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Published: September 10th 2014
For 4 years I have been planning to leave the UK and the Finance industry behind to embark on a trip of a lifetime. Things got very comfortable in the UK, with mine and my girlfriends jobs going well and paying well and the purchase of our first house together threatened to derail the dream. However, when the opportunity arose to work and live in Malaysia, we snapped it up and we are now 1 month into our new life in Kuala Lumpur.
I am not going to write a blog about the trials and tribulations of moving abroad as this is a travel blog! However, I will provide a summary for those that may be considering it. The admin is surprisingly time consuming and sometimes stressful and the goodbyes are difficult. As we are both working for an International School they have made the transition infinitely easier and provided us with all the tools needed to settle quickly. Within the first week they had helped us secure an apartment, open our local bank accounts, have our work Visa’s approved and sort out our local mobile phones. This could all be done without outside help but it was
definitely speeded up.
So what travel have we done so far? I am sure many of the TravelBlog community have been to Kuala Lumpur as it is one of the major gateways into SE Asia. I have been many times before but have normally focused my stay around Chinatown and the city centre (where the towers are). In our first couple of days here we went and enjoyed the food and atmosphere of Chinatown and Little India to settle us down. We also spent some time at KLCC as we normally do and enjoyed the spectacular wonders that are the Petronas Towers. One thing I had not used before was the railway system. All lines pass through KL Sentral and but the line that covers the major tourist traps is the Kelana Jaya. First stop from KL Sentral is Pasar Seni, which is smack bang in the middle of Chinatown. Next stop is Masjid Jamek, which is smack bang in the middle of Little India. A few more stops in this direction is KLCC itself. You can travel from KL Sentral to KLCC for 2Rm!
We also used the rail network to spend a
day exploring the Batu Caves. We took the Pelabuhan Klang line north from KL Sentral to the final stop for 2Rm each. The Batu Caves are free so we spent some time around the base and then battled the scorching heat to get to climb the hundreds of steps to the caves themselves. It is a nice little day trip and I would advise setting out as early as possible. Actually, I would advise setting out early on any outing in KL. For the 1 month I have been here the weather has followed a similar pattern - Clear and sunny from about 10am to 1am and then large storm clouds normally roll in for the late afternoon but normally only for a few hours, leaving nice clear, dry evening.
As a “local” now we have also had the opportunity to see some of the districts around KL that we wouldn’t normally explore. We took a 1 hour coach journey West of KL to the coastal town of Kuala Selangor as part of the school induction program and enjoyed some time with the native silver leaf monkey’s. We then spent the evening next to the formidable river
Sungai Selangor and enjoyed some amazing seafood. To end it all, we were taken further down the river to board some small rowing boats and enjoy the wonders of the fireflies. A great place with a good vibe.
Closer to home, we have spent some time in most of the major districts of KL. We will be based in Mont Kiara, north west of KLCC and the place is charming. There are many high rise luxury apartment blocks here and a few of the larger international schools but there is also a great shopping plaza and the night market on Thursday is pretty good. It is also located just across the road from Sri Hartamas. This district may only be a road away but it definitely has a very different feel. There are more local outlets here and some very good Indian food. If you find yourself with a lot of time in KL then for only 15 MYR in a taxi, this is not a bad area to spend the afternoon for a slightly quieter vibe.
Most of the indian restaurants in these areas have menu’s but also have a central service area
where you can go up yourself and select your meal. This is definitely the best option - scrap the menu! Start by asking for rice and then point (with your thumb as it is rude to point with your finger) at the meat, vegetables that you would like. Once you are done, ask the waiter what naan or Roti’s they have available and they will make it fresh and bring it to the table with a lovely curry dip accompaniment. A similar dish to this that you can enjoy as a light lunch is Roti Cenai and they serve this almost everywhere.
Bangsar is another district, slightly closer to the Centre. This was the first of the purpose built residential areas but it has managed to maintain a cool, bohemian feel. There are many local cafes and coffee shops that are easy to lose yourself in and the Sunday night market is worth hanging around for. Bukit Bintang is a great place right in town to get some good food and have a night out. This is where the partying occurs and where a lot of the travelling community congregate. One word of warning - the alcohol
prices here are as much and often more than UK prices. Having a couple of beers with a meal can easily triple the full bill price. My advice would be to get to the bars/restaurants early as they all operate happy hours but they normally happen between 5 - 7pm.
There is a lot more to see in these areas we have already visited and there are many more areas we are yet to visit altogether. My first month living in KL has been a pleasure and I look forward to getting to know it well. I will update TravelBlog whenever I feel like I have discovered something worth sharing or whenever I have a holiday on different shores. In the meantime I leave you with some pictures of me atop my new apartment blocks enjoying the views.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Congratulations!
Glad your goals and dreams are falling into place. Eager to hear about life abroad, travels and work.