Kuala Lumpur...home of Petronas Towers
Trip Start
Jun 06, 2008
1
5
23
Trip End
Aug 06, 2008
Kuala Lumpur,
Wilayah Persekutuan,
Malaysia
Friday, June 20, 2008
Anyway, one of the highlights of Kuala Lumpur was definitely the guesthouse we stayed at. Matahari is the place to be. Recently opened with the 2 owners who are both chill and helpful, free internet, flat screens to watch Euro games on, hot showers (the first since Singapore), AC, free breakfast, next to train station, bus station, Chinatown, little India, and everything else, our stay here has been nothing but enjoyable.
So, the first fun story about Kuala Lumpur is that on the flight here (which on a side-note, was late and landed at 1AM making our arrival at Matahari at 3AM) we realized that Vietnam needs an advance visa. Getting one takes 2 weeks and considering that we don't' stay in a city for more than 3 days (pushing it) we knew we had to work some magic. Based on this we found out about how to get an express visa at the Vietnam embassy in KL where we were able to pay an extra 30ish dollars to get it in 2 days. GREAT NEWS...well, not for our wallet, but as far as our trip goes, Ho Chi Min City and Hanoi are definitely going to be remarkable places to see
After that, we went around the Petronas Towers (world's tallest twin towers) and then we went to the double-decker bridge that connects the two (world's tallest double-decker bridge...and probably only one...ahaha). Anyway, ticket to that is free but they only give out 1400 of them every day. This means that we woke up at 7 on Friday to get tickets at 8. Fun times!
Changing topic completely, what I found to be impressive were the markets in Chinatown which go from 7PM to 11PM. Here you can find ANYTHING fake. Coach, rolex, polos, lacoste, shoes of any kind, tiffany, Bape shirts (mine, Shady and Dom's newest craze), wallets, watches, movies, bathing suits...anything and all for cheap. With 8 dollars I bought some great Puma Italy shorts and a Bape shirt. The atmosphere there is also mindblowing...just bargaining everywhere. What's crazy is that the quality is real good. Actual leather and whatnot...
Another fun day we spent here in Kuala Lumpur was actually outside the city going first to the Batu Caves. You take public transportation which is 2 ringit (70 cents) for a half hour ride to these beautiful caves in the mountain where there is this gigantic gold colored hindu figure..then u go up 270 steps to the cave where early in the year thousands of pilgrims go to pray. What made it even more fun was that it started pouring on the way there. Anyway, after that we took a cab to Templar Park which not many tourist know about and you wont' find in a Lonely Planet book. Cab was 30 mins about, 5 bucks total cost, and in this park there is monkey just running around playing, eating, stealing stuff, etc., and then an amazing forest with waterfalls you can take baths in. A lot of locals where there which I really enjoyed. We took baths in the waterfalls (I hope I didn't get any parasites, but only time will tell...relax mom, I'm kidding, kind of) and went up another at least 300 uneven steps to see the top of the waterfall which sadly was very anticlimactic. Then on the way back we had to cross this highway, We must have looked like Frogger, with scared looks on our faces. We got on another public bus, this time 45 cents and back home for a much deserved nap.
Food-wise, my body is in serious withdrawal of pasta and pizza. White rice and noodles are not cutting it. Yesterday I went to Burger King and while I felt guilty, my stomach was happy to enjoy a taste that it is familiar with. Those Imodiums will come in handy very shortly I AM SURE.
So, from these stories, I'd say Kuala Lumpur has been a great success.
I guess my only issue with Kuala Lumpur and our trip so far has been the going out at night aspect. In Singapore thanks to my uncle we went to bars and enjoyed the nightlife but after that (except for Bali) everywhere we have been has not been full of crazy restless nights. Jakarta just was not the place to go out while here since it is very Muslim they discourage alcohol so even buying a normal beer at a 7Eleven is 4 bucks. Tonight, our last night in Kuala Lumpur, we went by the strip with the bars but didn't go into any cause they were both sad looking and had a cover. So we got back to the hostel/guesthouse and packed for tomorrow's bus to Penang, our second and last stop in Malaysia. That will be a fun 5 and a half hour ride...
Comments
Am I the only one reading these?
Looks like you're having a grand old time and you're certainly taking some postcard-esque pictures with which I am very impressed. I'm glad that despite how big and shiny everything seems to be in Kuala Lumpur, it's sticking with the Asian pricing scheme reminiscent of the days of Odd Job. I'm going to take the liberty of advertising your damn blog to the jerks around here who either aren't reading it or aren't commenting on it as long as you do your best to advertise for my blog, meatspin.com, on your travels. Shaka Zulu!