AmyHuang
Kuala Lumpur: culture, good food, shopping shopping shopping!
It was more of a stop over this time between Johor Baru and Penang but we managed to explore Kuala Lumpur with the help of our extremely friendly host at the Equator Hostel. Upon learning we only had one day in town, she took out a map, told us which lines of the monorail and rapid link metro to use, where to stop, what to see so that we can cover most of Kuala Lumpur in one day.
The public transport is extremely good and there was no getting lost. Our first stop was the Kuala Lumpur tower, which vaguely resembles the Sydney Tower in concrete, which I must, wasn't extremely special however we did get a great view of the city from the top. The gardens surrounding it was nice and we even spotted a monkey (and there was a sign to warn us against feeding them too). After that, we headed towards the more iconic structure for KL, the Petronas Twin Towers.
We were there too late and missed the line up time to go up to the bridge part between the towers, however we still had a good look around. The bottom of the towers have been dominated by a large shopping centre, the Suria KLCC. Modern and extremely posh, and shopping is big here as you can imagine! At this time of our trip, shopping wasn't on the agendas so we quickly shuffled out before temptation hits.
According to our hostel host, we are to visit the oldest Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, the Masjid Jamek. Well, that was an experience. The RapidLink metro took us right to the door and as a female, I had to be dressed in a long robe and headscarf before I could set foot into the Mosque. The Moorish mosque is mainly an outdoor mosque for the men to pray and sleep on its chilled marble floors while the women had to go into a room to pray, separated from the men. Around the mosque were mango trees, where they pick the mangoes fresh off and eat them while they rest from praying. It was calm and peaceful.
That is one thing I was utterly impressed with Malaysia so far. The Malay society is made up of Malays, Chinese and Indian populations, and four of the world's major religions - Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. Each race and each religion live among each other peacefully and besides the odd conflict between them and the government policies, I felt extremely save walking around the city. It's not uncommon to walk along a street and see a mosque, a temple and a church right by the sides of each other.
So that made me think - what is it about the other parts of the world that is so afraid of each other?
Anyway, that was slightly off the topic. My mosque visit, besides being extremely hot, was quite educational. Following the instructions, we were brought to Merdeka Square and then eventually to China. This is where you can buy good fake stuff like Gucci and Prada bags. The hawker stalls line the streets and we were offered all sorts of products for "cheap cheap!"
I'd like to concentrate the rest of this post on two major things in Kuala Lumpur - Shopping and Food.
Let's talk about food first. Food is good. And even for someone who cannot usually take spice, I couldn't get my mouth off it. The spice is not just spice, it has an alluring taste that even if I was crying and sweating, I keep on going until the plate is empty. Extremely cheap as well, for AU$2 I could have a really decent bowl of Laksa. Tip is to each at the hawker stalls, not in western looking cafes. The food is extremely safe, and the favour will always be better where the locals eat.
Always try the Hainan Chicken Rice. Chicken flavoured rice topped with pieces of chicken on the bones and a sweet variety of soy sauce. Char Kwoe Tew is another common treat, fried thick rice noodles with sauce, slightly spicy yet just enough flavour to stir the taste bugs. For dessert, order an Ice Kachan, shaved ice with colourful toppings, great way to release that heat and humidity while in Malaysia.
Shopping. Ah... As much as I keep saying shopping is never in my agenda when I travel, there is just no getting away with it. After seeing Suria KLCC I thought I've seen the best of KL shopping. I was so wrong! Everywhere we went there was a shopping centre, and just up the road from our hostel, we discovered, is Malaysia's largest shopping centre, the Berjaya Tims Square.
We didn't realise this until we ventured out to have a look. 10 whole levels of shopping was impressive enough, the escalator just keeps on going and going, but what was really really impressive - wait for it - is an indoor theme park. Yep. I can't even just call it a kids play area. It's a THEME PARK. Complete with an indoor roller coaster! How is that for entertainment! There are also bowling allies, and IMAX theatre and express Karaoke boxes. You could, spend your entire day in here without seeing the sun. Not that it's a bad thing - air conditioning is always good in such heat and humidity.
And of course, known for their pirate copy brands, China Town in Kuala Lumpur has all the big names like Gucci, CK and Prada, all fakes of course but at 10th of the price who cares? Bargain to your hearts content, it's quite an art to master but once mastered, the shopping world in Malaysia is your oyster!
Then just as I thought I've seen the end of it, we cross the road and discovered Malaysia's largest IT Mall. Seven levels of stores dedicated to IT. Wow, even my inner nerd was feeling a little technology over dosed.
After shopping centres, there are also street after street of individual shops, selling shoes, fashion, accessories... there is just no getting away with it. And the best thing is? Most things are a lot cheaper than back in Australia, it's just too hard to resist the temptation.
So there you have it. There is no escaping shopping in Kuala Lumpur, and everything is cheaper than what we could get back home. It's almost ridiculous.
The public transport is extremely good and there was no getting lost. Our first stop was the Kuala Lumpur tower, which vaguely resembles the Sydney Tower in concrete, which I must, wasn't extremely special however we did get a great view of the city from the top. The gardens surrounding it was nice and we even spotted a monkey (and there was a sign to warn us against feeding them too). After that, we headed towards the more iconic structure for KL, the Petronas Twin Towers.
The iconic Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers
We were there too late and missed the line up time to go up to the bridge part between the towers, however we still had a good look around. The bottom of the towers have been dominated by a large shopping centre, the Suria KLCC. Modern and extremely posh, and shopping is big here as you can imagine! At this time of our trip, shopping wasn't on the agendas so we quickly shuffled out before temptation hits.
Shopping in Suria KLCC, at the base of the twin towers
According to our hostel host, we are to visit the oldest Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, the Masjid Jamek. Well, that was an experience. The RapidLink metro took us right to the door and as a female, I had to be dressed in a long robe and headscarf before I could set foot into the Mosque. The Moorish mosque is mainly an outdoor mosque for the men to pray and sleep on its chilled marble floors while the women had to go into a room to pray, separated from the men. Around the mosque were mango trees, where they pick the mangoes fresh off and eat them while they rest from praying. It was calm and peaceful.
The old open mosque Masjid Jamek
That is one thing I was utterly impressed with Malaysia so far. The Malay society is made up of Malays, Chinese and Indian populations, and four of the world's major religions - Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. Each race and each religion live among each other peacefully and besides the odd conflict between them and the government policies, I felt extremely save walking around the city. It's not uncommon to walk along a street and see a mosque, a temple and a church right by the sides of each other.
So that made me think - what is it about the other parts of the world that is so afraid of each other?
Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur
Anyway, that was slightly off the topic. My mosque visit, besides being extremely hot, was quite educational. Following the instructions, we were brought to Merdeka Square and then eventually to China. This is where you can buy good fake stuff like Gucci and Prada bags. The hawker stalls line the streets and we were offered all sorts of products for "cheap cheap!"
I'd like to concentrate the rest of this post on two major things in Kuala Lumpur - Shopping and Food.
Let's talk about food first. Food is good. And even for someone who cannot usually take spice, I couldn't get my mouth off it. The spice is not just spice, it has an alluring taste that even if I was crying and sweating, I keep on going until the plate is empty. Extremely cheap as well, for AU$2 I could have a really decent bowl of Laksa. Tip is to each at the hawker stalls, not in western looking cafes. The food is extremely safe, and the favour will always be better where the locals eat.
Hawker markets are the place to go for authentic and cheap eats
Try many of the traditional dishes prepared on the spot
And selections of exotic fruits to choose from, to juice or to eat!
Always try the Hainan Chicken Rice. Chicken flavoured rice topped with pieces of chicken on the bones and a sweet variety of soy sauce. Char Kwoe Tew is another common treat, fried thick rice noodles with sauce, slightly spicy yet just enough flavour to stir the taste bugs. For dessert, order an Ice Kachan, shaved ice with colourful toppings, great way to release that heat and humidity while in Malaysia.
Ice Kachan is a great treat on a hot humid afternoon in Malaysia
Shopping. Ah... As much as I keep saying shopping is never in my agenda when I travel, there is just no getting away with it. After seeing Suria KLCC I thought I've seen the best of KL shopping. I was so wrong! Everywhere we went there was a shopping centre, and just up the road from our hostel, we discovered, is Malaysia's largest shopping centre, the Berjaya Tims Square.
Times Square shopping centre
We didn't realise this until we ventured out to have a look. 10 whole levels of shopping was impressive enough, the escalator just keeps on going and going, but what was really really impressive - wait for it - is an indoor theme park. Yep. I can't even just call it a kids play area. It's a THEME PARK. Complete with an indoor roller coaster! How is that for entertainment! There are also bowling allies, and IMAX theatre and express Karaoke boxes. You could, spend your entire day in here without seeing the sun. Not that it's a bad thing - air conditioning is always good in such heat and humidity.
The indoor theme park in Times Square - complete with roller coaster!
And of course, known for their pirate copy brands, China Town in Kuala Lumpur has all the big names like Gucci, CK and Prada, all fakes of course but at 10th of the price who cares? Bargain to your hearts content, it's quite an art to master but once mastered, the shopping world in Malaysia is your oyster!
China Town - get your big names bargains here
Then just as I thought I've seen the end of it, we cross the road and discovered Malaysia's largest IT Mall. Seven levels of stores dedicated to IT. Wow, even my inner nerd was feeling a little technology over dosed.
Malaysia's largest technology mall
After shopping centres, there are also street after street of individual shops, selling shoes, fashion, accessories... there is just no getting away with it. And the best thing is? Most things are a lot cheaper than back in Australia, it's just too hard to resist the temptation.
So there you have it. There is no escaping shopping in Kuala Lumpur, and everything is cheaper than what we could get back home. It's almost ridiculous.
Movie Mage
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Hotel Capitol is in the heart of things, and is approx. AUD100 a night. Otherwise, hop onto Zuji.com.au and see if there are any deals
Have fun!!!