Recently, while planning for a tour abroad I recollected how to plan tour itinerary was so different ten years ago, during a visit to Kuala Lumpur. In those days travelling abroad was a luxury and we made sure to inform everyone (friends, and relatives) about our foreign trip before and after the travel.

After the tour, there used to be a souvenir of the place, proudly displayed in the showcase at home. When someone goes to Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia, they will buy a miniature replica of Petronas tower as a souvenir. The twin towers were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004.

A few of my friends travelled to Kuala Lumpur in 2008, via Singapore. I could not make the trip so they shared some pictures of their travel.

Unseen Malaysia | 41 Bucket-list-worthy Destinations. View the interactive version here

Today I opened the Malaysia tour file of 2008 and compared them with pictures available, on websites, of Malaysia. The concept of travel has changed in the past 10 years.

Visit to Kuala Lumpur

In those days the purpose of the tours was to visit important tourist destinations in a country. Therefore, there used to be a guide who took the tourist around to the important travel destinations in the city and the suburbs.

While visiting a tourist destination the main activity was to take pictures posing in front of the famous buildings to show to friends and relatives back home.

It must be remembered, visiting the famous marketplace of the tourist destination is a must. Malaysia is famous for its colourful silk shirts. When someone wears those silk shirts or skirts in their hometown people know that he visited Malaysia.

Those were before the selfie, camera-mobiles, and FaceBook days. And we used to share pictures via pen drives…… or floppy discs (I can’t recollect).

However, Today a lot of importance is given to food. Tourists want to know were to get exotic food, local food, street food and affordable food.

Tourists are interested in activities other than just visiting theme parks and enjoying rides. They like to paraglide, snorkel, and hike. And of course, take selfies of all the activities and upload on Social Media.

Here are a few pictures from Kuala Lumpur tour, of my friends in 2008. The place, Malaysia in general and Kuala Lumpur, in particular, was beautiful and attractive then and now.

Many new attractive ‘must visit’ destinations have come up in the past 10 years. Now the nature of tourism has evolved and involves a lot of activities other than time-bound sight-seeing.

The tourist destinations that my friends visited in Kuala Lumpur in 2010 are still popular. Check out the picture from my friends’ memoirs of 2008.

Petronas Towers

The iconic Petronas tower is the first thing to visit in Kuala Lumpur. Selfies in front of the towers is a must nowadays. Petronas was once the world’s tallest twin tower, until 2004.

Tugu Negara

Tugu Negara is a National monument, in memory of the soldiers who laid down their life for the freedom of the country. There is a beautiful fountain in front of the monument.

Genting Highlands theme park

I was a bit confuses whether the pictures were of Theme park in Singapore or Malaysia. My friend confirmed that the pictures are of the Theme park in Genting Highlands. Theme parks provide a lot of entertainment. The hill station of Genting Highlands is known as the resort town. You can stay at the Genting Highlands hotels and enjoy the varied range of entertainments and activities in this popular tourist destination.

Genting Highlands

Thean Hou Temple

The large temple is of the Chinese Sea Goddess Mazu. It is a popular tourist destination in Kuala Lumpur.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building

A historic building, Sultan Abdul Samad Building, was used as Offices during the British regime. Now the building is of Ministries of Tourism and Ministry of Communication and Multimedia.

Batu Caves

Batu Caves is an important Hindu Shrines outside India. There are several Caves and temples on the Hill. Lord Murugan is the main deity here.  My friends could not climb the 272 steps and visit the caves and temples. They took the picture of the huge Murugan Statue (140ft) from a long distance.

K L Lake Gardens

K L Lake Gardens is a splendorous group of gardens. There are different gardens like the rock garden, butterfly garden, deer park and so on. This seems to be no monkey park,at the same time, they are the star attraction of the garden. As a result of the carefree attitude, the Monkies are a tourist attraction and the favourites of shutterbugs.

Walkthrough History

There are so many well preserved historic buildings and well-kept roads. For this reason, you can take a stroll through the road for fresh air and enlightenment.

Overhead  view from Petronas Towers

To have an overhead view of Kuala Lumpur, you must go to the Sky bridge on the 41st floor of Petronas Tower. Not to mention, you can view and take pictures from the sky bridge.

Kerala, which is popular for lush green tourist destinations like Munnar, Kumarakom and Thekkady, also has many historical places and monuments dating back to the stone ages.  One such place is Onattukara (the land of Onam), a feudal kingdom believed to have existed from 12th to 19th Century. Mavelikara which was the Capital of Onattukara is relevant in the modern cultural history of Kerala as Onam is celebrated in memory of the great king Maveli who ruled here.

History of Onaddu

Many historically relevant places of ancient Onattukara feudal state are found in the towns of Mavelikara, Kayamkulam and surrounding villages. By sparing a day of your Kerala tour to visit the historic Onattukara region you can get an insight into ancient religious, cultural and political history of Kerala. You will be visiting two Towns which are just 10 kms apart – Mavelikara and Kayamkulam.

The must visit tourist spots

Mavelikara

Mavelikara was the capital of the Onadu dynasty from 11th to the 15th Century, until the head quarters was moved to Krishnapuram, in Kayamkulam. Mavelikara still remains the cultural centre producing many renowned artists including Abu Abraham the famous cartoonist. The internationally renowned Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma, married from the royal family here. Raja Ravi Varma School of Fine Arts is located here producing many eminent artists like famous cartoonist R. Shankar Pillai. There is also a Buddha statue dating back to the 9th Century which shows the presence of Buddhism in Onattukara dynasty.

Kayamkulam

As the name suggests ‘kulam’ means ‘pond’ which indicates the presence of water bodies in this area. From the 15th to the 18th Century Kayamkulam was the capital of Onadu and Kayamkulam became the commercial centre. Even today Kayamkulam is a commercial centre because of the road and waterway connectivity. There are many temples and traditions here reminding the history of Onadu.

Buddha Statue 

The statue of Lord Buddha which was discovered in a paddy field, near Kandiyoor Temple, is said to date back to the 9th Century. The statue indicates the prevalence of Buddhisim in Onattukara. Now the idol is installed beside the road that leads to the Sree Krishna Swami Temple. The 4ft. tall idol in a sitting, meditating posture with a smile on the face, is kept inside a pagoda like structure. You can easily locate the monument as the place is called Buddha Junction.

Kandiyoor Temple

This is one of the ancient temples in Kerala known as Thekkan Kash (Kashi of the South) which has around twelve sub shrines. The Kandiyoor temple, some historians say, may have been an old Buddhist temple as the temple architect is different from that of other Kerala temples.

Evoor Temple(The Fire Temple)

This temple is famously known as the Guruvayoor of Onattukara. According to tradition Evoor Sri Krishna Temple is mentioned in the Mahabharata (burning of Khandava Forest) and  believed to be built in the presence of Lord Krishna.  “Raktha-pushpanjali” is a special offering here which is unavailable in any other Vishnu temples. About a century back the temple caught fire, and the king of Travancore reconstructed the temple with all the latest infrastructure available in those days.

Krishnapuram Palace

It is said that the Kings of Kayamkulam ruled from here when the Onadu capital was shifted from Mavelikara. The exact date of construction of the present palace in not known however it is said to have been built in the 17th Century by Marthanda Varma, the King of Travancore after defeating the Kayamkulam King. The palace is an epitome of the traditional Kerala architecture consiting of gabled roof, inner courtyards, narrow passages, ponds, etc. The greatest attraction is the 49 sq.m mural painting, Gajendra Moksham done with natural vegetable colours depicting a Mythological story of Lord Vishnu redeeming an elephant caught by a crocodile. The painting, is believed to be the biggest in Kerala, is place at the entrance of the bath area of the palace so that the royals can pray soon after bathing.

There is also an archaeological museum exhibiting ancient coins, the famous two edged Kayamkulam word and ancient urns used for burial. Outside the Palace, there is a beautiful garden with native Kerala flowers and plants. One of the four Buddha Statues discovered in Onatukkara is installed here.

Shankars Cartoon Museum

A few kilometers away from Krishnapuram you can visit the museum of the famous political cartoonist of India, K. Shankar Pillai, whose cartoons were appreciated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Apart from his work, personal belongings like reclining chair and table that he used to create world famous cartoons are exhibited here. Also, there are sculptures made by  renowned artists depicting the culture of Onattukar.

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Beaches

After visiting the historical sites, you can enjoy the cool breeze from the sea at the Azhikkal Beach (Aayiram Tengu) and Valiya Azhikkal beach (Kochiyude Jetty). These beaches are new and relatively unexploited destinations in tourism hence you can enjoy the beach and sea in all its natural beauty.

House boating in Backwaters 

Finally, you can take a house boat and head for a three hour cruise to the Venice of the East – Allappuzha through Ashtamudi Lake watching the Sunset. Or else you can enjoy a boat ride in the lagoon watching the lake opening into the Arabian Sea. If you visit on the Fourth Sunday of August you can watch the boat race held in the backdrop of the famous Chinese Fishing nets. The story goes that when the Kayamkulam King was defeated by the King of Travancore, he immersed all his wealth in this lake and escaped with his family.

There are many more monuments and traditions that preserve the ancient culture of the Onattukara region. Another town Karunagapalli was also part of the dynasty. You can visit the Ochira temple, which does not have an Idol. You can also see the procession of the Chettikulangar Festival know as Kettukazhcha where the devotees display decorated chariots with large colourful pyramid decorations.