit Lantau Island.
We then arrived at Ngong Ping Village and we proceed to visit the Po Lin Monastery. It is a large Buddhist monastery with its main temple housing three bronze statues of the Buddha – representing his past, present and future lives. I burnt some incense and did a brief praying there in hope of a smoother path for the rest of the year after all that I had gone through in 2023 so far.
Next, we climbed 268 steps (not too difficult) to reach the Tian Tan Buddha. It is a large bronze statue of Buddha completed in 1993 and has become a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong. The view from up here was also quite spectacular.
After that, we checked out the Wisdom Path, a monument consisting of 38 wooden columns on which verses from the centuries-old Heart Sutra have been carved. It is about 15 minutes walk from Po Lin Monastery. Took some photos and then we immediately head back to Ngong Ping Village for cable car ride back to Tung Chung.
We then had our early dinner at Citygate Outlets which is right beside the Tung Chung cable car terminal before making our way to the Hong Kong International Airport for flight back to KL in the evening. We had a flight to catch and hence we do not have time to explore the mall unfortunately. Our AirAsia flight back to KL departed on time surprisingly! I manage to catch a last view of Hong Kong (it’s so beautiful!) from my window’s seat in the plane. Arrived a little after 1am (the next day) at KLIA2.
That’s all for the highlights of my trip to Hong Kong (and Macau) from July 17 to 20, 2023. We will be back here soon for the concert next time and also to visit some places that we didn’t get to check out this time around such as the Ocean Park, M+ Museum, ICC Sky100 Observation Deck, Tai-O Fishing Village, Monster Building, etc. There goes the end of my trip to Hong Kong. This was my second time visiting Hong Kong (first time was way back in 2006) and my first time ever visiting Macau.
No road trip this week but there was still a trip and it was at a much further location. Me and my friend flew to Christchurch on last Tuesday and came back yesterday for a great 3 days 2 nights holiday. The flight tickets for those days are coincidentally cheaper too. We stayed at Parkview at Hagley Hotel for the 2 nights.
On Day 1, once we reached Christchurch Airport, we went for a lunch in Westfield Riccarton Mall before checking in to the hotel which is quite nearby. Then, we went to Hagley Park North which is just opposite our hotel to check out the famous pathway in the park lined with cherry blossom trees. However, when we were there, all those trees were no longer blooming. We were late by around two weeks (time when their blooms were at the peak). We were so disappointed. We then walked to the nearby Botanic Gardens. There are a lot of things to see here from art sculptures, different areas of gardens, small lakes, conservatories, etc.
After that, we paid a quick visit to Canterbury Museum (free entry) and walked around the beautiful historical building complex called Arts Centre. The vibe here is so cool with those beautifully preserved heritage architecture. We then had a sumptuous Japanese premium buffet dinner at Koji Restaurant before calling it a day.
On Day 2, our first destination was the Air Force Museum. We were amazed by huge collection of war aircrafts in this museum which is also complimentary to visit. Next, we went to Brockworth Street Art Gallery where a series of murals were painted on wall along a pedestrian walkway in a neighbourhood. That is quite interesting but the location is quite hard to find and I was expecting the gallery to be at least a little longer.
Next, we head to the city area for sightseeing, Our first stop in the city is New Regent Street. The street is very short but looks cool when its famous city tram passes through it. Our second stop is the Cathedral Square. Here, we saw the ruin of the Christchurch Cathedral previously damaged by 2011 earthquake. The cathedral is now undergoing reconstruction. Our third stop is the Christchurch Art Gallery (entry is free as well). Got to see some fascinating art displays in here but mostly didn’t get what those exhibits inside mean. Proves again that I’m an ‘architecture’ person, not an ‘art’ person.
On Day 3 (last day in Christchurch), we head to Westfield Riccarton Mall again for window shopping before having dimsum for lunch in a Chinese restaurant few bus stops away. Then, in the afternoon, we proceeded back to the city area to visit the Transitional Cathedral. This cathedral designed by famous Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban is constructed of cardboard tubes (forming massive roof), timber, steel, concrete and polycarbon. Unfortunately, there was a private event on-going in the cathedral and I couldn’t get in. We then head to view Bridge of Remembrance (historical bridge built as a memorial to those lives lost in the past World War I).
We also walked around the City Mall nearby (pedestrian mall) as well as The Crossing mall (also in the vicinity). We then paid a visit to the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial along the Avon River, built in memory to the 185 lives lost and those injured from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Finally, we had our early dinner at the Riverside Market before heading to the airport for flight back to Queenstown in the evening.
That wraps up the highlight of my brief 3 days 2 nights trip to Christchurch, New Zealand. I believed we have visited most of the major attractions in this beautiful city. We will still come back to this city in the finale of our planned 2-months long road trip later on. If you are interested, you can actually view more of my photos of this trip (there are 50 photos) in my Facebook or Instagram page.
I have been in Singapore for nearly 4 years now and I always wanted to visit one of the rooftop bars one day for the ambience and of course the views. Today is finally the day for it and I don’t pick just a typical rooftop bar, but the world’s highest alfresco bar which is located at the rooftop of One Raffles Place building. It is called 1 Altitude and is located at a height of 280 metres above ground level.
I have made the reservation for the dinner tonight way earlier (about a month ago) as the bar is already fully booked out now for this entire month and it is the last month for the bar as it will cease operation by 31st March 2022. Many people would wish to go up for a final visit before it closes permanently. My original plan was actually to visit it last Saturday (also made reservation for that day but it was raining and hence there is no point going up but could only stay in the indoor restaurant few floors below…hence we left). Fortunately, the weather has been nice today with no rain.
Me and my friend arrived before 7pm and spent a little over 2 hours there (there is supposed to be a time limit of 2 hours per table). My first impression is that the ambience of the bar looks very normal with very basic bar facilities without any decorations. I guess the only main selling point there is the view and it is indeed incredible. The timing was also right for us to catch the view of the sunset a little after 7pm today. There was also a moment when a partial rainbow is visible.
The food and the service were just average. For the high table, each of us have to spent at least 80 dollars on food and beverages (excluding GST and service charges). Hence, for the two of us, we ended up paying a hefty amount for the visit to the bar (slightly over 200 dollars in total). We won’t leave after taking enough pictures and had enough of the 360 degree view of the city (part of the bar is also closed off and hence we couldn’t really get that ‘360’ degree view too!). Really spectacular views though…wish the building I am could be more higher…haha. Enjoy the pictures I took below:
Opps…I spent quite a lot on meals for this month (have had many luxurious dinners recently). Have to save up and opt for more economical meals at least for the rest of the month.
Well, at least this weekend is not turning out to be boring like the past few weekends. I got informed from my landlord just yesterday that he has several free entry tickets to Singapore Flyer, a giant observation wheel at the Marina Bay overlooking the city skyline (it is the world’s second tallest observation/ferris wheel at a height of 165 metres). I immediately said yes because I have never been to the flyer before and it is one of the most famous attractions in this island nation. And it’s free…so why not?
The ticket includes entry to the ‘Time Capsule’ exhibition which offers an immersive and interactive experience from its showcase of Singapore’s past, present and future through various multimedia projections. The exhibition occupies two levels at the base of the observation wheel. I spent about 1 hour in there before proceeding to board the capsule for a one-round flight of the observation wheel that took about 30 minutes.
Due to the current restrictions, only a group of two person is allowed to board a single capsule. Hence, it felt like I have the whole capsule to myself (without the need to pay more) and it is a pretty large space equipped with seating, informative displays and air-conditioning. The views from the observation wheel are breathtaking! 30 minutes isn’t enough for me to fully enjoy the view though because I spent a lot of time taking pictures.
A normal entry ticket price to the observation wheel including the ‘Time Capsule’ exhibition is SGD$35. If not for the free ticket, I would not have thought of visiting this attraction because the price is a bit too expensive. Now, I have another one of the attractions here in Singapore checked!
Building skyscrapers appear to be the norm for any growing cities across the world. China has been the forefront for over a decade in race to build supertall buildings. However, recently, the country approved multiple laws that prohibit future buildings in the country from exceeding 500m in height, ban copycat architecture, restrict construction of strange-looking buildings, etc. This move made a number of on-going skyscraper proposals in the country to be scaled down and we are no longer looking at China for new huge skyscrapers at the time-being.
Hence, we shall shift our focus back to the West…or specifically back to New York City; the city that witnessed the birth of skyscrapers from about a century ago. New York City is a super dense city that are packed with buildings from classical to contemporary style. In recent years, a particular area in the city known to be the ‘Billionaires Row’ is getting the attention due to the rising of several new skyscrapers. They are no ordinary skyscrapers and they carry one similar characteristic; super thin.
The city’s zoning loopholes that allow a developer to acquire unused airspace nearby and add it to their own lot enable construction of super thin/skinny/slender buildings and the result is what we saw now at the Billionaires Row which is located at southern end of the Central Park. These luxurious towers (mostly residential buildings that offer some of the country’s most expensive penthouses) that took advantage of views of Central Park seem to defy gravity with jaw-dropping width-to-height ratio.
One57 Tower is the first in a series of supertall skyscrapers built along that area in Manhattan which maximises on the city’s zoning loopholes mentioned earlier. The 306m high, 75 floors tower is completed in 2014.
However, it was the 432 Park Avenue Tower that caught our attention when it is built in 2015 due to its super slender design. The 90-storey tower reaches a height of 426m and an impressive building width to height ratio of 1:15. This building is the first ever super slender skyscraper in the city (if not, the world).
The next slender tower to rise is the 53W53 Tower that rises to 320m tall with 77 storeys and width to height ratio of 1:12. This tower sculptural form makes it look cool and futuristic.
Expected to be completed this year, the Central Park Tower will be the tallest residential building in the world. Soaring to over 472m with 98 floors, the tower has a building width-to-height ratio of 1:23. That is crazy…
Now, this next tower is even crazier; it has a width-to-height ratio of 1:24 and claims the title of world’s thinnest skyscraper. It is the 111 West 57th Street Tower, also set to be completed this year. Standing at a height of 436m with 82 floors, its slenderness is out of the world. It looks as thin as a piece of paper! Would the tower sway a lot?!. But with advanced engineering these days, the structure’s stability had all been considered to ensure occupants’ comfort in the building.
Overall view of the Billionaires Row below. I would love to get a penthouse unit there, in one of those towers…it’s not even 10pm and I’m already dreaming…haha.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
I was very free this morning and doesn’t want to stay at home for most of the day. (I will feel very bored and depressed if stay at home whole day) Besides than checking out the very uncommon annular solar eclipse on today’s afternoon, I also took the opportunity to do the thing that I love the most; check out new skyscrapers in the city.
This solar eclipse (when the moon blocks out the sun) that happens today on Boxing Day is a very rare occurrence. The last time this happened and can be viewed from Malaysia (after a quick research) was way back in 1998. That’s 21 years ago! And the next time this would be visible again from this region will be in 2063. That’s 44 years later! I would be 72 years old by then.
Hence, it is very normal for everyone to look up to the sky today…to catch a glimpse of this ‘Ring of Fire’ phenomenon. I did but I can’t see it very clearly. No worry…my Facebook home page today is literally flooded with hundreds of pictures of the eclipse.
Let’s get back to the two skyscrapers that I checked out today. They are the two latest supertall (over 300m high) buildings in Kuala Lumpur. The first one is the recently completed Exchange 106 (commonly referred as TRX106) Tower at Tun Razak Exchange. The tower stands at 445m tall and is currently the third tallest building in Malaysia (behind the 452m tall Petronas Twin Towers).
The next one is the PNB118 Tower adjacent to the historic Merdeka Stadium (just two MRT stops after the TRX station) and is right opposite my former secondary school (MBSSKL). This megatall skyscraper is currently still under construction. When completed (probably in 2021), it will be the tallest building in Malaysia as well as second tallest building in the world at over 644m. Its core currently is estimated to reach beyond 400m already.
This thing is going to be insanely huge when it is completed. It’s nice to see a lot of constructions going on in the city as it is a sign of growth despite all the recent economic uncertainties. More buildings up will also enhance the city’s skyline. KL will be a lot different when you see it every 5 years.
I recently stumble upon some aerial videos showing city skyline views of Kuala Lumpur from YouTube. Most of these clips are from a production team called SkyRun and I’m really impressed with their works. I think we shared the same interest; admiration to the density of buildings, beautiful architecture, impressive skyscrapers and iconic landmarks that made up the picturesque skyline of Kuala Lumpur.
Paired with captivating background music, these clips really took my breath away. We usually observe our city on street level and it’s hard for us to imagine how it would look like if viewed from above (unless you are a bird). Now, with easy access to drones and popularity of YouTube, we can enjoy these bird-eye views too. I’m glad that I found these clips that allow me to study the city more in detail especially in present time when I’m not staying there anymore.
With these videos, I also got to check out the latest construction updates of some future landmarks of KL such as the Tun Razak Exchange development (the one with the completed Exchange 106 Tower), Bukit Bintang City Center (BBCC) development (on the former Pudu Jail site), PNB 118 Tower (future tallest building in Malaysia), The Star Residences (to be one of the tallest residential towers in Malaysia), Permata Sapura Tower (near to KLCC), KL Eco City development (at Mid Valley area), etc.
I’m glad to see that KL is getting denser year after year with quite a substantial amount of huge construction projects on-going. Last time, we would be able to have a full view of Petronas Twin Towers easily from various corners in the city. Now, it’s hard to do that anymore since more and more buildings are cropping up especially at the KLCC area. That’s a good thing; the denser the city is, the more beautiful the city skyline it would be.
There are also some videos capturing the city at the perfect timing such as during sunrise / sunset, in the evening when the city is lit up, and when the clouds are low (giving an impression that those tall buildings float above the sky). They really offers new perspective of the city and is really a good platform to introduce the city to the world (these videos will definitely aid in boosting the city’s tourism). Sadly, KL is not as famous as other major global cities and it certainly deserves more international attention.
So here are some of the videos that I found and would like to share with my readers here. Check it yourself and enjoy these amazing clips. Didn’t expect that KL can be this beautiful honestly.
(Clips in this post are from YouTube by various authors)
Vincent Loy's Online Journal 