Kuala Lumpur is a major travel hub in Asia and so if you are travelling in these parts you will eventually make a stop there, especially if you are flying with Air Asia, or one of the other major low cost carriers.
KL, as it is known, is a large, but relatively young city, having only really taken form when the British rocked up. it started life as a tin mining settlement in 1857, and translates as 'muddy estuary'. However, it is now a buzzing steel and concrete metropolis of 1.59 million people.
KL has mixed feedback and reviews from other travelers and most recommend to stay for a day or two, if that, and we would have to agree with them.
We stayed near KL Sentral - the main transport hub - as we arrived late and were leaving for Butterworth and Penang from there as well so we wanted convenience. There were many budget options nearby - we chose one of the My Hotels, which, if basic was fine with AC, private bath and reasonably clean sheets.
It seemed possible to cover the main sites of the city in one day, with a side trip to the Batu Caves the morning of our train (which left at 16:00 - we would have taken an overnight train but there wasn't really one convenient).
Getting around KL feels a little hap hazard, with a lot of the public transport above ground and not really connecting with each other. It is certainly cheap to get around and so we just bought tickets (about 2-4 MYR per journey per person) from the machines as we went.
First we traveled on the monorail (queue much singing of the Simpsons) to Chinatown and planned to walk up to the main square before catching a train to the Patronas towers, the street food area and catch a movie (Star Wars!) for $1.
China town
There are many colonial buildings and work houses in the area which gives it a charm, however, the main street is dominated by cheapish fake handbags, watches and clothing so nothing too special to get excited about.
We did come across a fantastic Chinese lantern shop though, which was obviously gearing up for Chinese New Year in the next few weeks.
Merdeka Square
Merdeka Square, otherwise known as independence square, is surrounded by grand(ish) colonial buildings, one of which is particularity nice with copper domes which was once used by the British government.
Typically British, there was a cricket pitch in the middle of the grass lawn, a church and a 100m flag pole. This was where Malaysia (Malay at the time) was granted independence from the British (a trend in these parts of the world) and the Malayan flag raised for the first time at midnight on 30th August 1957.
As we had an hour or so to kill, we decided to go into the City Gallery with its, rather impressive model of the city, info about the history of KL and a show about KL's vision for the future.
This is also where the I 'heart' (Name of city) rip off statue is. If you do go in remember to claim your ticket against a drink or food in the cafe... it paid for our lunch!
The Patronas Towers
If there was one symbol that signified Malaysia more than anything it is these quite beautiful designed twin towers. They seemed smaller than I expected, but it is clear much thought went into their design.
You can go up to the top and sky bridge for about 80 RMY, but we thought it was a bit expensive and settled for a view at night (at its best) from the Sky Bar in the Traders Hotel - probably the best view of the towers from anywhere.
The Sky Bar is on the 33rd floor of Traders and is located in the pool area (which actually works!) Music is a good mix (they played David Bowie as a tribute!). There is no dress code (score!) and there is a happy hour from 6 -9 making a pint just over £3, which isn't that bad when you consider where you are. They even have special deals each day of the week, so as we were there on a Thursday men got a free beer!
The towers look spectacular at night and there is a lovely fountain and light show (which was aided by heavy rain and a lightning storm) outside the entrance to the shopping mall, located under the towers.
The Street Food
Asia does street food really well and KL is well up there. If you are looking for a tasty and reasonable meal head down to Jalan Alor, famous for its street food.
Each "restaurant" is lined in front with plastic tables and chairs along the street edge. As you walk you're offered a copy of their menu, which is a plastic folder FULL of pages and pages photos of different meal options, from fish ball noodles, shellfish, marmite fried frogs (what?!), dim sum, noodles, fresh fruits, and the favorite - grilled Chicken wings and Malaysian satay.
Each style of dish is cooked at its own stall or station and brought over to you by the 'chefs' once ready, which makes for really quick and fresh cooked food!
We went to Wong Ah Wah Restaurant, at the end of the street (look for Mickey Mouse!) after looking at all of them - most were offering the same dishes.
We finished off the day at the Golden Screen Cinema watching Star Wars for only £2.50 each, plus another £1 for popcorn!
Batu Caves
About 30 minutes from KL Sentral is Batu Caves, a limestone rock, which has multiple caves in it. One of which, and I think the largest, has been turned into a Hindu shrine. With 250 or so steps leading up and into the cave, marked clearly alongside with a huge statue of Lord Murugan; a Hindu deity, it is quite an entrance way.
It only costs about £1 return to get to the caves with a direct train from KL Sentral. When you arrive walk along the road away from the big green Monkey statue until you see the golden statue and steps. Don't forget to bring a sarong with you so you can go up and into the cave. We would advise arriving early to miss the heat but to also catch the worshiping and miss the crowds.
It was fascinating watching the ceremonies take place inside, with all the worshipers heading up the steps with their offerings in silver pots, all dressed in golden yellow and the women with yellow flowers in their hair. It brought back lots of memories of India.
Overall KL is probably worth a day, but once you've been there, you've seen it all, so we left saying a goodbye to Kuala Lumpur as a place we felt we wouldn't need to return to.
KL, as it is known, is a large, but relatively young city, having only really taken form when the British rocked up. it started life as a tin mining settlement in 1857, and translates as 'muddy estuary'. However, it is now a buzzing steel and concrete metropolis of 1.59 million people.
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| Towering high |
KL has mixed feedback and reviews from other travelers and most recommend to stay for a day or two, if that, and we would have to agree with them.
We stayed near KL Sentral - the main transport hub - as we arrived late and were leaving for Butterworth and Penang from there as well so we wanted convenience. There were many budget options nearby - we chose one of the My Hotels, which, if basic was fine with AC, private bath and reasonably clean sheets.
It seemed possible to cover the main sites of the city in one day, with a side trip to the Batu Caves the morning of our train (which left at 16:00 - we would have taken an overnight train but there wasn't really one convenient).
Getting around KL feels a little hap hazard, with a lot of the public transport above ground and not really connecting with each other. It is certainly cheap to get around and so we just bought tickets (about 2-4 MYR per journey per person) from the machines as we went.
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| One of the many confusing transport lines in KL |
China town
There are many colonial buildings and work houses in the area which gives it a charm, however, the main street is dominated by cheapish fake handbags, watches and clothing so nothing too special to get excited about.
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| Chinatown's main strip |
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| Chinese New Year is coming! |
Merdeka Square, otherwise known as independence square, is surrounded by grand(ish) colonial buildings, one of which is particularity nice with copper domes which was once used by the British government.
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| Copper domes |
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| The poignant flag pole |
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| A model future |
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| ...or should it be NYC? |
The Patronas Towers
If there was one symbol that signified Malaysia more than anything it is these quite beautiful designed twin towers. They seemed smaller than I expected, but it is clear much thought went into their design.
 |
| This shot took some crouching! |
The Sky Bar is on the 33rd floor of Traders and is located in the pool area (which actually works!) Music is a good mix (they played David Bowie as a tribute!). There is no dress code (score!) and there is a happy hour from 6 -9 making a pint just over £3, which isn't that bad when you consider where you are. They even have special deals each day of the week, so as we were there on a Thursday men got a free beer!
 |
| View at night from Traders |
The Street Food
Asia does street food really well and KL is well up there. If you are looking for a tasty and reasonable meal head down to Jalan Alor, famous for its street food.
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| Trying out the dishes |
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| As fresh as it gets! |
We went to Wong Ah Wah Restaurant, at the end of the street (look for Mickey Mouse!) after looking at all of them - most were offering the same dishes.
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| We weren't brave enough to find out whether we'd LOVE or HATE this! |
Batu Caves
About 30 minutes from KL Sentral is Batu Caves, a limestone rock, which has multiple caves in it. One of which, and I think the largest, has been turned into a Hindu shrine. With 250 or so steps leading up and into the cave, marked clearly alongside with a huge statue of Lord Murugan; a Hindu deity, it is quite an entrance way.
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| A grand entrance |
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| Up and up |
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| Offerings in yellow |
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