It's KL or Be KL'ed

It's always the places you least expect to enjoy that surprise you. In 2009, it was Santiago, Chile that will stay in my heart despite having been told by some other backpackers that there wasn't much for travelers to do there.

I had considered skipping Kuala Lumpur having heard there wasn't much to see there except for its famous Petronas Towers, but decided to pop in for a visit after seeing how cheap the plane ticket was -- $55.

I bought my departure ticket immediately after landing. I decided to give myself two days to see the city. The first to see Petronas Towers to get that out of the way. The second, to explore the city, wherever the wind may take me. Cab fare to the hostel was about $100 RM (Malay Ringitt), equal to about $30 or so USD. This is an important point which I will explain later.

On the way to the hostel, I struck up a conversation with the cab driver and eventually, negotiated a ride back to the airport for what I thought was a deal, $80 RM. The driver gave me his card and told me to call him the night before to arrange the pickup. Because of some confusion with the roads, he dropped me off about 2 blocks from the hostel with my 40 lb pack -- ugh..

But I found my new home eventually, and there, I met Tony.



Tony's a good man to know KL. I wish there was a Tony at every hostel I stayed at, but there isn't. But he was super knowledgable about the city, knew exactly what he needed to tell me and the other travelers to help us get where we needed to go, and he did it with a smile. It was from Tony that I learned I paid way too much to get to the hostel. And he informed me of the very efficient and affordable subway and bus system in KL and where to find the closest station.

So after locking up my gear, off I went to explore the city. My first destination was Petronas Towers. I snapped a photo of the subway map for reference.




I learned KLCC stands for Kuala Lumpur City Centre, and learned this was also where Petronas Towers was located. $1.60 RM later, and I was at the doorsteps of the Towers. At the base of the tower is a huge, luxurious mall. I purchased my ticket for the tower tour, but learned that my tour would not be until 7:00 that evening, giving me about 6 hours to kill. So I hung around the mall a while before remember a promise I had made to Karen Motiejunas, a friend, to help her daughter with a school project -- I'm to snap photos of landmarks throughout my travels that include a hand-drawn avatar of her. So dutifully, I took this picture -- my first with my little inanimate traveling companion, Flat Alena.


Tour time finally came. I'm not usually a fan of guided tours, but this one was really cool. There were two stops on the tour; the first was the Skybridge that connects the two towers.



I was lucky to be on the skybridge during an electrical storm. I was able to capture a bolt of lightning right at the end of this video.


The second as the observation deck from the top of the tower which was really neat.


As you can see, Flat Alena photobombed me. Curses, that sneaky little girl! :)

So anyway, not a whole lot to say about the tower except it's really high, gave me butterflies in my stomach, and it's pretty famous -- it's been in a few movies even. But it was a neat experience in any case.




After Petronas Towers, I returned to the hostel and fed my internet addiction in the common room. There I met Selwyn, an Australian traveler who was stuck in Malaysia after his U.S. Visa ran out while he was in Chicago staying with his girlfriend. Poor guy. Not sure why he didn't go home to Australia. I'm guessing he just wasn't ready for his trip to end -- he's been on the road for 6 months so far. Then in my dorm, I met a couple of German nursing students who were in KL doing a 2 month internship, and another Aussie, Richenda who was just in town for a day and would be taking off the next night for Turkey, the first stop on a 4 month backpacking trip. I had read about a beautiful cave on the outskirts of KL where Hindus worship and had decided to check it out along with KL's Chinatown on my last day in town.


I saw Selwyn in the common room in the morning and invited him to come along -- I knew he was bored. I think he's stuck in Malaysia for like a month. Then I saw Richenda in the dorm as I was collecting my things -- I knew she had no agenda for her 1 full day in KL, so I invited her along as well. I'm glad I did. It was nice having a couple 'single serving friends' on my excursion.




Tony gave me instructions on how to take KL's Metro bus to the site which was cheap and convenient. Batu Cave turned out to be pretty breathtaking.


It's said that if you make a wish, then ascend its 290 steps without stopping, your wish will be granted. On my way up, I was greeted by some friendly monkeys and wanted so badly to stop to take a photo, but I was determined to have my wish granted and pushed on. I made it to the top ok, where I found this.



I stopped to enjoy the monkeys on the walk back down. The were so adorable, for the most part....


But you must remember these are wild animals and they will defend themselves when they feel threatened:



So it was definitely a worthwhile trek out to Batu Cave. Afterwards, we decided to stop by a "fish spa" for some rest and relaxation. What's a "fish spa" you ask? It's this:


You may not be able to tell, but the fish are eating the dead flesh off of my feet. It sounds gross, I know, but I assure you, it is pretty terrific.

Oh yeah, about paying too much for my ride to my hostel. After a couple subway rides, I felt pretty confident using KL's transit system to get to the airport. So I took a sub and a bus -- total cost? $11.00 RM (vs. $80 RM I was quoted by the cab driver). AND the bus was super comfortable, well air-conditioned and quicker.

I'm in Bangkok now; just touched down this evening. I know a few of you out there have been here before, so if you have any suggestions on what I 'must see', please suggest away in the comments section. I allotted myself a couple of days in Bangkok, and plan to fly to Chiang Mai to ride some elephants on Tuesday... I'll give you another update in a couple of days. Thanks for all the comments! They're a great cure for homesickness which inevitably creeps up now and then when you're travelling alone...

Location:Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia