As the title suggests I really did enjoy my time in Kuala Lumpur. KL was my first stop on a month long excursion around parts of mainland Southeast Asia. My main reasons for heading to KL were to check out the Batu Caves (the site of the Thaipusam Hindu festival I’ve studied in various classes), eat a massive amount of Indian food, and to meet a wonderful designer who has recently designed some Star Wars inspired wayang kulit puppets.
It really was a nice city. Even if it was insanely hot (not as hot as Myanmar but we will get there…). My first day I opted to take the express train into the city from the airport even though they had a cheaper bus option. And boy am I glad I did since it started pouring the second the train took off. I would have still be wandering around trying to find the bus station. It was worth the extra $6. Plus is was very comfortable, cool, had free wifi, and only took 30 and not an hour and a half. The express trains drops you off at a main train station, KL Sentral, and then I hopped on another short tube ride to Masjid Jemak station which was a three minute walk to my hostel.
I was staying in a hostel named “Back Home” in KL. It was a really impressive hostel. Big, comfortable beds, the best lockers I’ve ever seen in a hostel, air con, free filtered water, and a nice outside and indoor hangout area! It was top-notch. The staff was incredibly helpful as well and were able to help with directions and give recommendations. The hostel is in a great location too. I walked to most things I wanted to see (Chinatown, Merdeka Square, mosques, bars, etc) and anything a bit too far for me to walk was easily accessible from the Masjid Jemak station. I was quite impressed with the public transportation in KL. It was cheap, quick, comfortable, and effective! Made me enjoy the city so much more. I’ve missed big, bustling cities! Also effective bustling cities. Not Jakarta. 😉
After checking in I instantly made friends with one of the guys staying in my dorm room, Mike. He is from San Jose but has family in Honolulu because, ya know, the world is tiny. He said we was going out to grab a bit of food and head out to see a fancy bar with a great view of the Petronas Towers (KL’s most famous landmark) and invited me to come with. We walked around the neighborhood the hostel was in for a while and then decided to sit down in an Indian market area and have some curry and rice. It was pretty good curry. Not what I was expecting but still pretty good. After a bit more walking around we stopped off at the hostel to put on “nice” clothing to go to the fancy bar and we decided to do the 25 minute walk over to the Petronas Tower area and went up to the Sky Bar in the Traders Hotel. My martini was really good but very expensive at $8. You’re paying for the atmosphere and that view though so I get it. Although I preferred the nice beers we picked up at 7-11 on the way home at under $2 for two. A bit more my price range as a backpacker. We took our classy beers back to the hostel and sat in the nice courtyard for a while and then hit the hay. I had been traveling most of the day and Mike was heading out the next day so rest was needed.
The next day I woke up pretty early (6:30) to shower and make it down for breakfast at 7am. The hostel provided a free breakfast of toast, cereal and papaya with tea and/or coffee. The tea and coffee was free all day actually. It wasn’t the best breakfast I’ve ever had at a hostel but it was more than enough to fuel me up. Then I headed out on my way to Masjid Jemak station to pop a quick two stops over to KL Sentral and on to the kommuter train to the Batu Caves. It’s quite a nice and easy train journey. Plus a ticket there and back costs 4 ringgit or $1.08 and the last stop on the line is “Batu Caves Station” so you can’t even mess it up! When you get off the train you have the option to go into the Ramayana Caves first or walk straight to the Batu Caves. I decided that for about $1 I would give the Ramayana Caves a go since I’ve studied the story and seen several variations of the story in performance in several countries. It was just ok. An interesting use of a natural cave for sure but not something I’d recommend to everyone. You could just skip it and head straight to the Batu Caves. That’s what you’re there for anyways!
The Batu Caves are pretty impressive when you first walk up to them. The massive, golden statue of Murugan stands 140ft tall in front of the 272 steps that take you up to the main cave. There are also cheeky little monkeys on the way up the stairs ready to take any snacks you may have from you. I don’t suggest taking snacks up with you as it’s just asking for trouble on concrete stairs. Not a good choice. I enjoyed my time at the caves, people watching, checking out the 400 million year old limestone, getting in a work out, etc. Although I realized here how out of shape I have become in Indonesia. Since I don’t walk anywhere and the decent gym is a bit too pricey for me I am no longer in shape. Makes me think the 777 steps at Mt. Popa near Bagan, Myanmar might just be out of my grasp this trip. We shall see.
I then headed back to the hostel to cool down a bit and change shoes. I met up with Mike again and we decided to walk to an area he knew named Brickfields (that had really great Indian food) that was a 5 minute walk from KL Sentral. And boy am I glad I did! The food was so good I even went back a second time the next day. We walked about and settled on a place that looked quite full named Seetha Ram. It was amazing. I got a huge plate of vegetable naan with two curries and a chutney plus a young coconut drink for under $3. So. Damn. Good. Just really tasty. We then headed back to the mall because I was curious if I could find some breathable pants that hit below the knee for temple visits. I did! Hooray for the Australian brand Cotton On. They are most comfortable. Later in the evening I sat down in the courtyard and made friends with three other guys (Dutch, Brittish, Canadian). They were so funny and nice. I ended up going to a bar next door to grab a drink with them and hang out. But just one because I had to conduct an interview/meeting the next day.
The next day involved my interview (which was wonderful), walking around Chinatown, checking out a Hindu temple, walking around more, a nap, getting Indian food at Seetha Ram (again!) and then meeting up with the guys I met the night before to hang out and talk. We then walked over to the same bar to have a few cocktails and watch others be crazy. It was immensely fun and incredibly entertaining.
The following day, the 26th, was my checkout and travel day. I decided to skip the free breakfast and get some sleep instead because us crazy kids were out till very late. I checked out, checked my bags, and then went near by for some really yummy Chinese food in a little hole in the wall place a few doors down. I had a very nice bowl of fish dumpling soup that hit the spot. Oh and a coke of course. Then headed back to the hostel and soaked in the air con for a bit and used the free wifi. The Dutch guy I met was also heading out to the airport at about the same time so we grabbed our bags at about 2:45 and headed off to the airport.
And now I’m in Myanmar! I have a lot to say about Myanmar so far and I’m not even halfway through my trip. However, that will have to wait for another day.
Hugs and kisses!
*Note: I wanted to add photos to this but the internet is not having it today. So maybe another time.
A Christmas Tree in Asia 