After vacillating between Bangkok, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we ended up choosing the latter of the two. The prices were right at the time for Malaysia and the costs of the flight to Bangkok just kept increasing as we continued to procrastinate on purchasing our plane tickets. In the end, we feel we made the right decision. Though we will end up going to Bangkok eventually during our stay in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur was worth every ringget (Malaysian currency).
Our plane arrived at LCCT Airport, about an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur, and the first thing we noticed was how much closer Malaysia compared to the US than Cambodia. We were delighted to see a stand brandishing our favorite coffee logo, Dunkin Donuts. As you can see from the pictures I am pretty happy about getting a nice cup of American jo. We bought a nice cup of iced D&D coffee before heading to our bus into the city. When we arrived at the platform our bus was at we were instructed that the coffee would not be allowed for the ride, so we were forced to chug it (which was definitely not a problem for us!) The bus ride seemed short and sweet. Since the flight was early in the morning, I was able to slip into a deep coma-like sleep on the trip to the city sitting next to my new friend “Old Asian Guy” (we were the last on the bus and were split up).
Upon reaching our destination of KL Sentral station, which is basically where all the busses and trains end up, we located our hotel on a map and decided to try and hoof it. This ended up being a mistake because the majority of the roads outside of the station do not have walking paths and had crazy taxi drivers nearly running us over. After 20-30 minutes of walking in circles, we submitted and flagged down a taxi. Fortunately the trip was cheap, but we didn’t quite know the currency conversion all too well. Our hotel was comfortable, affordable and we eventually found the safest foot-trail to KL Sentral. KL Sentral has a variety of trains and lightrails that will transport you wherever you want to go in the city, basically. Our first day, we decided to relax and just go to the very famous Petronus Twin Towers.
The Petronus Towers were an incredible site. We felt right at home in the shopping mall at the bottom of the building. Food courts, expensive to mid-range clothing, jewelry, home décor, grocery stores, and even a movie theater with 1st run western films were all included in the 4-5 story mall. We took a couple of trips to this landmark throughout our stay in Kuala Lumpur. Also, since it was just after Christmas, we were able to get pictures with the decorations that were still up in the mall. Just out front of the KLCC Shopping mall in the towers was a massive, clean park with gazebos and a running trail. It was very well taken care of and a surprising site considering it is in the direct center of the city. Across the park from the Petronus Towers was a hotel with a bar at the top with an amazing view of the Towers themselves (picture included). Our second day included many beautiful pictures from both the camera and my old cell phone/makeshift camera.
The second day, we decided to check out many of the famous tourist sites of KL. We started at the most famous Chinese Buddhist Temple in KL called Thean Hou. The temple was incredibly well taken care of and immaculately clean from the second you step into the door to the moment you walk into the offering chamber. It was also at the top of a hill in KL and had an incredible view of the city. From the top floor of the temple you can see the KL Tower, Petronus Towers, and National Mosque with ease. As we were leaving we decided to taste the homemade candy they were making in the gift shop for fun. The candy was called “dragon’s beard” and it was peanuts wrapped in honey that was somehow strung out and dried to look almost like cotton or white hair. Despite what it looked like, it was quite delicious. Out front of this temple were large statues of each of the 12 animals corresponding to the lunar new years. So we each got our picture with the animal year of our birth (Keith – Year of the Tiger, Chantelle – Year of the Rabbit).
Secondly, we went to the Butterfly Garden. The Butterfly Garden was one of the main highlights of our trip in both of our opinions. There were literally hundreds the second you step through the door (after paying a ticket charge). There were butterflies of all shapes, colors and sizes ranging from the size of my palm to the size of a quarter. About a minute after we walked in, Chantelle accidently stepped on a butterfly in front of a little girl who was with her caretaker. The girl made a pretty unforgettable face after saying “*gasp* SHE KILLED IT!!!” If only we were able to get a picture of her face. Another incredible site within the Butterfly Garden was a pond filled with about 50 turtles. Also, after you step out of the garden, you step into an aquarium filled with different bugs, amphibians, and arachnids. Here we found a tiny, white turtle small enough to fit into your pocket. We didn’t spend too long in the aquarium because we had many other sites to visit that day.
The next place we went to was the Orchid and Hibiscus Garden. Unfortunately, we do not have many pictures of the garden because our cameras were just about out of battery. The garden itself was massive. It was smaller than Longwood Gardens by comparison, but filled with orchids and of course Malaysia’s national flower the hibiscus. After visiting these three sites and walking around a while we decided to end the day at KLCC in the Petronus Towers once more to sit and relax for a while.
Our third day, we planned to visit the Batu Caves as well as the famous Central and Chinese Markets. The caves were the most exciting part of the trip. On the front doorstep of the caves are two massive statues of Buddhist deities. One of the statues was nearly as tall as the stairs leading up into the caves. The staircase, just to the entrance, consisted of 272 steep, stone steps. This did not include the steps down into the caves and the staircase on the other side of the caves which were each around 40 steps, bringing the total to over 350 steps. The steps, however, were not the exciting part of the visit. On our way out of the caves the monkeys we had seen up in the trees around the caves had come out to play with the tourists. It got to a point where we started fearing for our cameras as we were taking pictures of them. We saw at least two people lose their drinks to the clutches of the adorable little monkeys. One girl who was holding a sealed soda bottle had a monkey climb up using her dress and shirt as footing and swipe the drink out of her hand. The monkey proceeded to bite open the bottle spilling the contents and then lick them up off the steps. Further down the steps we saw a monkey steal a man’s can of soy soda and drink it just like a human being. We also saw a mother monkey with a baby clutching onto the underside of her while she was taking food out of people’s hands. Chantelle was able to get a picture of the baby monkey as it was looking toward the camera. Definitely the best shot of the day. Many people bought peanuts just outside the gates of the temple to give out to the monkeys. We were able to get plenty of pictures of the caves and the monkeys before we moved on.
Later that same day we visited the famous Central Market. This market was indoors, air conditioned, and had higher end souvenirs and services (quite a bit different than any of the markets here in Cambodia). We looked around a while before purchasing some Malaysian tea that we are still enjoying. At this market we also sat down for a snack and a draught. We determined our next location to be a short five minute walk. We felt right at home when entering the Chinese Market.
The Chinese Market was nearly identical to the markets in Cambodia. Street-side knock-off brand anything you could imagine littered the alleys of the entire block. We tried to get a couple pictures here as well as haggle for some decent quality knock-offs. I poked around a bit trying to find a vendor with size 13 Nike Frees, but to no avail. Asia just doesn’t quite have my shoe size anywhere. We successfully managed some cheap perfume and cologne and then sat down for a meal at a restaurant that was, pretty much, in the middle of the market. The food is pretty similar to Cambodia with more Chinese and Indian influences, all delicious. After our dinner we went back to the hotel for our last night in KL.
The last night at the hotel was New Year’s Eve night. Neither of us thought we would see fireworks this year. We were fortunate enough to be close to about three different fireworks displayed and caught two and a half of them before we decided to call it a day and go to bed.
Our last day we returned to the airport and we both purchased some Dunkin Donuts coffee to enjoy before our flight. This time we were at least able to relax and enjoy it, unlike earlier in the trip. The overall trip was an incredible experience and we both enjoyed the city immensely. One more country marked off on our adventures in beautiful Southeast Asia. We are looking forward to continuing our adventures to new places and of course sharing them with you all!
We will post more photos of KL soon! (it takes forever with our net)
