Port 24 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Salam sejahtera! (Greetings! in Malay)

It’s a beautiful April 24th, 2024, morning when the sun breaks through the low clouds on the horizon.

Insignia pulls up to the dock. There is a beautiful, elevated walkway to the cruise terminal. But we don’t get to use it! That blue striped ramp is lifted up to our gangway hatch, and we walk down to the dock, heading to the cruise terminal underneath the elevated walk!

Today we have a tour to see the pewter factory and other sights in Kuala Lumpur. On the bus we meet our tour guide, Deanna!

Our first stop is the famous pewter factory – Royal Selangor! This pewter mug is as tall as I am! I learn later this is a Guiness Book of World Record holder and was created in 1985 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company!

Yong Koon founded Royal Selangor in 1885! The stylized alligator below seems to be a staple representative of Royal Selangor, but I don’t recall hearing why. This guy is huge!  I’ll show you smaller gators in a moment…

The center of the floor is dominated by this immense model of the iconic Petronas Towers! This is the top half of the towers. The lower half is visible in the floor below us.

Royal Selangor employees with 5 or more years of service have their hands immortalized in pewter!

Here’s what goes into making pewter:

From our upstairs vantage point we can see many of the processing stations spread across the factory floor!  Let’s see a few up close!

Here is the station that makes the baby gators! We see the legs are poured stretched straight out, but they are obviously bent in the final form. We did not see the legs being bent.

But here is a video of the gator being poured! The tapping sound you hear is the next station.

The next station shows pewter cups being hand-hammered!

Here we see the art! This lady is adding the design to this mug.

All across the floor, special sculptures are on display.  Here is Batman!

Then there are collections on display. One of my favorites – dinosaurs!

These Marvel characters are fabulous!

This is the Hindu collection with Ganesh as the centerpiece!

We were given time to shop. We bought a plate for a gift for our upcoming visit to Mumbai, and I found a fascinating little astronaut’s helmet that I bought for myself!

Our tour continues with a stop at the Malaysian National Monument.

This is the Cenotaph, the original monument honoring the Malaysians who gave their life in World War I. It was later modified to include World War II. When this Tugu Negara (National Monument) was established in 1966, the Cenotaph was disassembled and moved to this current location, and the battle for independence called the “Malayan Emergency” was then added.

Walking past the Cenotaph, we see the rest of the National Monument unfolding before us!

The arms of the walkway wrap around a beautiful, calming pool with small fountains, leading the eye to the massive sculpture ahead.

The monument depicts seven people. The top five represent the victorious Malaysians and their allies, and the lower two dead figures represent the defeated communist forces.

Leaving the National Monument, on our way to lunch, we pass this unique building. It is the Merdeka 118 building and has become a tourist destination!

The is the Menara Kuala Lumpur, the tallest tower in Malaysia and seventh tallest tower in the world! It has a rotating restaurant, and the views are supposed to be exhilarating, but we won’t visit the tower to see for ourselves.

Here is a wonderful night view from the Menara Kuala Lumpur! I am borrowing this photo since we didn’t visit the tower – this is an open-source photo from Wikipedia, and I decided I needed to share this with you! The Petronas Twin Towers dominate the center, but the entire city is beautifully illuminated!

Our lunch stop is a hotel restaurant that is next to this monorail! Oh, and, see it on the right? Lunch is next door to a Hard Rock Cafe! Guess what I do immediately after lunch!

Recognize this? Now we see the real Petronas Twin Towers!

Here’s our proof we are here!

Then I find a spot where I can add some greenery for a more artistic shot!

We move on to Merdeka (Independence) Square.

The Square is fronted by this magnificent building, the Sultan Abdul Samad government building!

We go to a shopping mall for a brief stroll. This display catches my eye! Totoro is a Japanese “troll”, and my mother makes Totoro dolls at home!

A kite store has a lovely collection of different kites. This is an especially interesting dragon kite with an elaborate 3-dimensional head!

On the way back to the ship I found the “tree” limbs and roots wrapped around these columns very puzzling. Then I saw the “Jejak Pahlawan” sign. A little research revealed this is a mostly failed attempt at a tourist promenade in the middle of the city. It was poorly designed and subject to flooding, and cost overruns resulted in it never being completed.

Soon we are back at the Port Klang Cruise Terminal!

A few hours later Insignia pushes off from the Port Klang dock. The sky is just beginning to gain its evening blush!

It’s time to say “selamat tinggal” (Goodbye) to Kuala Lumpur!

Next port of call – Penang, Malaysia! (Yes, we’ll still be in Malaysia for a few more days!)