Kuala Lumpur was the first city I visited. I did a lot of research
about the city before I undertook the adventure, but I was still
surprised from the first day I landed in Kuala Lumpur. What a wonderful
adventure in Kuala Lumpur.
I
took the train from the airport to Chinatown where my hostel was.
Actually most hostels are found in Chinatown and this is because
Chinatown is strategically located. I could go to all the famous places
from Chinatown using the efficient subway. Chinatown was also only one
stop away from the famous Kuala Lumpur Sentral station (KL Sentral). I
spent six days in Kuala Lumpur and I got to know the city very well
because everyday I would wake up in the morning eat breakfast and leave
the hostel. I would come back until the evening, or sometimes I would
come back during midday and take a break from the hot sun and sleep for a
bit, write in my journal or watch a movie at the hostel with other travelers then go back
out again. At night, I would eat dinner and talk with other backpackers
about where they went to and their experiences along the way. It was a
great way to obtain information about certain places that the internet
does not talk about.
During my stay in Kuala Lumpur I
visited the famous Batu Caves. Batu Caves is a Hindu temple. As I walked
the-so-many steps, I could see more monkeys. So many people were
walking up the steps and looking around for monkeys. If the monkeys
noticed that someone has food in their bags they would jump and grab the
bag and get the food. As I finally reached the cave entrance, I heard a
woman scream. I looked down and I saw a bunch of monkeys around the
woman trying to grab a bag of food from her. At the bottom entrance,
people sell fruits so we the visitors can have the chance to feed the
monkeys. But I think it is a bad idea, the monkeys jump anyone with
food, it was fun watching people getting jumped by monkeys I must
admit. Of course the monkeys don't attack attack, they just want food,
once they get the food they leave. Inside the cave, there were more
monkeys and there were also bats. The ceiling of the cave was so high
and it had stalactites. I was able to spot some bats with my eyes. There
were another set of stairs inside the cave that took me to an opening
where I could partially see the sky and there were roots/small bushes
hanging down from inner sides of the cave, it was so beautiful. there
were temples within the cave and more monkeys of course.
At the entrance of Batu Caves looking down.
Batu Caves
Entrance to the stairs.
Monkeys enjoying lunch after raiding someone's bag
Temple within the cave.
Looking down from the second set of stairs inside the cave.
The Petronas Towers.
The famous Petronas Towers is a must visit place for everyone, even for
Malaysians. The selfie is worth it. I got out from the subway station and I was able to spot them very
quickly, however it was hard to know where the "front" was, because it
had doors from all sides and it was confusing from my view, I asked and
was quickly directed to the famous front side where everyone takes
pictures. The building design is very unique. There is a park in front
of the towers where people relax and enjoy the city noise. And you can
do shopping inside the mall within. There was a nice ambient atmosphere.
Saw people taking selfies so I gave it a try
I visited one of the oldest mosques in
Kuala Lumpur. Masjid Jamek was located right between the towering
buildings. It was hard to find especially because they were doing
construction around the mosque. Inside the mosque was a gateway from the
busy life in the downtown area. It was very peaceful inside and the
architecture was fascinating.
Inside Masjid Jamek
Masjid Jamek from a distant between the high rise buildings.
Another mosque I visited which is a must for every
tourist is the national mosque of Malaysia also known as Masjid Negara.
This mosque was incredibly big. It had three floors and fountains of
water that gave it a decorative beauty. It as very peaceful and quiet
inside, a paradise for introverts. There were many people praying and
reading the Quran. Others were relaxing from the busy life, and feeding
their spirit with the remembrance of the God.
On the second floor of Masjid Negara looking at downtown area
Inside Masjid Negara
Masjid Negara on a Friday prayer
Inside Masjid Negara
Outside Masjid Negara
Chinatown was so Chinatown. The Chinatown in Kuala
Lumpur is like being in China. Stalls are everywhere in the narrow
streets of Chinatown. You can find restaurants if you want to try some
real Chinese food. Even the streets are decorated in a manner that you
forget you are in Malaysia. I woke up one time at 5am and took a stroll
down Chinatown, I figured that everyone will be asleep and everything
will be closed. But to my surprise, restaurants and stalls selling
freshly prepared breakfast were open and serving people. Many Chinese
adults get up very early in the morning to have breakfast and get ready
for a busy day of selling goods. I noticed that their favorite dish in
the morning was noodle soup or maybe because it was the most affordable.
A narrow street in Chinatown
A temple in Chinatown
Let
us not forget Little India. Indian music was playing in almost every
shop I passed by. There were selling a lot of Indian clothing and Indian
fabric. The shops smelled nice too from the incense. I was looking for
Chicken Biryani, but to my surprise I couldn't find it in the first four
restaurants I visited. So in the end, I just gave up because it was
extremely hot that day. One guy tried to sell me his food by given me an already cooked rice with vegetables and fried chicken and told me to
mix the two – that would give me Chicken Biryani. I
told him that is not how Chicken Biryani is made, and he went silent, I
guess he figured I'm not an idiot. In the end I settled with rice and
vegetables on a banana leaf.
I couldn't finish this. So much food.
Little India
If you love shopping then you must visit Bukit
Bintang. It is a shopping area that pretty much has everything. I dont
have a picture of the shopping areas, but it was like any other shopping
area in the US or Europe. It had very expensive international brands
and also Malaysian brands as well.
Below is some of the food I tried in Kuala Lumpur.
Fish and crab meat on a stick. It was tasty.
Loved the rice and chip, not so much the oily fish.
One of my favorite. Eggs filled with rice and seafood.
