After spending time in Borneo we planned to fly over to Kuala Lumpur before continuing overland to Thailand. KL is a somewhat of a stop over point and is a little like Bangkok in the sense that many people spend a few days to see a few sights, shops and taste the local cuisine before stepping back on a plane to their onward destination.
Anthony At The Petronas Towers
For us it was no different. We were only going to be there for 3 days before heading straight to the Thai Islands. But, yet again, this busy city drew us in and we ended up making some great friends from the huge expat community. We spent a lot of our time in China Town, eating some great food and laughing over a few beers.
Accommodation
Prices of rooms were a little more expensive than we had anticipated, but around the corner from China Town is some smaller hostels. Their price, comfort and quality all vary, so it’s best to check them out before you book anything.
The room we stayed in-although clean, was the smallest windowless room we have ever been in! The double bed could barely fit in the room. The door didn’t even open all the way and we had to squash our packs down the end of the bed! My feet were touching the wall and my head wasn’t too far from touching either! Everytime Elise and I needed to move we had to do a shuffle dance to work our way around the room. We still laugh about it today.
If we were staying longer in KL we would have changed rooms but we were only there for a few days so it didn’t bother us too much.
Transport
You can explore most of the city on foot once you get to where you want to go. There is also a convenient public transport system that can get you whenever you need which is pretty easy to navigate.
Another great option, if you are only in KL for a few days is the Hop On Hop Off Bus. This bus will take you to many of the major tourist attractions as well as some accommodation. A great choice if you want everything organised in one spot for the few days you are there.
Elise Waiting For The Train
Eating
Scattered throughout the city there are plenty of road side stalls, coffee shops and restaurants and they are mainly concentrated around the city centre in Chinagtown especially Jalan Sultan, Jalan Petaling. The city mostly comes alive at night, when all the food night markets open and the city centre is a bustling, buzzing pulse of activity. Elise and I sat in a small restaurant and drank ice cold beer and spent a night people watching in the muggy tropical heat of the city. Just walk around near your hotel, I’m sure you will find some great food places.
Shopping
If it’s shopping you are after, KL doesn’t disappoint and there is a wide variety of markets and also designer shopping centres to get your fix. Like most other stop over cities, all the shopping centres cater for this market and you will find everything you need in the Golden Triangle which is the cities major Shopping district. We went to Bukit Bintang which spans over three roads and intersections and has so many different plazas, coffee shops and malls that you can find yourself getting lost, which we did!
More traditional shopping can be found in Chinatown and lucky it was just located around the corner from where we were staying! Here you can find all types of clothing (usually designer knock offs) and traditional Malay trickets. Central Market if the best place to shop for arts and crafts and it is amazing to see the amount of detail that is put into these cravings and statues. Its the perfect place to get presents of gifts for loved ones back at home.
It was also in the Central Market that Elise and I received our first fish foot spa!
Attractions
There are a number of sights scattered throughout the city, but we managed to only see a few and only from the outside.
We were super excited about getting to the top of the Petronas Towers and we were instructed to get there early in order to get a ticket to go to the top. It is free entry, however you need to wait in line and receive a ticket and then you are allocated a time that you are to come back to ascend up the twin towers. We arrived at 9am and the ticketing booth opens at 8am. The line for the tickets was out the door already and we had no idea that the wait to go up the towers would be so long.
Petronas Towers
After waiting approximately an hour we were informed that all the tickets had been allocated for the day and we would have to come back another day to climb the towers. To our disappointment it was our last day in KL so we had to be satisfied with a happy snap from the outside. If climbing the towers is something you want to do….get there early!
We pounded some more pavement and walked all the way to the KL tower. The tower is best viewed at night where you can see sights the lights of all of the city at night. There is a spectacular view from up the top along with a small zoo and donkey rides for the kids at the bottom. Well worth a visit for the outstanding views.
We didn’t expect to enjoy KL as much as we did, and it did remind us of a smaller version of Bangkok. I think that it is definitely a stopover city and you can really see all the sights in 48 hours of arriving.
I mostly loved the food and the shopping whilst we were there and we would definitely go back if we were going on to other places in the region.
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Thanks for posting this! I found a good flight deal to KL earlier and thought, “hmm I may go there on my holidays.” Maybe finding your article is a sign!
Not sure how well I’d cope with the fish foot spa…my feet are SUPER ticklish. I’m sure all the tasty Malaysian food would more than make up for it though! ^.^
I think KL makes a fabulous introduction to Southeast Asia. It’s not as crazy as Bangkok but has just as much great food for almost as cheap. Plus, so many people speak English – definitely the ideal starting point for a first time backpacker, in my opinion!
Wow, better English than Thailand? Bonus for the Western world! How is the shopping there? I’ve been searching for a reasonably priced mini-camcorder in Bangkok for awhile to no avail. Was looking specifically for the Kodak Zi8 because of the external mic. Any suggestions or alternatives?
Hey Lloyd, It is an indescribable experience as there wasn’t much to look at. It was like walking through the woods at night with a little moonlight. It was like a whole other world at that depth. I would highly recommend it if you are into extreme adventures.
I enjoyed the post Ant. Nice overview. One thing that freaks me out about KL is the fact that I’ve heard stories about how people stick drugs in your luggage to smuggle it past airport checks. Getting framed/busted would not be fun with all the stiff prison sentences and harsh laws in Malaysia. Did you hear anything about stuff like that happening or is it just hype?
I think you need to take precautions anywhere in the world and this can happen in any number of other countries as well. I think that it is mostly hype and we didn’t hear much about that when we were there. KL is a beautiful place and it is a popular stopover point for many travellers. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did when you go.