Early Morning in Independance Square

Today, we are braving the elements for a bit and checking out the Independence Square area of Kuala Lumpur. We have already had a walk around some of this area, i.e. to as far as the River of Life, when we explored the Chinatown area previously, but this time we are going out specifically to cover a different part.

Knowing that there are not as many malls in this area, I suggest to R that we get up and out of the apartment early, when the temperature is not at its worst, so that we try to avoid being outside for too long. The plan is we get out early, be back home for early afternoon and then we can just chill and relax for the rest of the day (and even have an afternoon nap if required!) We both agree, and I set the alarm for 7.00 am.

OMG, what was I thinking! The alarm wakes me up as I have requested, and even though I am usually a morning person, I really, really did not want to wake up at this now ungodly time of the morning. I could have so easily just gone back to sleep today, and you know what, I probably should have, as I think getting up made me a tad grumpy. His nibs was already moaning about getting up, and he took longer to get out of bed than usual, too (which also did not help my already tired and annoyed mood – this was going great so far!). We eventually left the apartment about 8.00 am, and so much for it being that bit cooler at that time in the morning, it wasn’t! It was roasting hot, and there was little shade as we walked to our main destination. I knew I should have just turned off that stupid alarm and gone back to sleep...

Although the road traffic was quite heavy, there were not that many pedestrians about as we walked towards Independence Square. We passed an empty Petaling Street, a closed Central Market and some very interesting old buildings. We passed the historical Market Square Clock Tower. This Art Deco-style clock tower was completed in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI, and then, finally, we came upon Independence Square.

Independence Square (also known as Merdeka Square) is a square situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (SASB). The SASB currently houses the office of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture of Malaysia. A 95-metre flagpole, one of the tallest in the world, is located at the southern end of the square. A flat, round black marble plaque marks the location where the Malayan flag was raised for the first time at midnight on 31st August 1957, replacing the Union Jack flag. Opposite the square is the Royal Selangor Club, which was first founded in 1884 as a meeting place for high-ranking members of the British colonial society. The square was previously used as the cricket green for the Selangor Club. Independence Square is the venue for the annual Independence Day Parade as well as for various other events, including political rallies.

The Square was quiet, well, quiet apart from all the construction noise and work going on at the SASB. I’m not sure what was going on there, but a large portion of it was cordoned off, and works were on-going. The flagpole and surrounding area were interesting, and it was very weird to see a very English-looking old building (the Royal Selangor Club) and a cricket ground here too.

Of course, what I didn’t realise at the time and only discovered later, was that we can see the flag pole from the apartment balcony. We didn’t even need to leave the apartment – I think I’m being trolled now!

Today's route:

Day 64: 27 January 2026

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

From here, we crossed over the pedestrian bridge, just up from the River of Life section, and observed the old Former Supreme Court House building. It’s a beautiful building, but one that has sadly been neglected over the years, which is such a shame.

From here, we then passed by the Masjid Jamek station and headed over the Klang River to the Jakel Mall. Now I had seen the Jakel Mall building when we had passed by this in the taxi the other day and thought it might be a useful place to stop off in for a wander (i.e. to cool down) and get something to eat in. It was just before 10 am by the time we arrived here and the building had not yet opened, so we wandered around the area a bit more (and in the belting sun) until we could eventually go in. We went into the first store that we came across and were quickly greeted by a number of staff. Now this was a different and more pleasant experience than what we had found so far in KL. This shop had LOTS of staff, and they were all very polite and lovely. It had 4 floors of fabric and clothing. Now we didn’t realise it was a fabric store until we had gotten inside, and we then didn’t want to about turn and leave, especially as the staff were so lovely, but as I also like to do a bit of sewing back home, I was in awe at all the fabrics and curtain accessories available. It was mesmerising, and I couldn’t help but think it would be the perfect place for a would-be fashion designer to have all these fabrics at their fingertips (and at such fantastic prices!). So, at least this store cheered me up no end. I could have spent hours in there if I weren’t with R ....and had space in my small suitcase for taking fabric back home with me!

The rest of the mall was quite disappointing. They did have quite a big grocery store, but that was really all there was, so we left the mall slightly deflated and started to make our way back to the apartment. We did get back shortly after lunchtime, and instead of a delicious lunch from a mall, we ended up with some rather boring (but still tasty) pot noodles for lunch.

We took it easy for the rest of the day, and then later in the evening, we went out for dinner to our favourite Chinese restaurant (Sai Kee) at Lalaport. There was some sort of event going on up on the roof, but we didn’t stay there very long. Then back home, a quick shower, some TV (Pushing Daisies) and then off to bed with a long lie-in on the cards for tomorrow…