Malaysia

Having heard mixed reviews of KL, I figured I would either love or hate it. I don’t gravitate towards big cities these days and tend to lean more towards smaller cities or nature, but I really loved KL. It’s like a cheaper version of Singapore. It’s like if San Francisco and Tokyo had a baby. All the amenities and advantages of a big city without the high prices. And great food, especially Malay and Chinese food, or so it seemed to me. And it’s so easy to get to and from this hub by plane and to get around the city by a very extensive public transit system. You only really need 2-3 days to hit the major attractions, but you can also spend a couple extra days at a slower place and exploring more of the nooks and crannies, enjoying the food culture. Add a couple more days for potential nearby day trips.

See & Do

• Petronas Towers. Iconic towers you can go to the top for city views or just admire from the outside. If you want to go up, you must reserve days in advance as it sells out quickly.
• Chinatown. Central Market shops, Jalan Petaling food street, Guan Di Temple (Buddhist), Sri Maha Mariamman Temple (Hindu).
• Nu Sentral. Huge shopping and eating area right at the Sentral train station central to everything in KL. Great place to stay in my opinion as there’s so much conveniently located within a few minutes walk and easy access to all subway lines to go anywhere.
• Batu Caves. Popular spot in KL. Holy temple inside a huge above ground cave. Surrounded by colorful temples and painted stairs. You’ll work to get to the top, as there are a lot of stairs, but it’s well worth it. Watch out for monkeys. Don’t feed them and hold on to your stuff, including hat, purse, and sunglasses. They’re not super aggressive, but you never know. Monkeys are clever and quick. Don’t look them in the eye, as they take that as a sign of aggression.
• KL Bird Park. The biggest enclosed bird park in the world. It’s very cool and considering it’s more or less a zoo in terms of captivity, it’s at least pretty spacious. Interesting variety of bird species not commonly seen. Budget about 1-2 hours as it’s quite big. This is part of the larger Lake Garden which also has a Butterfly Park, Planetarium, gardens, and hiking if you want to do more exploring. You can walk it, but it’s a pretty big area. There was a small hornbill that made me remember the huge hornbill I saw in Myanmar and thought I was somehow transported back to prehistoric times. There was also a crazy looking, colorful, prehistoric looking bird that resembled an ostrich found in Papua.
• National Mosque of Malaysia. Open certain days for non-muslims, or just admire from the outside.
• Islamic Arts Museum. Huge exhibit of art work, scaled models of mosques around the world, Islamic history, armor & weaponry. If you happen to be hungry, the restaurant is good. Or even to sit and relax before or after for tea is nice.
• Theon Hou Temple. Buddhist temple with a lovely design and city views.

Food & Drink

• Fuit. There are some pretty interesting fruits like Duku and Dukong/Langsat that are small and sweet. Snake fruit has a very leathery exterior that resembles snake skin which is pretty wild. Taste is unique. I didn’t find it bad or good, worth trying. If you’re not familiar with durian, it’s very popular and people either love or hate this dare I say exceptionally stinky fruit.
• Lisette’s Cafe & Bakery. Nice little cafe.
• Iketeru. Japanese and sushi. Located in the Hilton and a bit expensive which I didn’t realize until I got there, but was too hungry to go elsewhere. Great sushi though and they have a nice wagyu selection, but it’s crazy expensive.
• Dolly Dim Sum. Many throughout the city and have great dim sum.
• Din Tai Fung. Another great dim sum place. Try the ginseng date tea, it’s really unique and really good.

Nearby

• Cameron Highlands. If you’re looking for cooler temperatures, mountains, forests, and tea plantations. I didn’t make it this trip. Renting a car is a good option, public transit can be a bit more involved and you really need to research bus pickups and schedules. Grab is also another option either to get there, in the area which is quite spread out, or both.
• Malacca. Don’t know much about this place and didn’t make it here either, but hear great things. Classical Malaysia.

Batu Caves

Theon Hou Temple

KL Bird Park

KL Bird Park

KL Bird Park

KL Bird Park