Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

From Asia to Asia - Winter Vacation 2013

The 19th of January, 2013 was the day when 5 EPIK teachers would start an epic adventure. Six months ago, I didn't know Roger Vasak, Winnie Ku or Cindy Le, and I had met Sam Roe just once, during a boozy afternoon in Sheffield, UK. Yet during our time working and living in Korea, we had become close friends. This was to be our first winter 'vacation', so the two Brits, two Canadians and an American set off to lands unknown with 5 plane tickets in one hand and a 'cellphone' in the other.

The first destination was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, just over a 6 hour flight from Seoul. Malaysia had the task of impressing me. I had preconceived ideas of what Thailand/India/Japan could be like in Asia, but I had no idea what Malaysia had to offer.

Minutes after landing in Kuala Lumpur, after feeling warm air for the first time in what felt like years, I quickly saw that Malaysia was a place of mixed culture. Coming from Europe, one can become somewhat ignorant about certain cultures. I was interested to see that the airport foyer was bustling with people of all ages and races. Many Indian, Chinese and Western people mixing together. This sight was to set the scene for the rest of the stay.

We took the bus from the Airport to the KL Sentral station, which was a 3-4 minute walk to the hostel I had found and booked, Pods Backpackers. The rooms were basic, shared between 10 people, but most importantly, clean and cheap. I did raise my eyebrow at the corrugated iron shower, which amused me rather than scared me. Once we checked in, we were recommended to go to an Indian restaurant across the street. Upon first view, this looked like a place James Bond would be taken to be tortured, but we gave it a try. This paid off dividends as it was to be one of the best meals we had on the entire trip. We ordered about a third of the menu, plus beers and dessert, and it came to 98 ringgits, the equivalent of around $32.

After shoving dinner down our gluttonous faces, we decided to venture further afield. The only thing I knew about KL was that it was the home of the Petronas Twin Towers. We took the monorail and headed towards there. We were not to be disappointed, we weren't even half way there before we saw the 452m illuminated giant towers dominating the capital's skyline. Up close the structure was even more impressive. Dwarfing everything in sight, it's 88 floors and connecting tower bridge at floors 41 & 42 certainly impressed us Westerners. After photos were taken we strolled on to buy some beers and have a little shisha before calling it a night. This trip certainly got off to an impressive start.

I realise that I'm typing a lot, and I'm on day 2 now, wow. Okay. So the next day we decided to carpe the diem. We woke early and had our free toast and coffee, then headed out to buy tickets for the Petronas Tower tour later in the day. Once bought we left the giant skyscrapers to spend our time wisely. KL has an exciting mix of cultures, but also an impressive mix of old and new, modern and ancient. We left the 6th tallest building in the world (wiki) to head over to an ancient Hindu temple, Sri Mahamariamman (yes, I can say it aloud!). This small temple was colourful, quiet and beautiful. Despite this, I couldn't help feeling sad that this place of worship and devotion was trapped in an urban vice between shops, restaurants and hotels.

The iconic Petronas Towers

We left the Hindu temple and made our way across town, crossing culture again, to Petaling Street, KL's China Town. This part of town was very colourful, very busy and a place where you could buy anything you ever wanted... and things you didn't want if you stood still long enough! As our feet began to tire and our stomachs started to ruble, led by Roger we went in hunt of a Malaysian delicacy. Some fish dish, of which the name escapes me. We were taken to a street by a taxi and although we couldn't find the fish, we managed to escape the heat, fill our bellies and test our palates with dim-sum, BBQ pork and duck. This was of course washed down by ice cold beer and a couple of coconuts. Delicious! I also tried durian fruit for the first (and last) time!

Petaling Street

Sri Mahamariamman

With our stomachs full and spirits high, we made our way back to the Petronas towers, via colourful malls, bustling streets and new smells around every corner. Chicken, beef, roast vegetables, fresh fruit. We then ascended the Petronas Twin towers, stopping at the 40th floor to walk on the bridge, then up to the 88th floor. We learned that the two towers were built by 2 separate companies. One from South Korea (yey!) and the other from Japan (boo!). Both towers were completed on time and on budget. Impressive!

On the way back to the hostel we decided to save some money and visit the Worlds largest free bird aviary. However, upon arrival, we were charged 30 ringgit for entry. It was then that we realised that we'd read the sign wrong, and we were at the World\'s largest free-FLYING bird aviary. One where birds fly freely!! Damn!! So we decided to be tight, and take pictures of wild monkies instead. This was highly amusing, especially when one almost picked a fight with Roger (my money was on the monkey).

The day ended with another visit to Petaling street where we ate our weight in street food!

Our last day in KL was also an early morning rise. We caught the train to the Batu Caves, north of the city. Here, behind the giant gold Buddha we climbed the 272 steps to the caves where there had been a Hindu ceremony. There were bats and monkies in this cave, but it was nice to escape the heat for a short while. After descent, we ate lunch at a restaurant serving south Indian food (ghee). We hopped back on the train and changing at our favourite-named station (Titiwangsa), we got on a bus to an Elephant Sanctuary we'd heard of. This took 2 hours, everyone slept, but me. Getting off the bus, there wasn't a soul in sight, apart from a man who offered to drive us to the sanctuary for 'fift' ringgit, 'fift' there, 'fift' back , nice! What he neglected to explain was that he wasn't a taxi, he didn't have seat belts, his tank was running on empty and this speedometer didn't work. Somehow, we survived. We were too late to wash the elephants but we fed them, entertained them and had our picture taken with them. It was here that I developed an appreciation for places like this, a place where they are looked after. I was soon to see the 'before' in Phuket, and I am thankful that places like this exist. Upon return to the bus stop, the crazy non-taxi man was upset with the thirty ringgit we'd paid and demanded 100! turns out, although all 5 of us were 100% sure he'd said 'fifteen', he said he'd wanted fifty! This was utter balderdash but we clubbed together to give him 90! Malaysian Dick Turpin!

Batu Caves Entrance

Sam inside the Batu Caves

On the way back home, we visited the Berjaya Times Square shopping centre. This was MASSIVE and even had it's own Theme Park on the top floor, not to mention a roller coaster that goes around the inside of the mall. Impressive!! We ate a not-so-impressive duck lunch at 'Uncle Duck' then headed back home, for sleep and to visit our new 'local' Indian chapatti house!

Berjaya Times Square (with roller coaster)

Next stop, Phuket, Thailand.