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Kuala Lumpur
I think thats the last time we’ll ever settle for seating on an overnight train. As it turns out, Malaysian trains like to play movies, adverts and information videos with music all night long with sound. The aircon is also pretty cold. Luckily everything was on time and clearing Malaysian immigration was just a case of getting off the train, walking through a little airport style immigration desk and getting back on the train. Me and Terry both tried to sleep but gave up by 01:30 and decided watching the A Team was far more enjoyable. Two episodes later and we did manage 2 and a half hours very uncomfortable sleep.
When we got into Kuala Lumpar station at 06:30, I spotted a drinks machine where cans of coca cola are RM1, that’s 20p! Terry was delighted and we decided we liked Malaysia a lot already. The ticket office opened at 7am so we bought out outbound tickets for Thursday as we are going to Penang. It was real cheap, maybe £6 each for an 8 hour train journey!
The check in for our hostel was midday so we had a huge wait ahead of us but luckily,
the two girls who we were waiting on to vacate the room saw Terry sleeping on the wooden floor in the lounge, took pity and left so we could check in at 09:30. The hostel is called Reggee Hostel 1 and it’s great. We have our own room which is tiny and has a bunkbed but the hostel is so clean, the showers are great and we get coffee, tea and toast for free. The staff are also very friendly and its extremely close to Petaling Street Market and Central Market. Stay here if you ever come!
We took a nap (didn’t want to waste time in KL by sleeping) and went out to explore. We discovered Central Market, and found out that unlike Singapore and Dubai, we can afford to shop here. I got a fake “Swatch” watch for £2 (I left my watch at home because of it’s sentimental value) as not having the time is really annoying. Terry and me picked up a few little gifts for friends and family and had some lunch at one of the food stalls. I think we had masala fish and chicken fried rice (with huge lumps of fried chicken)
which was again, very cheap.
They have this little area with loads of attractions all very close together. It’s all really tropical and rainforest like with a Butterfly Park, Bird Park, Islamic Arts Museum, Grand Mosque and the National Museum. None of the above are really our kind of thing but we walked around the area, as it was really quiet and peaceful and found monkeys! Honestly, monkeys just on the roadside, swinging around in the trees and chilling out. Terry loved it. I remembered that the National Museum was cheap and neither of us know anything about Malaysia so we went for a bit. It wasn’t really that great. The actual museum was modern, clean and informative but nothing there was that interesting. However, we did learn about how happy the Malays are about gaining their independence from Britain.
The hostel has a bar attached called the Reggee Bar and it’s pretty popular with backpackers so we went for dinner and drinks. They have a “backpacker girls” special where its only RM5 (£1) for a spirit and mixer. Boys pay normal prices but it has a happy hour so cocktails are around £3 which is what Terry
decided on having. We met a travelling couple who have been on the road for 18months and were able to guess where we both came from with frightening accuracy. Dinner was pretty cheap too, about £5 for three meals (we didn’t realise some came with rice so ended up with too much food). We both slept very well that night. The RM5 drinks had me out like a light.
This morning we woke up feeling very refreshed and organised a plan for the day. Yesterday we read about the Batu Caves, about 14KM north of the city which are a really important place for Hindu’s. You have to walk up 272 steps to get there and there are monkeys everywhere (Terry was again, delighted by the prospect of monkeys) so we decided to go this morning. It’s not local, but we took a train to Petra Terminal (which is called Gombok station also, leading to slight confusion) then a taxi the remaining 2KM to the caves. We’ve discovered that some taxis have meters and a sign which says “Meter available, no haggling” and it turns out that when this law is obeyed, it leads to extremely happy tourists. Our
taxi was RM8.20 (£1.80).
The Batu Caves were well worth seeing. The climb up the stairs wasn’t too bad and the monkeys are quite entertaining. Inside is a temple and various Hindu statues. I think they were shooting a bollywood movie there today too! We were just about to enter the last little bit when the monkey barred its teeth and hissed at this guy then lunged for him! I was really scared of the monkeys after this and was relieved to get down the stairs and out of the caves. Terry insisted it was because the guy had crept up on the monkey and after a short lecture on animals defence instincts, we left the cave. It was raining outside but in this heat, the rain is so welcome. Besides, it only rains for 10minutes at the time and is more a tropical downpour than miserable drizzle that we get at home.
We took the train back to the city but got off at KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) to see the Petronas Towers. They’re one of the tallest buildings in the world but after Dubai it’s hard to be impressed. They also had a mall area
(lovely mall, had a coffee and some food) and a park which we strolled around and got some great pictures. If we’d been awake early, we could’ve queued for tickets to go up to the observations deck on the Petronas Towers but we’re incapable of getting up before 8am.
After walking around Bukit Batang (a modern area of the city), we headed back here to the hostel to relax a bit.
Kuala Lumpur has two sides to it for sure. Where we are staying, in the heart of Chinatown, is quite run down and poor wheras around KLCC and Bukit Batang, you could easily think you were in a western country. Although KL is on it’s way to becoming more like Singapore, it’s got a long way to go and the contrast between the two destinations is huge. KL is a busier, dirtier and uglier. However, it’s much much cheaper, has a lot of soul and the food is tastier. Also, a lot of children seem to love Terry, saying “hey dude” and making peace sign gestures at him. None of us are sure why but when we find out we’ll let you know! The Malay people seem friendly
and their English is good. Every fake designer item imaginable is available right round the corner. We’re not sure if we’re going to get anything yet but the sunglasses and purses do look very good.
Tonight were not sure what we’re doing but tomorrow we’re booked on a 14:54 train to Penang so we won’t be staying in Kuala Lumpur much longer. Hopefully the cheapness continues.
I’ve noticed these blogs are getting lots of views that can’t possibly be from people we know so here is a little price outline for people who are visiting KL soon (We didn’t eat McDonalds an Pizza Hut here by the way, we saw the prices on adverts):
Can of Coke 20p – 60p
McDonalds Value Meal £1.20
Pizza Hut Personal Pizza 80p
Bottle of Water 15p – 50p
LRT Train 10 stops 50p
Taxi for 10 minutes £2
Meal in a food court £1 - £2
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Charlotte
non-member comment
Hey guys!
Heya Ciarae and Terry, Your blog has totally entertained me as I'm working for my dad, pretending I'm a wine geek, when let's face it, I'm totally not! Sounds like you're having a fantastic time, hope you enjoy the rest of your travels and keep up the blog because I'm thoroughly enjoying reading it!! Take care, Charlotte xxx