It was time to spend the weekend off outside Singapore. I've been working here for two months now. And this should kickstart my streak of travels across South East Asia. Among the many options to go to, we chose Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is about 45 mins away via plane or 5 hours via coach. I've always been curious to go to the country's capital and experience it myself, having many friends who had been there already.
If there's a slogan to summarize our entire trip, it would be best described by that from Nat Geo Adventure. Get Lost. Going for free & easy is quite challenging especially if you don't have data roaming, a physical map, or a local friend to guide you. Looking back, I don't want to repeat it (the string of choices we made that led us to getting lost) but I don't regret experiencing it. It was a beautiful and enriching experience.
The city is a confluence of the old and the new, the tall and the small. It reminded me of some parts of Manila. The language seemingly comes from a familiar place. The similarities do not fail to amuse. Muka (face) for instance is similar to mukha in Filipino. Pintu (door) for pinto. Lalake (male) for lalaki. Selamat (good) has a different meaning in Filipino word salamat (thank you). Teksi for taxi. :)
But the one word I would not forget... jalan, which means street. It's the one word we looked out for while we were getting lost. :))
The moment we decided to go, we immediately booked our coach round trip tickets via busonlineticket.com and our hotel via agoda.com.
Berjaya Times Square
Our journey began at Key Point in Beach Road, the pick up point of our coach. We needed to be there 30 minutes before to get our tickets from our online booking. At 11:59 pm our bus leaves for Malaysia. We arrived at Berjaya Times Square at around 5:20 am. Berjaya TImes Square is a huge shopping mall, with theme park, and hotel in one building. You might want to consider it as one of the must places to visit.
One mistake we did was to not exchange for MYR before leaving Singapore. We did not consider that we will arrive before stores open. Luckily, our taxi driver allowed us to pay in SGD instead. Caveat is we charged for double the price to get to the Petronas Towers.
Petronas Twin Towers
Around 15 minutes later we arrived at the former tallest building in the world. At night, you can't help but admire the the entirely lit facade of the structure. Completed in 1999, this has been the icon for Malaysia and hence the top tourist spot when you're visiting Kuala Lumpur.
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| Photo of Petronas Twin Towers from outside KLCC taken using an iPad |
I was told by a friend that if you arrive there really early and queue for admission tickets to the Skybidge, you could actually get it for free. We went on a Saturday, the start of the week-long holidays for the Hari Raya celebration, so admission was not free.
We had no idea what time they would start to let people in. From time to time, the entire queue formed outside the building was asked to get inside, closer part to the admission tickets. We were asked for a representative to queue to be able to purchase the tickets. Finally, we chose which admission package and which time. The earliest was 9am and we chose the Skybridge admission. Finally the long wait was over and it was our turn to go up 41st floor, where the skybridge is located. We have had 15 minutes to admire the surrounding city from above.
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| Snapshots of the fascinating view from the Skybridge of Petronas Towers |
After the skybridge, we went to the nearby mall, KLCC, one of the most if not the most popular shopping mall in the city for breakfast. After which we went strolling around the outside park to get a better view of the Petronas Towers.
We went back to KLCC for lunch. Then it was around 1 pm when we finally decided to leave to get to our hotel. We took a taxi, the driver was wooing us for quite some time. Funny how one decision can change the course of an entire trip... This taxi driver asked if we'd like to pass by the chocolate factory to shop for some chocolates on sale. We did not seem that interested because we were pressed for time. Then he added the company gives 10 ringgits for every passenger he recruits to go to the store whether he buys or not. We still were not convinced as this would use up a lot of time. Then he calmly said "no problem". A few minutes later, he suddenly decides to drop us in the middle of Bukit Bintang, to avoid the traffic. He points us to a direction to get to our hotel.
Cube Hotel and Bukit Bintang
It turns out where he dropped us off was not close at all to our hotel. We ended up circumnavigating the entire shopping district of Bukit Bintang for around two hours until we finally found our hotel. Whew... Our energies were nearly drained. After checking in we rested then took a bath.
Nevertheless, I was pretty satisfied with our hotel. It is chic and clean, has good location (although we had trouble finding it) and reasonable price for a budget hotel.
Petaling Street at Chinatown
Our plan of going to Genting until evening had vanished because of our exhaustion. We decided to go shopping instead. And that would not be complete without going to Chinatown - Petaling Street, an open street full of stalls for the cheapest bargains. Souvenirs can be bought at its probably cheapest price here.
Batu Caves
For our next day we were headed to explore some caves. A major tourist spot in KL, and just around minutes north of the city, this is a place for Hindu worshippers to pay respects to their Gods. Outside the 272-step stairs to gain entry to the caves, is a very tall golden statue of their God.
Seeing the tall stairs looks intimidating but it's not as difficult as it seems. It would take around 5 to 10 minutes to get to the top. But before getting there, you'd most likely see monkeys searching for food. Do not fret. Make sure you do not bring anything that looks like a meal for them to avoid getting confronted. :p
Inside the caves, there are some souvenir shops, and going farther you'd see statues of Gods. There's also a temple one can enter for worship, you'll need to take your shoes off. I've read somewhere too that there's a snake guy who allows for guests to pose with his snake for a photo. But that time I did not see him.
Pavilion
If you want to see a more modern view of the city. Go to its newest shopping destination. The Pavilion is the place for high-end stores, a distinctive fountain rests near the entrance. If going for breakfast, you have to try The Loaf. They serve really good breads and pastries and coffees at an affordable price.
Our ride home was during the afternoon. It was relaxing to be traveling the road again. I saw lots of greens, which reminded me of the provinces I've been to back in the Philippines. Plus our coach (StarMart Express Air Asia) allowed for unlimited massage right on our seat. How luxurious is that! :)
Tips:
1. Do not forget to exchange currency before leaving country esp. if you're arriving really early when no money changers are open. Not unless if you're arriving at an airport.
2. When picking a taxi, try not to go for those who "haggle". We had not so good experiences with those.
3. If you do not want to use data roaming, you need to buy a map before going or check in to hotel first so you can ask for a map or travel guide.
4. If time permits, go to Genting Highlands, for a refreshing climate and view.
5. Always mind your belongings. That advice even came from our nice taxi driver.
Expenses Guide:
| Price per group (4) | Price per head | |
Round Trip Coach Transfer (Singapore to KL) | S$60 | |
1N Twin Sharing Room at Cube Hotel | S$56 (2) | |
Petronas Towers Skybridge Admission | 10 MYR | |
Taxi to Batu Caves from KL | 20 MYR | |
Souvenirs bought at Chinatown | 32 MYR |
