Kuala Lumpur travel is a part of my long journey traversing Singapore and Malaysia. Malaysia is a destination that I probably least desire. As my perception, the travelers come travel to Kuala Lumpur mainly for shopping and eating. It’s always right that shopping and eating are among the important things to do when discovering new places. And Malaysia have been doing it very well. You will catch sights of beautiful building and commercial hub with dozens of restaurants and international brands.

We targeted not in the shopping herd and travel from the capital Kuala Lumpur up to the northern parts of West Malaysia. Through out the trip, I enjoyed the places and observed a lot to learn about local lifestyle; but still felt laden with dozens of challenges.

Comparing to a modest bucket of countries that I’ve been to, Malaysia is the least favorite one which is evaluated basing on general experiences gained. However, to be fair, we arrived in this country right after Singapore where leaves us a significant impression. Nonetheless, after farewell Malaysia for a few week and look back the photos I did while traveling, Malaysia is a lovely country with rich culture, multi-ethnic country, colored by creative ideas and peaceful with stunning nature.

How did I get to Kuala Lumpur to travel

Kuala Lumpur is the first city we land in after 4 hours bus ride from Singapore. Can you guess what was the first thing we met? It was around 3am that we met a taxi driver who spoke very fast, gave lots of compliments to Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long Bay of Vietnam because he had been there; introduced himself a policeman which gave us the feeling of being safe but charged us a very high price. Fortunately, I could bargain half down. But when we handled the money he tried to get 5MR more from us as he said he had no change. We didn’t give him what he wanted as we just preferred every things clear though at that time we had no idea how small or big the 5RM is.

Things to see in Kuala Lumpur on first day

China Town

After a good sleep, we woke up and stroll around to find some food and explore the city. The first idea I could assume from the city is that it’s not a modern city. The architecture and building are pretty plain and simple. Splendid Singapore made this capital city quite shabby in my eyes. The atmosphere was stuffy due to the heat and air-pollution. Its China town and food street were so disappointed. China town is overwhelmed with guys who do nothing but looking around and glancing at people. A concern of being robbed rose up to all of us while we were standing outside and wait for our grab driver. The Alor – food heaven street is not so clean. Though there are multi-countries food stalls, we desired to eat nothing.

Malaysia Old Station

Things got better after we reached the Malaysia Old Station and a Police Station sited opposite. The station is pretty old, still in use but less efficient as the new one. In a walking distance of this station are the butterfly & bird park, a religious Mosque and some museums. It was Monday when we were there, and also the month of Muslim New Year that the places are closed. One more tip here is checking your schedule well to avoid the praying hours when tourists are not allowed to enter.

Petronas Twin Tower

Afternoon, we checked out at the Petronas Twin Tower that symbolizes Kuala Lumpur. You can walk through the tower to see it from two sides. We took photos from the front, and then walk in the back to see some water fountains pumped up at 7pm with some light display which is so so. Inside the building, there are international shopping stores, Muslim costumes and accessories, food-court presenting at any shopping center, and VIP toilet – not free but higher-end. I didn’t hesitate to spend money as the services are pretty exclusive when almost people walk to the other floor and try free toilet and left me in the spacious area.

Batu Cave

Travel farther around 15km out of city center on second day, we visited Batu Cave where is said the Muslim religious sanctuary. On the way to the cave, our driver pointed at the traffic jam and said that Malaysian prefer driving their own car than using public transport. Each of them staying in one car and they are happy with that instead of using public transport like sky train, bus, subway. It’s one of reasons cause traffic jam and air-pollution as I observed that there are bunches of old cars emitting black smoke to the environment.

Batu Cave is not outstanding except the rituals. I could learnt and witness how Muslim pay their respect, conduct the ceremony and their belief. This cave is ambushed by dozens of wild monkey who are sensitive to plastic bag. They will approach and grab it from you with tension to stole it from you. They climb up to the light columns and swing their bodies against the columns make the them shaken.

The pastor on behalf of the crowds pray to the supreme then share the donations and bless to them. Local people bring milk here to bath for their Muslim god statue. Inside the cave is nice, but the smell is not to pleasant due to the humidity, the poop of wild monkeys and bats.

Thean Hou Pagoda

Next is Thean Hou Pagoda, a colorful and beautiful place to find a soul peace. The pagoda features the filial and some models in the past who fulfilled their roles as a child. The pagoda is in colorful settings and sophisticated. It’s remind me very much of China architecture.

Cafe in Kuala Lumpur

Getting back to city center, we stop at a boutique cafe and try chocolate with fresh coconut. We go with the take away option due to time limit. If I could spend some more moment, I would love to chill-out here for more than one hour. After two full day in Kuala Lumpur, we left the capital and carry on venture to the north.

About food, we are not picky eaters that all dishes are fine to us. However, there is nothing wow yet though there are many food choices. Because we ate the best Indian food at Cameron and tried nicer dishes at Penang where people say food are more delicious than other regions. The most impressive once to me is drinks probably as my favorite food is Vietnamese cuisine. You can find further detailed about Vietnamese food at Vietnamese cuisine journey 12 days. We got amazing and quality cup of fresh orange juice from an Indian Restaurant and the coconut chocolate nearby out hostel.

All in all, Kuala Lumpur is not much impressed to me. However, I am glad that I have been here and wander in the city whole day to observe the local life, talk to some locals which are mainly grab car drivers as grab is the most convenient and cheap when we want to travel around, and taste the local foods. All those things make Kuala Lumpur unique itself. Just come and have your own feeling and experiences in this city.