Tourism Malaysia Vancouver Media Fam
August 21 - September 2nd, 2009
 

We enjoyed one of the nicest days today as we toured the Secret Garden of 1 Utama in KL. This is an incredible roof top garden that has to be seen to be appreciated. They have everything here it seems and when you are in the garden, you are totally unaware that you are on top of a huge shopping mall in the middle of Kuala Lumpur.

‘As many as 500 species of rare tropical and temperate plants are flourishing in a secret corner of 1 Utama shopping centre, Petaling Jaya.
Fondly named the Secret Garden, the 2,787-sq metre rooftop garden is certainly a convenient and cost-free respite if you happen to be weary and dreary of the daily hustle and bustle.

Together with the shopping centre’s popular rainforest enclave, the Secret Garden is also cultivated by botanist Dr Francis Ng who was recently awarded the prestigious David Fairchild Medal 2009 (Plant Exploration) by the National Tropical Botanical Garden of the United States.
“The garden took eight years of research and nurturing to reach the maturity today by thriving naturally. Through novel experimental technologies we now house 500 species; some aren’t found in other parts of the world,” said the shopping centre’s director Datuk Teo Chiang Kok.

He said the garden, which could be the largest rooftop and experimental garden in South-East Asia, had been kept a secret. Even staff members did not know its existence.’

He was so proud of this garden and would spend every moment in it if he could…

After this visit, we had a bit of free time in the mall and I just wandered taking pictures of the various things that were for sale…as I said it is a huge mall – you could get lost for days in it.

That evening we had dinner at the Midori Japanese Restaurant at the hotel and was it good…I must sound like a broken record by now, but in the three trips that I have made to Malaysia I have never had a bad meal…even in a hotel, in fact in the hotels the buffets are to die for…so much to choose from.