Malaysia

Malaysia

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the late evening, and we were instantly surprised by how much of a westernised feel the city had, compared to the other countries we had visited since leaving Europe.

We left the airport after using the Grab App to get us a car to the Airbnb we were staying at. It was a pretty long drive from the airport to the centre of the city itself, however it was an interesting drive, even at night time, as you could see how much calmer the roads were compared to the other countries in Asia we had seen, plus the view of the city lights getting closer was really pretty.

We arrived at our Airbnb and realised we were actually in the tower block of the Raddison hotel, however in a private apartment. When we got into the room, the first thing we did was go out onto the balcony and take in the view of the bright city lights around us. It was such an amazing view as we were staying very high up.

After a little which of looking at the view fireworks started to be set of as the city celebrated Tet. We had the perfect place to view them from and it just added to all the lights and colours we could see. We definitely felt a long way from the sleepy beaches of Koh Lanta.

Our first morning in KL we went to check out the famous sights and got a taxi over to the Petronas Towers. We arrived at the base of the towers and after a quick visit inside a shopping complex at the base of the towers, we headed over to a good viewing spot. The towers were impressive, and to me they really seemed like the symbol of having arrived in KL, as this is the image that many people have of KL and Malaysia in general.

After a few quick pictures of the towers, we headed over to a different shopping centre looking for a vegan restaurant. We then got a taxi over to the KL Botanical Garden. This was beautiful and surprisingly full of more wildlife then humans, including Monkeys, birds and even turtles. It really was quite at the time we were there and we actually only saw a couple of other people while we were walking round. It was also very hot and humid, and this more then anything cut short our visit there. I would definitely recommend going there, however if the weather is hot, don’t forget to take something to drink! We then headed back to the hotel for some time relaxing by the pool.

The next day we decided to visit the Batu Caves Temple. This was a beautiful place and only a short taxi ride away from the city centre. We arrived to the fantastic view of the multicoloured steps leading up into the cave itself, and alongside that, the huge golden statue. When we arrived we quickly realised that this place was patrolled by shifty looking monkeys, looking for an easy steal and a quick meal. Trying our best to avoid the monkeys, we headed up the multicoloured steps leading up to the caves. There were a fair few steps, however not many compared to the steps we climbed in Vietnam.

Once at the top of the steps, we then walked into a large chamber containing a Hindu temple and also a couple of street stalls with souvenirs and a few cockerels roaming about. We walked through this chamber and into the far chamber where the cave opened up to the blue sky above. We think this place is well worth a visit, and we didn’t actually pay anything to visit other then the taxi ride there and back.

That brought us to the end of our time in KL. It was only a short visit as we were heading in that direction to go to Bali, however it was defiantly worth it and it turned out to actually be a very nice experience overall.

Brook & Richard

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