I decided to leave the courtyard of KL Tower. My feet stepped following the contours of the road winding down the hill. A quarter of an hour later I was at the south end of Puncak Street, right where it intersects with P. Ramlee Street.
Standing on a sidewalk, I was still thinking, “Should it be better to reach THE WELD bus stop to go to Bukit Bintang?”.
But as soon as my feet stepped, a Go KL City Bus Blue Line quickly passed in front of me and then stopped a hundred meters north to get on and off passengers. I quickly decided, “There’s nothing wrong with going around the city using the Go KL City Bus-Blue Line, that way I can explore the north side of the city before arriving at Bukit Bintang.”
Stepped my feet towards the bus stop and in five minutes I arrived. This was the Menara Hap Seng bus stop, one of the stops where the Go KL City Bus-Blue Line stops. Meanwhile, the Menara Hap Seng (Hap Seng Tower) is a 22-story office building right across from the bus stop.
Hap Seng Tower bus stop with sponsor advertising of MSIG (a well-known insurance brand from Japan).
Interior of Go KL City Bus-Blue Line.
Shortly thereafter, the bus arrived and I boarded it from the front door. I was getting ready to explore the north of the city using this free bus. Thanks to the bus services, I finally had the opportunity to explore the streets in the Bukit Nanas and Dang Wangi areas to then arrived at the Terminal Transit Antar Bandar (IUTT/Inter-city Transit Terminal) – Tun Razak Street.
This is the Hub Terminal for Go KL City Bus-Blue Line located in the Titiwangsa area. The bus I was on apparently had to stop for a while and the driver directed me to move to the front bus which was ready to depart along the Blue Line route.
I got off and changed to the Go KL City-Bus Blue Line at the forefront which was already on standby by starting the engine and filling every seat with passengers. Luckily there was still a seat available for me. Shortly after I got on, the bus slowly left IUTT Terminal – Tun Razak Street.
Now the bus was headed south along the streets in the Kampung Baru area and after that, the bus started to enter the area I was headed for, namely the Bukit Bintang area. I was familiar with the streets in this area because that was the fourth time I have been to that famous shopping and entertainment center in Kuala Lumpur.
As expected, the bus slowly started to stagnate in the traffic jam. While I began to shift to a bench near the door. I would get off at the Pavilion bus stop. The pavilion itself is a shopping center integrated with office buildings, apartments, and hotels. Consistent pushing through traffic jams, the Go KL City Bus finally arrived at the place I was going.
I descended from it and rushed across Bukit Bintang Street to arrive at the Pavilion’s courtyard.
There was something very different, if usually this courtyard was enlivened by mall visitors passing by, now the crowd had turned into a lion dance stage. Apparently at that time “The World Dragon & Lion Dance Extravaganza” was taking place. Unmitigatedly, the event was attended by YB Tuan Haji Khalid Bin Abdul Samad, the Minister of Federal Territories of Malaysia….The show was a big event and I was thankful that I was accidentally able to enjoy the show.
That day, the courtyard of the Pavilion was red with the typical ethnic Chinese colors, which were also the typical colors of the lion dance. Many members of the performing troupe busied around the Pavilion preparing to take the stage.
The child was very strong standing for a long time on a pillar.
The excitement of the audience mingled with the performers.
Little performers.
Seeing the show through the camera lens.
Meanwhile, the rhythm of the drum beat being played by one of the groups made anyone’s adrenaline go up when they hear it. I, who had been curious, could never push forward to the front. The front area was already filled with spectators who must have arrived earlier.
I, who could not watch the show with my own eyes, could only raise my camera high and recorded the show so that later I could replay the show from the camera screen.
After half an hour I tried to enjoy the show. Time slowly crept towards twelve o’clock as the air raised its temperature.
Unable to stand under the scorching sun, I went back to the Pavilion bus stop.
All night my sleep was interrupted by the snoring of a guest who was fast asleep to the right of my bed. Not only myself, but I could also feel the protests of a guest who slept right under a snoring guest’s bunk bed. Over and over again I could feel him hitting the bottom of the bunk bed where a snoring guest was sleeping. Maybe he felt the same way. Upset….Because he couldn’t sleep well.
Feeling unwell, I decided to just wash my body under the hot shower in the shared bathroom. A splash of warm water could at least relax every inch of my body which wasn’t one hundred percent fresh that morning.
That morning, I had to pack all the equipment back into my backpack and then leave it at the reception desk. My stay ended at noon and at that time, I was still downtown.
After taking a shower and tidying up my backpack, I headed to the reception to check out, returned the locker key, and took the deposit. Luckily, the reception staff from Egypt was already at his desk making it easier for me to speed up the process because I had to catch the Go KL City Bus departure as early as possible.
My backpack had been neatly stored and I rushed down the stairs to get out of the inn. Once outside, I immediately looked for a seat on the terrace of shops that were still closed for breakfast. Breakfast this time was still the same as last night’s dinner menu….Yup, I could still rely on oat powder. To be honest, I already ran out of Ringgit that morning, I only had Ringgit left to take the airport bus this afternoon and have a modest dinner at KLIA2.
From this, it could be concluded that I would go around the city without spending even the slightest bit of money….Yes, I would never spend it.
Luckily, the streets were still quiet. This situation certainly reduced the burden of embarrassment when I had to sip spoon after spoonful of oat powder wet with a splash of mineral water.
Thank God breakfast was over….The adventure began.
I headed to the Pasar Seni Bus Hub to look for the Go KL City Bus Purple Line. The free purple line bus would take me to the KL Tower complex.
KL Tower is a telecommunication transmitter tower, broadcasting tower, altitude culinary tour, and city viewpoint from above.
From a distance, I saw clearly that the bus was already in position. So as soon as I arrived at the platform, I just got on it from the front door. Only a few passengers were already occupying the seats. This was what makes me have to wait about ten minutes….At least to fill the empty seats with passengers who were slowly arriving.
At eight in the morning, the Go KL City Bus Purple Line finally departed….
While sitting, I thought that KL Tower was a tall building, so I just relaxed. Of course, I only needed to stop at any bus stop near the KL Tower building which would be visible from a distance because it was so high.
The Go KL City Bus slowly ran in Sultan Street to leave the Pasar Seni area. As soon as I arrive along Raja Chulan Street, KL Tower was visible from the bus window. I just needed to make sure when to get off at the nearest bus stop. Several times the Go KL City Bus stopped at the bus stop, but I still couldn’t get off. I still hoped that the bus would stop at a shelter that was closer to KL Tower.
That was the bus with free service.
The interior was nice and clean of course.
There was an exception, instead of getting closer, the Go KL City Bus was getting farther and farther away from KL Tower. “Ahhhh, damn….I’d gone too far and instead of slowing down the bus was getting faster and faster”, I leaned against the bus window. Due to that stupidity, I just gave up following where the Go KL City Bus went. I decided to return to the Pasar Seni and repeated the journey from scratch….Too bad.
After 40 minutes of travel, the Go KL City Bus finally arrived at Pasar Seni.
“Ridiculous….”, I cursed myself.
Now I got off the Go KL City Bus and moved to the bus in the front which was ready to depart. Luckily for me, the Go KL City Bus left immediately when a few seconds earlier I stepped inside.
Now I put on a wary attitude when sitting on one of its seats. I would decide to just get off when I saw that KL Tower could reach within walking distance.
That moment has arrived….
The bus stopped at a bus stop and I jumped down from the middle door.
“THE WELD….”, I read the signboard on a skyscraper that stood right behind the bus stop where I got off.
Now I was on Raja Chulan Street and THE WELD itself is a 26-story office complex located 800 meters east of KL Tower.
From THE WELD, I cut off P. Ramlee street to then took fifty steps into a smaller street, Puncak Street. This was the main road to get to the KL Tower which was built on higher ground.
Panting for a quarter of an hour, finally I arrived at the courtyard of KL Tower. Back in 2014, I had the opportunity to cross this tower when I tried the KL Hop On Hop Off to get around the city. Only, at that time I went down for less than five minutes to see it. This was all because KL Hop On Hop Off rushed to explore the city.
THE WELD….Besides offices, there is also a modern supermarket.
Taking the Peak Road.
That time I would be a little longer in enjoying the charm of this communication tower that wasn’t less than a quarter of a century old. How could I not be happy, when I finally had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of a tower whose height was included in the ranks of the ten tallest towers in the world?
The uniqueness that could be seen for the first time was the roof of the basic building which used a series of tapering patterns. My mind then referred to the roof of the Sydney Opera House. Meanwhile, at the upper end between the mast and the antenna, there was a round building that was the center of broadcasting, telecommunication, restaurant, observation deck, and sky deck activities.
As far as I knew, to enjoy the observation deck, visitors must pay 49 Ringgit….While the sky deck tour price reached 99 Ringgit….Woouuooww.
I stepped towards the KL Tower entrance gate to see the activity there up close. Of course, I won’t go up to the top for a tour, it’s too expensive for a visitor like me who just stopped by in Kuala Lumpur.
It wasn’t that crowded, so far only a few European tourists decided to buy tickets and went up to the top of the tower, while I just watched the remnants of the programming competition that was held the day before yesterday. The competition was titled HR Hackathon.
Shifting to the right of the tower, there was another attraction. On that side stood a ticket sales counter for visiting the KL Tower Mini Zoo (KLTMZ). Existing information boards said that KLTMZ contains no less than fifty native and exotic species. And to see these unique species, visitors needed to spend up to 30 Ringgit.
Move again towards the front of the tower. There was a KL Tower F1 Zone which provided a Formula One simulator for the public. Visitors could feel the sensation of driving the land jet by paying 20 Ringgit for six minutes of driving in the simulator. The walls of the KL Tower F1 Zone were bright red, in harmony with the colors of one of the leading racing teams in Formula One’s premier racing event. It’s just that, when I visited KL Tower, the KL Tower F1 Zone was still closed. Maybe I arrived too early.
Oh yes, the KL Tower F1 Zone was also equipped with a Formula One Cafe & Mart…
But just looking at the cafe & mini market from outside for a moment, I saw the arrival of the white KL Hop On Hop Off with the upper deck partly open. Suddenly I ran towards it, it’s been six years since I’ve ever met up close with that tour bus. It turned out that in the courtyard of the tower, there was a KL Hop On Hop Off shelter. No wonder the tour bus stopped to drop off the tourists.
The Entrance gate of KL Tower .
The Ticketing Counter of KL Tower Mini Zoo.
KL Tower F1 Zone.
It was at this spot that I took some pictures of tourists from Surabaya.
Foreign tourists often called it the KL Forest Eco Park.
It didn’t take long to stop, dropping only 5 tourists, the bus stepped on its gas pedal again. But not long after, there was a familiar accent when the five female tourists were talking to each other after getting off the bus. “That’s the Surabaya accent….”, I concluded. I decided to say hello and spoke for a while. I hadn’t met Indonesians for four days, so there was nothing wrong with speaking for a moment. Because of that incident, I knew that the five were female workers who were traveling to Kuala Lumpur. From our conversation too, I knew that they were working in Penang.s
As usual, Indonesians always have their characteristics. They finally asked me to take a photo with the KL Tower as a background.
I? ….Yes, of course, I also asked to be photographed….I was originally from Indonesia….The Republic of Indonesia exactly…Hahaha
I was at the end of a visit to KL Tower. To close this short visit, I entered the front half area of KL Jungle Eco Park. Formerly known as the Hutan Simpan Bukit Nanas, it was one of Malaysia’s oldest permanent forest reserves. To enter this forest reserve visitors must be willing to spend 40 Ringgit.
Kuputuskan meninggalkan pelataran KL Tower. Kakiku melangkah mengikuti kontur jalanan yang meliak-liuk menuruni bukit. Seperempat jam kemudian aku sudah berada di pangkal selatan Jalan Puncak, tepat berpotongan dengan Jalan P. Ramlee.
Berdiri di sebuah trotoar, aku masih berfikir, “Apakah baiknya menuju ke halte bus THE WELD untuk menuju Bukit Bintang?”.
Tetapi baru saja kaki melangkah, sebuah Go KL City Bus Blue Line melintas cepat di depanku untuk kemudian berhenti seratus meter di utara demi menaik turunkan penumpang. Aku cepat memutuskan, “Tak ada salahnya berkeliling kota menggunakan jalur biru, dengan begitu aku bisa menjelajah sisi utara kota sebelum tiba di Bukit Bintang”
Melangkahlah kakiku menuju halte bus itu dan dalam lima menit aku sampai. Inilah halte bus Menara Hap Seng, salah satu halte yang menjadi pemberhentian Go KL City Bus Blue Line. Sedangkan Menara Hap Seng sendiri adalah sebuah gedung perkantoran 22 lantai yang terletak persis di seberang halte.
Halte bus Menara Hap Seng dengan sponsor MSIG (brand asuransi kenamaan asal Jepang).
Interior Go KL City Bus Blue Line.
Tak lama kemudian, bus tiba dan aku menaikinya dari pintu depan. Aku sudah bersiap menjelajah utara kota menggunakan bus gratisan ini. Atas jasa bus tersebut, akhirnya aku berkesempatan menjelajah jalanan di daerah Bukit Nanas dan Dang Wangi untuk kemudian tiba di Terminal Transit Antar Bandar (IUTT) Terminal Jalan Tun Razak.
Ini adalah Terminal Hub untuk Go KL City Bus Blue Line yang terletak di daerah Titiwangsa. Bus yang kunaiki rupanya harus beristirahat sejenak dan aku diarahkan pengemudi untuk berpindah ke bus depan yang sudah siap berangkat untuk menyusuri rute Blue Line.
Aku pun turun dan berpindah ke Go KL City Bus Blue Line terdepan yang sudah standby dengan melangsamkan mesin dan memenuhi setiap bangku dengan penumpang. Beruntung masih tersedia bangku untukku. Tak lama setelah aku naik, bus pun perlahan berjalan meninggalkan IUTT Terminal Jalan Tun Razak.
Kini bus menuju selatan menyusuri jalanan di daerah Kampung Baru dan setelahnya bus mulai memasuki daerah yang kutuju, yaitu kawasan Bukit Bintang. Aku sudah familiar dengan jalanan di kawasan ini karena ini adalah kali keempat aku berada di pusat perbelanjaan dan hiburan terkenal di Kuala Lumpur tersebut.
Sesuai dugaan, bus perlahan mulai tersendat di kemacetan. Sementara aku mulai bergeser ke bangku dekat pintu. Aku akan turun di halte bus Pavilion. Pavilion sendiri adalah pusat perbelanjaan yang terintegrasi dengan gedung perkantoran, apartemen dan hotel. Konsisten merangsek di kemacetan, Go KL City Bus pun akhirnya tiba di tempat yang kutuju.
Aku menuruninya dan bergegas menyeberangi Jalan Bukit Bintang untuk kemudian tiba di pelataran Pavilion.
Ada sesuatu yang sangat berbeda, jika biasanya pelataran ini diramaikan oleh lalu lalang para pengunjung mall, kini keramaian itu berubah menjadi sebuah panggung pertunjukan barongsai. Rupanya saat itu sedang berlangsung event World Dragon & Lion Dance Extravaganza. Tak tanggung-tanggung, acara itu ternyata dihadiri oleh YB Tuan Haji Khalid Bin Abdul Samad, Sang Minister of Federal Territories Negeri Jiran….Rupanya pertunjukan itu adalah acara besar dan aku bersyukur secara tak sengaja bisa menikmati pertunjukan tersebut.
Hari itu, pelataran Pavilion dimerahkan dengan warna khas etnis Tionghoa yang juga menjadi warna khas dari barongsai. Banyak anggota kelompok pertunjukan sibuk di sekitar Pavilion demi mempersiapkan diri untuk tampil di panggung.
Anak itu kuat sekali berdiri berlama-lama pada sebuah tiang.
Kemeriahan penonton yang berbaur dengan para penampil.
Para penampil cilik.
Melihat pertunjukan lewat lensa kamera.
Sementara itu irama tabuhan gendang yang sedang dimainkan salah satu kelompok membuat adrenalin siapapun akan naik jika mendengarnya. Aku yang sedari tadi merasa penasaran, tak kunjung bisa merangsek ke bagian depan. Area depan sudah dipenuhi para penonton yang pastinya sudah tiba sedari awal.
Aku yang tak bisa menyaksikan pertunjukan dengan mata kepala secara langsung hanya bisa mengangkat kamera tinggi-tinggi dan merekam pertunjukan itu, sehingga nantinya aku bisa menikmati ulang pertunjukan tersebut dari layar kamera.
Lewat setengah jam aku berusaha menikmati pertunjukan. Sementara udara semakin menaikkan suhunya, waktu merambat pelan menuju pukul dua belas.
Tak tahan dengan sengatan matahari, aku pun memutuskan undur diri dan kembali melangkah menuju halte bus Pavilion.
Semalaman tidurku terinterupsi oleh dengkuran seorang penginap yang terlelap pulas di sebelah kanan ranjang. Tak hanya diriku, aku pun bisa merasakan protes dari seorang penginap yang tidur persis dibawah bunk bed. Berkali-kali aku bisa merasakan, dia menghantam dasar bunk bed yang kutiduri. Mungkin dia merasakan hal yang sama. Kesal….Karena tak bisa tidur dengan nyenyak.
Merasa tak enak badan, kuputuskan saja untuk mengguyur tubuh di bawah shower air hangat di kamar mandi bersama. Guyuran air hangat setidaknya bisa merelaksasi setiap inchi tubuh yang pagi itu sedang tak seratus persen segar.
Pagi itu juga, aku harus mengepack kembali semua perlengkapan ke dalam backpack untuk kemudian harus menitipkannya ke meja resepsionis. Waktu menginapku purna tengah hari nanti dan saat itu pula, aku memastikan diri masih berada di pusat kota.
Usai mandi dan merapikan backpack, menujulah aku ke resepsionis untuk check-out, mengembalikan kunci locker dan mengambil uang deposit. Beruntung, staff resepsionis dari Mesir itu sudah berada di meja kerjanya sehingga memudahkanku untuk menyegerakan proses karena aku harus mengejar pemberangkatan Go KL City Bus sepagi mungkin.
Backpack telah tersimpan rapi dan aku bergegas menuruni anak tangga untuk keluar dari penginapan. Sesampai di luar, aku segera mencari tempat duduk di teras pertokoan yang masih tutup untuk bersarapan. Sarapan kali ini masih saja sama dengan menu dinner semalam….Yups, serbuk oat masih bisa diandalkan. Jujur saja, aku sudah kehabisan Ringgit pagi itu, hanya ada Ringgit tersisa untuk menaiki airport bus sore nanti dan makan malam sekedarnya di KLIA2.
Dari sini bisa diambil kesimpulan bahwa aku akan berkeliling kota tanpa keluar biaya sedikitpun bahkan seringgit sekalipun….Ya, tak akan pernah kukeluarkan.
Beruntung sekali, jalanan masih sepi. Keadaan itu tentu mengurangi beban malu ketika harus menyesap sendok demi sendok bubuk oat yang basah oleh guyuran air mineral.
Aku melangkah menuju ke Pasar Seni Bus Hub untuk mencari keberadaan Go KL City Bus Purple Line. Bus gratis jalur ungu itulah yang akan mengantarkan ke kompleks KL Tower.
KL Tower adalah menara pemancar telekomunikasi , menara penyiaran, wisata kuliner ketinggian dan wisata sudut pandang kota dari atas.
Dari kejauhan, aku melihat jelas bahwa bus itu sudah berada di posisi. Jadi begitu tiba di platform, aku langsung saja menaikinya dari pintu depan. Baru sedikit penumpang yang sudah menduduki bangku. Hal inilah yang membuatku harus menunggu sekitar sepuluh menit….Setidaknya untuk mengisi bangku-bangku kosong dengan penumpang yang perlahan berdatangan.
Pukul delapan pagi, Go KL City Bus Purple Line akhirnya berangkat jua….
Dalam duduk aku berfikiran bahwa KL Tower adalah bangunan yang tinggi, jadi aku merasa santai saja. Tentunya aku hanya perlu berhenti di halte manapun di dekat banguan KL Tower yang akan tampak dari kejauhan saking tingginya.
Go KL City Bus perlahan menyisir Jalan Sultan demi meninggalkan daerah Pasar Seni. Begitu tiba di sepanjang Jalan Raja Chulan, KL Tower sudah terlihat jelas dari kaca bus. Hanya saja aku perlu memastikan kapan harus turun di halte terdekat. Beberapa kali Go KL City Bus berhenti di halte pemberhentiannya, tetapi aku tetap saja bebal tak kunjung turun. Aku masih berharap bahwa bus akan berhenti di halte yang lebih dekat dari KL Tower.
Itu dia bus dengan layanan percuma*1)
Interiornya bagus dan bersih tentunya.
Terjadilah pengecualian, bukannya tambah mendekat, Go KL City Bus semakin lama semakin menjauhi KL Tower. “Ahhhh, sial….aku sudah kebablasan dan bus bukannya melambat tetapi semakin kencang”, aku bersandar lemas di kaca bus. Akibat kebodohan itu, aku hanya pasrah mengikuti kemana Go KL City Bus pergi. Aku memutuskan kembali ke Pasar Seni dan mengulang lagi perjalanan dari nol….Parah.
Dalam perjalanan 40 menit, akhirnya Go KL City Bus tiba kembali di Pasar Seni.
“Konyol….”, aku mengutuk diriku sendiri.
Kini aku turun dari Go KL City Bus dan berpindah ke bus terdepan yang sudah siap berangkat. Beruntungnya diriku, Go KL City Bus langsung berangkat ketika beberapa detik sebelumnya aku melangkah masuk.
Kini aku memasang sikap waspada ketika duduk di salah satu bangku. Aku akan memutuskan untuk langsung turun saja ketika melihat KL Tower bisa dijangkau dengan berjalan kaki.
Pucuk dicinta ulam pun tiba….
Bus berhenti di sebuah halte dan aku pun melompat turun dari pintu tengah.
“THE WELD….”, aku membaca signboard pada sebuah gedung pencakar langit yang berdiri tepat dibelakang halte tempatku turun.
Kini aku berada di Jalan Raja Chulan dan THE WELD sendiri adalah kompleks perkantoran 26 lantai yang berada 800 meter di timur KL Tower.
Dari THE WELD, aku memotong Jalan P. Ramlee untuk kemudian dalam lima puluh langkah masuk ke sebuah jalan yang lebih kecil, bernama Jalan Puncak. Inilah jalan utama untuk menuju KL Tower yang dibangun di tempat yang lebih tinggi.
Terengah-engah selama seperempat jam, akhirnya tiba juga di pelataran KL Tower. Sebetulnya pada tahun 2014 silam, aku berkesempatan melintas di menara ini ketika menjajal KL Hop On Hop Off untuk berkeliling kota. Hanya saja, kala itu aku hanya turun kurang dari lima menit untuk melihatnya. Ini semua karena KL Hop On Hop Off terburu-buru untuk menjelajah kota.
THE WELD….Selain perkantoran, ada pasar swalayan modernnya juga loh.
Meniti Jalan Puncak.
Kali ini aku akan sedikit lebih lama dalam menikmati pesona menara komunikasi yang berusia tak kurang dari seperempat abad itu. Bagaimana tidak bahagia, ketika akhirnya aku berkesempatan menikmati keindahan menara yang ketinggiannya masuk ke dalam jajaran sepuluh menara tertinggi di dunia.
Keunikan yang pertama kali bisa dilihat adalah atap bangunan dasar yang menggunakan deretan pola meruncing, pikiranku lalu merujuk pada runcingan-runcingan atap Sydney Opera House. Sedangkan pada bagian ujung atas antara tiang dan antena terdapat bangunan membulat yang merupakan pusat dari kegiatan broadcasting, telekomunikasi, restoran, observation deck dan sky deck.
Sepengetahuanku untuk menikmati observation deck, pengunjung harus mengeluarkan biaya sebesar 49 Ringgit….Sedangkan harga wisata sky deck mencapai 99 Ringgit….Woouuooww.
Aku melangkah menuju entrance gate KL Tower untuk melihat aktivitas di sana dari dekat. Tentu aku tak akan naik ke atas untuk berwisata, terlalu mahal untuk pengunjung sepertiku yang hanya sekedar singgah saja di Kuala Lumpur.
Tak begitu ramai, sedari tadi hanya beberapa turis Eropa yang memutuskan untuk membeli tiket dan naik ke atas menara, sementara aku hanya mengamati sisa-sisa kegiatan kompetisi pemrograman yang diselenggarakan kemarin lusa. Kompetisi itu bertajuk HR Hackathon.
Bergeser ke kanan menara, ada atraksi lain ternyata. Di sisi itu berdirilah konter penjualan tiket untuk berkunjung ke KL Tower Mini Zoo (KLTMZ). Papan informasi yang ada mengatakan bahwa KLTMZ menyimpan tak kurang dari lima puluh spesies asli dan eksotis. Dan untuk melihat spesies-spesies unik itu maka pengunjung perlu merogoh kocek hingga 30 Ringgit.
Berpindah lagi menuju arah depan menara. Tersedia KL Tower F1 Zone yang menyediakan simulator Formula One untuk umum. Pengunjung bisa merasakan sensai mengendarai jet darat itu dengan membayar sebesar 20 Ringgit untuk enam menit mengemudi di simulator. Dinding KL Tower F1 Zone ini berwarna merah menyala, menyeleraskan diri dengan warna salah satu tim balap terkemuka di ajang balapan premier Formula One. Hanya saja, saat aku mengunjungi KL Tower, KL Tower F1 Zone itu masih tutup. Mungkin aku tiba terlalu pagi.
Oh ya, KL Tower F1 Zone ini juga dilengkapi dengan Formula One Cafe & Mart loh….
Tetapi baru sejenak melihat seisi cafe & minimarket dari luar ruangan, aku melihat kedatangan KL Hop On Hop Off warna putih dengan deck atas sebagian yang terbuka. Sontak aku berlari menujunya, sudah enam tahun lamanya aku tak pernah bersua dari dekat dengan bus wisata itu. Ternyata di pelataran menara terdapat shelter KL Hop On Hop Off. Pantas saja bus wisata itu berhenti untuk menurunkan para wisatawan.
Entrance gate KL Tower.
Ticketing Counter KL Tower Mini Zoo.
KL Tower F1 Zone.
Di spot inilah rombongan Surabayan itu aku foto.
Wisatawan asing sering meyebutnya dengan KL Forest Eco Park.
Tak lama berhenti, hanya menurunkan 5 wisatawan, bus itu tancap gas kembali. Tetapi tak lama kemudian, ada sebuah logat yang tak asing di telinga ketika kelima wisatawan wanita itu saling bercakap usai menuruni bus. “Itu logat Surabaya….”, aku menyimpulkan. Aku memutuskan diri untuk menyapa dan bercakap sejenak. Sudah empat hari lamanya aku tak bersua dengan orang Indonesia, tak ada salahnya untuk berbincang sejenak. Atas peristiwa itu, aku tahu bahwa kelimanya adalah Tenaga Kerja Wanita yang sedang berwisata ke Kuala Lumpur. Dari percakapan kami pula, aku tahu bahwa mereka sedang bekerja di Penang.
Seperti biasa, orang Indonesia selalu memiliki ciri yang khas. Mereka akhirnya memintaku untuk mengambil foto dengan latar KL Tower.
Aku? ….Ya tentulah aku meminta juga untuk dipotret….Kan aku orang asli Indonesia….NKRI harga mati.
Aku sendiri sudah berada di ujung kunjungan ke KL Tower. Untuk menutup kunjungan singkat ini, aku memasuki setengah area depan dari Taman Eko Rimba KL. Dahulu taman ini dikenal dengan sebutan Hutan Simpan Bukit Nanas, yang merupakan salah satu cagar hutan permanen tertua di Malaysia. Untuk memasuki cagar hutan ini pengunjung harus rela merogoh kocek sebesar 40 Ringgit.
