Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

The Color* and the Shape.

*It's not misspelled, just an aptly named Foos album!

Before the virus that shall not be named changed everything, we managed one last very-impromptu trip to get out of Australia for a couple of weeks, to be able to enjoy some real non-stop glorious heat. We hadn’t planned for it at all; after arriving back from Tasmania, the financial pinches of being jobless in Melbourne were being felt again and honestly, I’d had enough of spending hard earned dollars on waiting things out in Australia (little did I know, hey!). The choices while we attempted to secure another job were 1) attempt to slap a roof top tent onto the car and live on the road again; 2) waste $200 a week on crumby accommodation, or 3) just get out of the country for a while and see something a little different instead. So we did just that: on the Wednesday we booked flights, on the Friday we flew out to Malaysia.

Being poor, jobless backpackers, we weren’t overflowing with spare cash so decided to spend two weeks in Kuala Lumpur. The flights were slightly more than I’d have liked but our accommodation was cheap as chips in the grand scheme of things and very nice considering. Although two weeks is way more than you really need to see everything there really is to see in KL, after the road trip, we really didn’t fancy moving around and it was nice to be able to mix sight seeing with just chilling on the roof terrace (although a pool would have been great but I didn’t let our money stretch quite that far this time). That being said, looking back, it’s bittersweet to think this trip will likely have been the only time we managed to venture outside of Aus this year, and perhaps I’d have spent out a little more to make more of our time, but hindsight is always a wonderful thing.

We really enjoyed our time in the city. Our hotel initially looked like it’d be quite far from ‘everything’ but it turned out not to be the case. We were walking distance from the markets in Petaling Street, Merdeka Square and its giant flag, and even from the Petronas Towers if you avoid the midday sun. Right from leaving the airport, everything was so easy to navigate and access- it was very much like Bangkok and felt very familiar, which is great.

KL isn’t a big city and in some ways, this is a good thing as you haven’t got to travel far to see the sights. We made several visits to the Petronas Towers, which are at least interesting to look at once you’ve swatted away the herds of wide-lens street sellers. Around the back is a man-made lagoon, filled with fountains, that cruelly looks so inviting but alas, you are not allowed to paddle, even when you’re sweating like a trooper and all you want to do is swim! The paths lead through a very nice public park, past a cute bridge, all the way down toward the paddling pools, that as a child-less couple, we couldn’t go near as we were whistled away by the park police and again could not satisfy my craving to dip even one toe in! Sigh. We managed to catch a fountain show one evening, where the fountain wizards have cleverly synchronised the water jets and lights to dance to several songs to keep onlookers entertained, and it was very good! We never caught it again as the rest of our nights were rained out, sadly.

The city is surprisingly super colourful! We stumbled across alley ways roofed with rainbow umbrellas and lanterns and streets painted sky high with vibrant murals and pictures- it’s really cool. Our trip coincided with some new artworks in Changkat, Bukit Bintang, and a sneaky look at alleys that were not yet unveiled (with permission!). This multicoloured theme has also been adopted at the Batu Caves. In 2018, a rainbow threw up all over the staircase leading up to the Hindu temples inside of the caves and, of course, it became a tourist magnet. Standing guard at the food of the steps is the enormous 140ft golden statue of Lord Murugan, he’s a magnificent sight. I’m never sure how people manage to get those Instagram-perfect day time photos without anyone or anything else- macaques and pigeons, in them (pre social distancing and lockdowns) because even catching the earliest possible trains, we arrived to handfuls of visitors.

Hidden away in-between the jungle of buildings, there are some small oases that make nice reprieves, given that the city is fairly landlocked. I’m sure we’d seen somewhere that the KL Eco Forest Park had free admission but unfortunately this had changed a few months back. Having walked a fair way up the steep and winding roads to get the the gates, I was adamant that we were still going in. On hindsight, it was well overcharged, and even though it was fun for 5 minutes walking over the bridges and trying to spot familiar sights in the city, the whole place needs some attention so I hope they use the money well! We also spent an afternoon wondering through the quaint Perdana botanical gardens, with it’s tea house and bamboo tree houses. There isn’t much of a ‘traditional’ sights aspect to the immediate area, unlike Bali or Chiang Mai, so trying to fill our time somewhat culturally wasn’t too easy. There are many tourist magnets: science museums, optical illusion places, even an upside down house! All money makers but not especially inspiring. We did make a brief trip to the cheaper level of the Sky Tower, having successfully used a Klook voucher to reduce the costs at the gate.

Aside from a few excursions, our time away mostly revolved around food, terrible I know. We were surprised by the variety of cuisines at our disposal and made a valiant attempt at making the most of the opportunities around us. We ended up spending two evenings at a southern Indian restaurant over the street from our room, because their Chettinad mutton chukka curry was just too tasty. We tried Nepalese, some classic Malay curries, befriended our local Turkish restaurant (and ate most of their menu) and dined twice at the highly rated TAPAK urban street dining: a carpark repurposed into a court full of food trucks. On our list of ‘Must visits’ was Bukit Bintang, a food haven, with its backstreet dining alleys and underground food halls. Lot 10 was hidden below the street, hiding a wealth of very delicious looking vendors and made decision making extraordinarily difficult but totally worth it. We even indulged in some classic Malaysian sweets, including their Pulut Tai Tai, a blue glutinous sweet rice cake and Bingka Ubi, a baked tapioca cake, yum. We do have a dietary achilles heal, though. Asian breakfasts- we just can’t get a handle on it, no matter how delicious I’m certain the curries and savoury dishes are, I’m just not digging it at 7 or 8 in the morning. We resorted to buying cheap(ish) pastries from the mini-marts or 7 Elevens if we forgot to shop. If anyone has any suggestions how to improve the morning meal situations, I’m all ears! Because other than spending out hugely on smashed avocado on toast, I’d love to look forward to breakfast in other continents.

We were lucky enough to be in KL at the same time as a friend of Kjel’s and his fiancée. It made for a great chance to chat about familiar topics of conversation and share in our newfound insider knowledge of the city. We definitely enjoyed the company, ciders and the late night walk home as the hours skipped by so the stations were shut! Making new friends while away is always an added bonus but meeting with home friends when you’re away is even more of a bonus.

Upon our return, the world shut down. The weeks that followed saw our permitted travelling radius continuously decreased to the point where leaving our friends’ house in the outskirts of Sydney created a strange paranoia. We watched as some Australians voiced their frustrations towards travellers, and watched as the numbers at home sky rocketed, to a level just unknown and unrelatable here in Aus. Being able to travel is a privilege and I’m grateful that we were able to get away and have a wonderful two weeks in Malaysia to look back on as we continue to ride out the storm.