Kuala Lumpur is the place my career break began early in October 2015. I like KL, so much so that my return here from India will be my 4th visit. I wasn't desperate to come back but it was the cheapest flight to South East Asia from Delhi. KL is a great travel hub so I knew I would be able to make onward travel plans easily and most important of all, many budget airlines have a base here.
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Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
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Strangely KL International Airport (KLIA) is located over 50km from the cities Sentral Station. There is a very fast, clean and efficient train that does the journey at a cost of about £10 each way (55 Ringgit). I have always used this to get to and from the airport.
Arriving at an early hour I had plenty of time on my hands before check-in at my hotel so I took the bus instead. The bus was just £2 (11 Ringgit) each way and was very clean and comfortable. They depart and arrive from the same place the only difference really is the time it takes to do the trip. I arrived in rush hour and it took over an hour, where as the train can do it in half that time. In future I will always use the bus to commute.
Once I'd got into my room, I was well overdue a shower as I was still in the clothes I wondered around the streets of Delhi in the day before and then spent hours on a plane.
The hotel I stayed in was run by Sri Lankan's who were enthusiastic about cricket. When I pulled out my photo's of the England v Sri Lanka game just two days earlier they could not believe I'd been at the match. The hotel had boutique in its name, personally I think that is stretching it a bit far. It was a clean tiny single room with bathroom and at a little over £8 per night including a decent breakfast was an absolute steel in my opinion. It was in a great location also just around the corner from restaurants, bars, clubs and shopping malls.
That afternoon I rekindled my growing love affair with the Petronas Towers. I had a walk around the park infront that gives great views of the magnificent structure. I didn't do the tour as I'd done it before, luckily really, as the connecting bridge was closed for maintenance.
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I love these towers
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Artistically Done
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On the evening there is no better place to spend time eating and drinking on Jalan Alor. The place is a buzz of locals, tourists and touts. I had a beer and food in one of my favorite spots. I was home before dark due to the lack of sleep the night before.
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Food and a beer before an early night
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I'd had phone issues for the last week or so, it intermitantly stopped reading my memory card, kept over heating and turning off, often very slow to charge and quick to drain the battery. Sometimes the camera worked others it didn't. I felt if I didn't get a new one it would hamper my travels, afterall a phone these days is my camera, my guide book, my map etc. I'd chosen the one I wanted in India, didn't get around to buying it and ended up paying £30 more for the same model in Malyasia.
Setting up the phone took ages, by the time I was ready to go out it was after 2pm. I took myself on a little half day trip to Batu Caves. It is easy to get out here on public transport take the monorail, LRT or MRT to Sentral and catch a train direct to the caves. It is easy and under a £1 each way. The caves are also free so it is a cheap day out. There is a few bits and pieces up there that demand an entry fee, but none of them seemed to me to be worth the money.
The cave is located up some 272 steps, at the foot of which is a huge golden Hindu statue. The statue is 42.7m high and dwarfs the steps. Climbing the steps is easy, although with the sun beating down on your back you are bound to get a little sweaty. As you make your way up the steps there are monkeys playing, fighting, looking for food all around you. They think nothing of taking food of tourists. At the top there are a couple of big caves and temples.
The City Gallery is located at one end of Merdeka Square. A tip for a cheap eat around this touristy location. Under the huge flagpole is the entrance to a small underground mall. There is a food court at the back where locals frequent. I had Soup, Chicken Curry and noodles with an Iced Tea for £1.10. Very good food and excellent value for money.
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All this for £1
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Next up on my day tour of attractions I'd not done before was a walk around the Botanical Gardens. This was nice but it was crazily hot when you weren't in the shade. To cool down after an hours walk I went to the National Museum. Very informative and well presented.
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Plenty of Greenery in the Botanical Gardens
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I was leaving KL the next day and had a few options of what to do and where to go. One option was to head north to the Cameron Highlands for a break from the heat and to view the tea plantations. If I was to go north I would have continued up into Thailand making my way to Bangkok a couple of weeks later for the Songkran Water Festival. The second option was bus to Melacca and stay for the Friday night market, before heading down to Singapore where an onward flight to the Philippines was quite a bit cheaper than from KL. The final option was to fly straight into the Philippines.
I opted for the 2nd option booked an AirBnB but it got declined due to an over booking, so went for the third option and booked a flight to Manila for the following evening.
This night was the semi final of the Cricket World Cup England v New Zealand. My night started with cheap food and not too expensive drinks again down Jalan Alor. I had sourced a bar with the cricket on 5 minutes walk from Jalan Alor, but had also noticed that drinks were expensive. There were many bars on this strip each one having a seemingly good deal on until you worked out it was still expensive. I settled on a bar, had a few beers and a couple of celebratory Mojitos as England won the game comfortably.
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Jalan Alor Selfie
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Bar with the cricket on
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The next morning I met a chap from Manila and bloke from KL over breakfast. They were very helpful and informative in telling me where I should stay in Manila and what Islands I should visit during my 4 week stay.
One of the restrictions of a free Visa into Philippines is you need evidence of your exit from the country so I had to book my onward flight to Taiwan, booking early meant I got it for a cracking price.
The Mojitos the night before all but wiped me out of Malaysian Ringgit. That afternoon I headed back to the Petronas Towers park and sat in the shade reading Lonely Planet - Philippines.
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| KLCC Park |
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Last view of the towers
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My flight was ridiculously timed leaving KL at 02:30 and arriving in Manila at 05:00. The good news was that I had managed to arrange with the lady of the place I was staying at to let me check-in at 7am.
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Spending my last Ringgits on dinner before my very late flight
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I was looking forward to the Philippines, another new country for me and my first new country since entering Laos late in November.
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KL Tower at night
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I still love KL
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