The capital of Malaysia.
As we drove into Kuala Lumpur, seeing the city skyline in the distance, and suddenly slowing down to the crawling pace of big city traffic, we were instantly excited for the 4 days that lay ahead. There is an amazing buzz of energy you get when arriving in a major city like KL and I love it. I know a lot of people couldn’t think of anything worse than the crowds, the traffic and the constant hustle and bustle, but I somehow feel at home in the organised chaos. We called KL home for only a couple of days, but we would have been very comfortable staying longer.
DAY ONE
A long bus trip from Penang to KL.
Early in the morning, we headed to the bus depot in George Town, Penang. Sticking to our budget, we opted for the way more affordable bus over a plane to travel south to Kuala Lumpur. The trip started slightly chaotic. With some difficult language barriers and confusing instructions, we were ferried from one bus depot to another until we finally got settled on the bus that would take us the rest of the way. When we arrived at KL Sentral, it was like arriving home. Within the comfort of the big city energy, we took a moment to stop and grab some food and a coffee. Against Clark’s will, we ended up at a Starbucks at the station. Once we had drunk our gigantic cup of coffee, we headed to the monorail station, bound for Chow Kit, where we were staying. We dumped our bags in our hotel room and jumped straight back onto the Monorail to head out for dinner. We walked around the Bukit Bintang area and ended up at the Lot 10 Hutong food hall for dinner.
DAY TWO
A day of sightseeing.
We took full advantage of the hotel facilities to start day two in KL. First we hit the gym, then we loaded our plates full of every option available at the buffet breakfast, included in our room rate. With very full stomachs, we walked down to the City Centre to see the many notable sites and historic buildings of the area. This included Merdeka Square, the tallest flagpole in Malaysia, Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque, and the City Gallery. We strolled south through the Central Market, and the Petaling Street Markets in Chinatown. Despite our big breakfast, after all the walking, we were very ready for lunch, so we walked a few more blocks to leaf & co café. We highly recommend this place – the food was delicious and in generous portions and the mojitos came with an ice block (or icy pole, whatever you call them) for added refreshment. After a lovely lunch, we were ready to hit the street again. We walked up to the Masjid Jamek train line and took a trip over to KLCC station. This station brought us right out to the iconic landmark, the Petronas Towers. We strolled through KLCC Park, which was a nice nature break right in the heart of the city, with some great vantage points of the towers. We took the monorail back to our hotel and went up to the rooftop bar to enjoy dinner and a few drinks for sunset.
DAY THREE
Climbing 272 rainbow stairs.
We had admired this place online for a long time, so to be heading to the Batu Caves first thing in the morning was very exciting. The rainbow staircase, flanked by the world’s tallest statue of Hindu deity, Lord Murugan, is as impressive in person as it looks in the pictures. Ascending the 272 stairs to the cave temple, we avoided any interactions with the monkeys eagerly looking for food. At the top of the staircase, entering the Temple cave, we were surprised by just how big the main cavern was. Inside we admired all the Hindu shrines while dodging roosters and water dripping from the ceiling way above. When we exited the cave, it started raining, which made the descent down the steep, slippery staircase way harder than the climb. We made it back to the hotel just in time to fit in the buffet breakfast as an early lunch. For the afternoon, we caught the monorail to the Petronas Towers and enjoyed a few drinks and early dinner at Acme Bar & Coffee. Once the sun had set, we ventured into KLCC Park to see the view of the Patronus Towers at night, then caught the Simfoni Lake Water Show before returning to the hotel.
DAY FOUR
Keeping it real – this was a work day.
We may be travelling the world for a year, but there is still some work to be done. After our buffet breakfast feast, we set ourselves up in the hotel room for most of the day. Clark has a few remote jobs lined up, along with completing his MBA. So while Clark did that work, I got to writing for our blog and making bookings for upcoming travel destinations. Thankfully we had a great view of the city to admire while we worked. At midday, we ventured out to grab some food, but unfortunately, the place we planned on going to was closed, so we ended up at the Quill City Mall and ate lunch at Kluang Station. We popped into the supermarket for a drink but ended up walking the aisles looking for interesting snacks as the place was enormous. Eventually, we had to go back to work, taking another break at the gym, to do some washing, pack our bags for the travel day ahead and order room service for dinner.
WHERE WE STAYED
We really enjoyed our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn, Kuala Lumpur. We paid around AUD$50 per night, including the buffet breakfast, which from our experience, was great value. It is located to the north of the city centre but only a short walk from the monorail station which takes you to many major attractions in only a few stops. The room was small but comfortable. There were a few stains on the carpet and curtains, but the room felt clean and hygienic despite this. Our room didn’t have a view of the Petronas Towers but the rooms on the other side of the building would, I’m guessing for a slightly higher price. The hotel also has a 24-hour gym and washers/dryers. The south building next door has a rooftop pool, bar and restaurant, which all guests can access.
OUR NEXT STOP…
For our final stop in Malaysia, we are heading to Melaka.
OUR GOOGLE MAPS
When planning our travel destinations, we pin our bucket list of sites to see and recommended places to eat and drink on Google Maps. We are then never lost for ideas when travelling, and can easily share these lists for our friends and family to use as well.
Click here to see our Google Maps for Our 4 Days in Kuala Lumpur.
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