Chapter 116 – EXPLORING KL – Part 2

Chapter 116 – EXPLORING KL – Part 2 A friend came to visit me in Kuala Lumpur for his spring festival holiday; this was a great opportunity to further explore KL. THE EXCHANGE TRS - The next day, we went to The Exchange TRX to look at the spring festival decorations in their shopping mall. There was a beautiful display in the atrium which featured large horses in various poses to celebrate the year of the horse, with lots of decorative herbage, flowers, and lanterns which made it a popular spot for photos. We wandered around the mall to see the other decorations, and look at the stores, landing up to the Apple Store at the top of the mall, which had an unusual and beautiful dome-like scalloped ceiling. We accidentally took the wrong elevator and landed up on the sky lobby floor, with its floor-to-ceiling windows where we enjoyed amazing views of the city. We headed downstairs to take a Grab taxi, admiring the architecture on the way out. MOROCCAN PAVILION – Tucked away in a corner of the Putrajaya Botanical Gardens is the beautiful Moroccan Pavilion. The pavilion showcases Morocco's exceptional architectural and creative characteristics and was constructed as a symbol of cultural exchange between Malaysia and Morocco. It was built over two years using Moroccan craftsmen and imported materials to accurately convey the authentic Moroccan style. The pavilion has many interesting and beautiful architectural details: carved wooden doors, wooden accent carvings, archways, fountains and pools, tilework, and brass lights and decorations. This makes it another popular spot for photoshoots due to the beautiful and exotic backgrounds. Overall a very interesting and lovely place to visit. MERDEKA 118 - The Merdeka 118 building is the tallest in Malaysia, and at 678.9 metres (2,227 feet) tall, it is the second-tallest building in the world, right behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The design of the building is inspired by the outstretched hand gesture of the first prime minister of Malaysia chanting “Merdeka!” (which means independence) when he proclaimed the independence of Malaysia from the British on 31st August 1957, as memorialised on the back of the Malaysian 50-ringgit note. Unfortunately, the observation deck was not open yet, so we admired the architecture and design of the public areas and took many photos. By the time we left, it was twilight, and we caught this view of the Merdeka 118 building from the nearby monorail station. PAVILLION SHOPPING MALL - Next we visited Pavilion, an upscale shopping centre in the Bukit Bintang area of the city, to see and photograph the spring festival decorations. The atrium of the mall displayed lots of red decorations, Chinese-themed decorations, lanterns and, naturally, horses. EL CERDO RESTAURANT - After visiting pavilion, it was supper time, so we walked over to a nearby noisy and crowded bar street. Where we visited the highly recommended ‘El Ceredo’, a Spanish restaurant which specialises in suckling pig and other pork dishes, which is unusual in Malaysia since it is a majority Muslim country. The restaurant was a quiet and cozy place despite the raucous street outside, with many pig-themed decorations. They offered a special spring festival menu, so we ordered the golden treasure sangria and the half slow-roasted suckling pig with sides, which included delicious roasted-vegetable tapas. The half-suckling pig arrived with its own numbered tag, which the waiter explained stated it was the 81,175th piglet they had served. There was a restaurant ceremony where we took turns cutting the piglet with a plate, which I was not very good at, and then making a wish and throwing the plate into a barrel for good luck before we feasted on the succulent and delicious piglet. After dinner, we headed back along the busy bar street to catch a Grab taxi back to the hotel… 00.0 Opening Titles 00:18 The Exchange TRX 02:56 The Exchange Sky Deck 04:01 Moroccan Pavilion 07:29 Merdeka 118 09:35 Pavilion Mall 10:46 El Ceredo Restaurant 13:27 End Credits Chapter 116 EXPLORING KL – Part 2 VIDEOGRAPHY, STILLS, VOICE-OVER, WRITTEN, DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY Michael Roberts ADDITIONAL PHOTOS & VIDEO iNeo Google Maps The Exchange TRX The Exchange TRX Sky Deck Astaka Morocco Merdeka 118 Pavilion Shopping Mall El Cerdo Spanish Restaurant ARIEL/DRONE SEQUENCES Michael Roberts ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC Club Intro – Sascha Ende - https://filmmusic.io/ Lanterns & Horses – Michael Roberts Morocco Memories – Michael Roberts 118 Skyscraper – Michael Roberts El Cerdo Supper – Michael Roberts TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS iNeo Laser F/X VIDEO © 2026 BY MICHAEL ROBERTS All Rights Reserved