Day 1 – Kuala Lumpur – February 7
Our flight landed at 12:15 am and we were relieved to be getting off the uncomfortable plane. We rushed through to make it to immigration, but were met by long lines. Kuala Lumpur seems to be a very busy airport and they had at least 5 other flights arrive from around the world when we did. The status board indicated they’d continue to receive flights throughout the night. As Americans, we don’t need an immigration visa to visit for less than 30 days, but a lot of other countries do, which makes our entry process take that much longer. When we finally got up there, we were through in 30 seconds after a quick finger print scan.
Luckily, our hostel driver was meeting us outside of the airport, but unluckily for him, we didn’t make it outside until 2:30 am. It was a quick drive to the Good Travelers Hostel, where for $12 we got a private room with a bunk bed. We were so exhausted, and the air conditioning felt so nice, we fell right asleep.
Later that morning we didn’t wake up until 10:30 am. We have some jet lag as we are now 4 hours ahead of United Arab Emirates, but not too bad. We showered and talked with our host. Our ATM cards hadn’t worked the night before so we called the bank, who shut them down due to an international usage flag, even though we’d been gone for 8 months. We got it sorted and payed him 70 ringgits for the room and ride, or $16. Next, we called a Grab, see Southeast Asian Uber, and drove 45 minutes into downtown Kuala Lumpur.
To celebrate our anniversary weekend, we splurged to stay at a nice hotel. After much deliberation, we choose the Westin in Bukit Bintang. Since we have status with Marriott, we were whisked up to the club lounge to check in and get a drink. We hadn’t been in a nice place for a while and we enjoyed the pampering and service. Our rate includes free breakfast, dinner, and 2 hours of free drinks each night – we couldn’t believe the deal. We headed up to our room on the 33 of 36 floors and had a great view over the city. They even had a card and happy anniversary cake waiting for us. We checked out the pool and gym area, also very nice, and played a game of 9 ball on the wonky pool table.
Finally, it was time to see some of Malaysia and we walked towards the Petronas Towers and KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) Park. Kuala Lumpur isn’t heavy on cross walks and most of their sidewalks are fenced in, making crossing the street and navigating the labyrinth of downtown difficult. We eventually made it into the park and right at the opening we found the ExxonMobil building. Maybe one day we can live and work here!
The park has a large track on the outside for jogging and the interior has beautiful trees, lots of fountains, and a huge children’s playground. This had to have been the largest playground Elizabeth had ever seen. We walked through a small water park area and found the famous whale statue.
The Petronas Towers are iconic and look a little like they are leaning. At this point it was 3 pm and we hadn’t eaten anything yet today. Ryan was rather cranky so we went into the mall to find some food. We never thought we’d spend this much time in malls! We settled on a Korean Street food restaurant called K-Fry. We ordered wings and fries that come with a cheese sauce. We didn’t realize the waitress would melt the cheese in front of us then wrap it around our chicken, but it was amazing. Two piles of spicy fried chicken and French fries? Ryan was in heaven.
We wandered back to the hotel through the park enjoying the various trees and people watching. There’s a bridge perfectly positioned to have the Petronas Towers in the background. Half of the bridge is the running trail, and it’s one man’s job is to keep people who aren’t jogging off of it. Ryan loved watching him blow his whistle constantly to shoo people off the path. Finally, we made it back and headed to the club lounge for our drinks. We had beer and wine and played cribbage; Elizabeth won. We ended the night splashing around in the large pool we had all to ourselves: it stays open until 2 am! We had great views of brilliantly lit up surrounding skyscrapers.
Day 2 – Kuala Lumpur – February 8
The next morning, we slept in – this hotel bed is so wonderful – then made our way to our free breakfast. They have such an interesting spread of western, Chinese, Indian and Malaysian breakfast foods. We are getting better using the Malaysian phrase for thank you, terima kasih. After breakfast we lounged about for a couple hours then decided to hit the gym. The hotel has a very nice gym facility and we did our best to erase months of daily beers. Afterwards we took a little steam in the sauna room then swam to cool off.
We’ve had deeply overcast weather both days so far, making the 90 degrees feel quite comfortable. Our plan was to go to the Batu Caves in the afternoon, but traffic looked awful (and one of our first Grab drivers cancelled, saying he didn’t want to drive up there – yikes), so we decided to postpone and walk around our neighborhood, Bukit Bintang. We were, once again, in and out of malls all afternoon. We walked into a few discount clothing stores, but their sizes were comically small. We also walked past a number of street food vendors serving everything from fried whole mini crabs to cheese corndogs; yes, you read that right, there is nothing but cheese inside. Eventually we found a restaurant called Restaurant Ikhwan to get some lunch.
The place was deserted and we paid just $5 for two noodle dishes and two black teas; fingers crossed we don’t get food poisoning. The restaurant is right behind the Graffiti Alley so we walked through enjoying the new art. It smelled heavily of paint, so we think some of the walls were new. People were taking selfies everywhere. We walked back to the hotel and got ready for another happy hour.
We arrived right at 6 pm to maximize our two hours of drinking. We sampled everything tonight, from champagne to wine to liquor and, of course, beer. We played more cribbage, Elizabeth managed to win again. We closed the bar down by ordering 4 drinks at 8 pm to carry us into the night. We were pretty drunk and happy by the time we stumbled into bed.
Day 3 – Kuala Lumpur – February 9
Today is our first wedding anniversary. To celebrate we made plans to go out for dinner at a Japanese yakiniku restaurant. We felt pretty crummy and hungover in the morning and the breakfast buffet did its best to revive us. The afternoon was spent pumping iron at the gym and lazing around the pool. We ordered a few poolside beers, a quesadilla, and played more cribbage; Ryan finally achieved a razor thin margin victory. It was getting late into the afternoon, so we scampered back upstairs to clean up before anniversary happy hour. After doing our best to pound as many drinks as possible in our two hours of freedom, and playing a few rounds of cribbage, we hustled over to our 8:30 dinner reservations. Or tried to, rather. We booked a table at a Japanese all-you-can-eat, cook-it-yourself restaurant (yakiniku) in the mall next door. Thinking it would be a short walk to an extravagant meal, we left ourselves about 10 minutes to walk over there. Unfortunately, we needed about half an hour; we got utterly lost in that mall, walking all across, over, up, and down it. Up two escalators to a walking bridge that led into a different mall. Wrong way. Down one flight of stairs into a department store that we thought connected to the right area. Led us outside onto the street. Up three escalators to the food court area. Still no sign of the restaurant.
Eventually, we found it on the 7th floor. We sat down at a booth with a hole in the middle. After ordering a couple drinks, a man brought over a steel grate and a chimney of hot coals that we would use to cook our meats. We ordered the sampler platter, which consisted of various slices of fish, prawn, pork collar, pork belly, pork bacon, beef bacon, beef ribeye and lamb shoulder. We were in meat heaven. We spent the next couple of hours listening to a surprisingly excellent mix of music and feasting. Did we mention the beer was on special? After downing 3 or 4 a piece, we stumbled out of the restaurant as the staff were closing up shop. We must have shut the entire mall down, because on our way out, we couldn’t leave through the entrance we came in. The doors were locked. We were funneled to a different exit a flight above us that led further down the street. After escaping, we returned to our hotel room and called Elizabeth’s parents to make drunken plans to meet in Zurich. It was a perfect anniversary.
Day 4 – Kuala Lumpur – February 10
We once again woke up feeling a bit rough. The buffet breakfast also once again did its best to revive us, though it had limited success this time around. The only sure-fire way to get rid of those dredges of debauchery were hydration and physical exertion. So, after letting our food settle, we hit the gym and started chugging water. Before we knew it, we were lounging by the pool feeling right as rain. Unfortunately, we thought, it was soon time to check out, but Ryan had found us another luxury hotel to stay in just down the road; this time at a traditionally Malaysian-inspired hotel, the RuMa Hotel and Residences. Because it was Chinese New Year, and it was at a Chinese hotel chain, we got an amazing half-off deal there. We saddled up our backpacks and began the 10-minute walk to our new hotel, arriving only slightly sweaty and eager to let our loads down.
From the get-go this hotel showed exceptional attentiveness; as soon as we walked up, they could very well have asked us if we were lost and shooed us away (we must look quite haggard with our multiple backpacks and unkempt beards), but instead, the immediately inquired if we were checking in and offered to take our bags. We were then swept into a marvelously bamboo-paneled entryway, replete with dark inlays, golden accents, and spiral staircases. Followed up by floral scents and warm lighting, we knew we were in for a treat. They offered us cool towels and a local, if quite sour, bordering on offensive, tea that was meant to make us feel at home. Soon we were walking down a dark wood enameled hallway on the 14th floor into our home for the next few days. After entering Ryan’s suspicions were confirmed, they upgraded us to a deluxe bedroom for our anniversary.
We sampled a few treats from the mini-bar, including a couple of beers and some interesting local snacks, then decided it was time to explore the hotel. On the 6th floor we found the infinity pool, bar, and gym. Everything we needed to be comfortable.
Not to willing to pay the food prices at our fancy hotel, we headed over towards the mall to find some lunch. Turns out, we love malls. We wandered around a bit, but settled quite quickly on a Chinese dim sum restaurant. In typical dim sum fashion, we ordered 4 or 5 items and two drinks. We’ve had dim sum a few times in the past, but nothing of this caliber. Our first dish came out in a bamboo steamer basket and is known as Xiao long bao; it’s a soft dumpling filled with meat (we got pork) and broth. The menu had instructions on how to fill a small dish with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and a few other ingredients then poke a hole in the dumpling to allow the sauces to mix prior to eating it. It tasted phenomenal. Our next few dishes consisted of shumai, spring rolls, and typical wok-fried meats like you’d find in a regular Chinese restaurant. After filling our bellies, we stopped by another bubble tea stand, we had to try them all and find out which was the best. We wandered back to our hotel and enjoyed an evening swim at the infinity pool and nightcap beers. Upon arriving at our room, we found a chocolate anniversary dessert waiting for us. We brewed a pot of tea and gobbled up the cake almost too fast to taste; it was delicious. Then we snuggled into bed and watched The Witcher on Netflix.
Day 5 – Kuala Lumpur – February 11
We woke up early this morning, before sunrise, around 7. Knowing we were on our way to a new breakfast buffet, Ryan could hardly contain his excitement. And he was not disappointed. Greeted warmly, we were quickly sat and asked to look at the menu while they served us tea. They had a dozen cooked to order entrees to choose from along with a few rows of buffet. Ryan was making it his mission to try as much as he could, while Elizabeth settled for the omelet. He ordered two local dishes (nasi lemak and padan waffles) then set out to fill up his own plate. It was really an impressive spread; in addition to the usual spread of pastries, breads, juices, jams and jellies, they had bowl after bowl of dried fruits, nuts, spices, chilies, to spread over either granola with yogurt or congee. After eating his three plates, Ryan ordered yet another local dish (laksam) from the waiter, much to his chagrin. Delicious.
We were intent on finally seeing the Batu Caves today, and since we woke up so early, we would beat the traffic to get there. After a 30-minute Grab ride, with a strange driver, we arrived at the foot of a massive golden statue of Murugan (the Hindu god of war) in front of a giant staircase leading into the caves. In the square proceeding the steps, tourists were busy scaring flocks of pigeons and photographing themselves in the shadow of the statue. What these pictures don’t capture is the smell. There was a strong, pungent odor of only-God-knows-what throughout the sprawling mass of markets and food stands in front of the caves. We quickly began out hike up the colorful steps, which we found out later were painted illegally in 2018 without the consent of the local government, all 272 steps. Inside the cave consisted of a few limestone chambers leading into a massive open-ceilinged chamber with the main shrine. Sadly, its natural beauty and spiritual presence was a bit spoiled by self-centered tourists and garbage-littered floors. We can only imagine how stunning this place must have been a hundred or so years ago, before it became so commercialized.
On our way out, we walked through the mass of tarp-covered shops and stalls surrounding the area. Towards one end, we found a small side cave that charged us a whole 5 ringgit per person to get in (that’s $1.15). Not nearly as large or as beautiful as the main cave, it was still an interesting experience, not the least because the cave was empty except for us and two or three other tourists. Inside, the walls of the cave were painted along with a series of colorful statues to depict the story of Ramayana, one of ancient India’s epic Hindu scripts, which describes the life of Rama, a legendary prince. Little explanation plaques were placed under most of the scenes, but they were all in Malaysian, so they weren’t very helpful. The only downside was it was surprisingly hot in this cave, not much airflow, so we didn’t stay for too long. All in all, 2 dollars well spent.
Instead of braving another taxi ride home, we decided to test out the public transport system. We walked 5 or 10 minutes to the train station, being questioned all the while if we needed a taxi. Upon arrival we found out that the price of a ticket was only 50 cents a person. We scrambled onto the train as the doors were closing, which was good for us, as they only come by every 30 minutes. Considering the price we paid, this train was spectacularly clean and well-run. After getting back near the city center, we started the 45-minute walk back towards our hotel. We could have hopped on another train to get closer, but we decided to explore. On our way back, we of course had to stop in the mall to grab a couple of bubble teas and cool off in the A/C.
Eventually we made it back to the RuMa and immediately set up to enjoy lunch by the infinity pool. Ryan decided he needed to try some local food from this fancy hotel to see how it stacks up. After looking at the menu, we noticed we were certainly paying a premium at the pool side restaurant. We settled on the nasi goreng – Indonesian fried rice with chili sauce and an egg. It was delicious, but at 3 times the price of what we’d get from a local spot, we’re not sure if it was actually worth it. The pool-side happy hour beer specials were certainly cost effective though (pool happy hour being from noon to closing)!
After lounging for a while, we sauntered down to the lobby bar to enjoy their happy hour from 3 to 5, where they have free sliders while you’re drinking. We played chess and enjoyed our three plates of beef sliders and shrimp rolls. Ryan of course was kicking Elizabeth’s butt. Afterwards we strolled by the pool for an evening swim then finished the night with some Witcher in our hotel bed.
Day 6 – Kuala Lumpur – February 12
We spent the morning stuffing our faces with buffet breakfast and lounging around the pool and hotel. Eventually we went to the train station and took the 30-minute train out to the suburbs. The rock gym we picked was located in a giant mall and, per tradition, we got lost looking for it. Eventually, after stopping by the information kiosk and getting lost again, we arrived at the Club 5 Climbing Gym. Climbing during the day on a weekday is great because there is hardly anyone there and often the gyms have discounted rates. We took our competency tests then hit the walls. We rented a rope to do lead climbing for an hour, so we warmed up on the regular top rope walls. We climbed for hours and as people started to arrive, we decided to get the rope. The holds were pretty challenging and there was a lot of overhang, making the routes quite tough. We both have a fear of falling when lead climbing because it can whip you into the wall. We tried to do some controlled falls, but it wasn’t our day.
A couple of kids asked us to help them climb since only one could belay and we got to chatting. They were both late teens to early twenties and gave us a ton of suggestions for things to do around the city and restaurants to eat. We were hungry and tired, so we said good-bye and set off to one of their recommendations. We took a Grab, luckily we weren’t too stinky or rather stink isn’t as much of an issue in some countries, to a Malaysian Indian Fusion restaurant. We got giant iced teas and one of our favorite meals. She got peppered noodles with cheese sticks that tasted like chicken cordon bleu alongside a gravy and French fries, absolutely mouthwatering; meanwhile Ryan got the restaurant’s signature dish, basically spicy pork noodles.
Bellies full, we tried to work the bus station to get home. We waited forever for the bus to arrive, only to find out we needed pre-purchased bus cards to ride. So, we booked a Grab to the train station and rode back to our area. That night we enjoyed our last infinity pool swim and some beers.
Day 7 – Kuala Lumpur – February 13
We ate our final free buffet breakfast then packed up to switch hotels, yet again. We were moving a little farther out this time, so we lazily took a Grab. Our next hotel was another Marriott called the Renaissance. We had a room that looked right at the space needle of Kuala Lumpur. This hotel consists of two huge towers with a large pool and bar between them. We spent the afternoon loafing by the pool. We got some beers and a local dish while watching a storm roll in. Eventually the rain came and we had to rush up to our room. The weather let up a little and we headed back to the KLCC park to jog around the trail. The jog was fun and got us out of the apartment. The rain looked like it was coming back, so we scampered back to the room and watched a couple Mission Impossible movies and ordered room service. Not a horrible day.
Day 8 – Kuala Lumpur – February 14
We intended to wake up early, but the morning was pretty overcast and lent itself to sleeping in. Around 10 am we headed to the tram and made our way towards the southern end of the city into the suburbs. We were going to hike a park called Bukit Gasing Forest Park that was recommended to us by the youths at the rock gym. They warned it was a lot of steps and the unlabeled trails can be confusing.
As we walked in, a large group of middle-aged tourists were heading out. The trail is very popular in the morning before the heat sets in. We took a picture of the map and the various trails then headed in, thinking we had it under control. It didn’t take long for us to find some stairs and get very sweaty. Our intention was to stay on the blue trail, which is the longest, and runs the perimeter of the park. We met some other hikers along the way, walking the opposite direction and they reported getting lost and ending up in a completely different park. We were still confident that wouldn’t happen to us. The foliage was pretty thick it didn’t lend to great views, but it was still fun to be in the woods exploring nature.
About halfway along the blue trail, thinking we were still firmly on track, we found a family of monkeys. They were jumping through all the trees and knocking, or maybe throwing, loose branches down along us. We followed their cries along the trail and ended up at a long cable bridge that wasn’t really all that high off the ground. The bridge was clearly the monkeys’ hideout and we watched for a while as they chased each other around.
Next, we found a section of the park that looked like it had half constructed tables and would be a nice picnic place. We headed back into the woods to finish our loop and visit the temple marked on the map at the end. Following the sparse signs, comparing the two maps we had, we confidently headed in circles and ended up at our second crossroads. Eventually we just went out the first exit we could find; we fell victim to the horribly marked park. After wandering along a highway in a seedier part of town, we tried to get on the train, but were told we needed a prepaid card to board. So we ordered a Grab and headed to lunch at a Chinese outdoor market, again recommended by the kids at the climbing gym. Halfway to our destination, our Grab’s A/C went out. Minor inconvenience for us since we only had 5 more minutes to our destination, but she was understandably distraught and overly apologetic. Upon arrival, we found an open-air hall filled with plastic tables surrounding rows of small booths where groups of two or three people were preparing food. Ryan took the lead, finding us some food and drinks. We ate the recommended beef broth soup and some noodle dish, we’re not really sure what anything was, but it was delicious and ridiculously cheap.
We grabbed the train home and decided to hit the gym work out since we were already sweaty. It began pouring rain, so we were trapped for a bit waiting for the weather to clear up. It was Valentine’s Day, in typical fashion we both kind of forgot, but we grabbed the train to head back to Buckit Bintang to check out the bar street. The whole street was decorated for the occasion, and it was clearly where all the Westerners hung out. Immediately the bars were battling for our attention, shouting out their deals, comparing them to their neighbors next door. Our first stop was called Kill Devil and we drank some beers and ate a few tapas. They were playing a rerun of the Miss America pageant from years ago. Next, we were harassed again into Gypsy Wine and Bar for more Tiger beer and enjoyed sitting right on the street people-watching. Another bar offered us free pool so we bought drinks then they tried to charge us for pool, they wanted less than a dollar to play, but Ryan said it was the principle of the matter and wouldn’t play. Our last stop was an Irish bar called Healy Mac, so Ryan got some Irish food and a Guinness. We walked the 20 minutes home and promptly fell to sleep.
Day 9 – Kuala Lumpur – February 15
We had a lazy start to the day and didn’t leave the hotel until lunch. Our climbing acquaintances recommended another park where we could hike around a waterfall and swim in the ponds around it, so that’s what we intended to do. We stopped for lunch at another Chinese restaurant/food stall area, also per their suggestion. We ate more pork broth and noodles and Ryan was again in heaven. When Ryan ordered at the stall, we always wondered how they would find Elizabeth at the tables, but then we realized it was incredibly easy: she was the only redhead there. As we ate, we noticed some storm clouds blowing in across the horizon, in the direction of the waterfall. We decided to abandon our plans and head back to the hotel. The storm wasn’t that far south, so we could laze in the pool and watch it in the distance.
We drank beer and ate ice cream and eventually the storm crept south and it began to pour rain. We threw on our gym clothes and burned some calories waiting for it to pass. That night, we walked around looking for food and drink. Elizabeth had her heart set on finding a roti canai stall where they sell delicious flatbreads with different ‘flavors’; unfortunately, they were all closed. Where a stall was supposed to be, we found a street food area with a number of stalls and picnic tables, so we ordered various chicken dishes and some tea. It was delicious and made the pain of not finding roti more bearable.
We popped into a mall for some bubble tea, to fuel our addiction, and we accidently ordered a bubble coffee. Elizabeth thought was disgusting, but Ryan quite liked it. Not fully satisfied, Elizabeth found a promising night food market with maybe a roti stall about a 15-minute walk away, so we set out on a hunt. The night market was alive and it was definitely a locals only spot with tons of families eating at plastic tables and chairs. The roti stand was also closed but Elizabeth enjoyed stretching her legs. We didn’t find anything that we thought we needed to try, so we walked back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 10 – Kuala Lumpur – February 16
We were up before the sunrise at 7 and walked about 30 minutes to the closest Catholic church. Some roads were closed to get there, so it was a little tricky to find the way to the door. The mass was in English which was a nice surprise. The church was wooden and white and there were fans all along the walls; it was a hot service. People were wearing masks for the Covid-19 outbreak and we skipped the sign of peace. After mass we walked back to the hotel and packed our bags so we could be ready to leave for the airport a few hours later.
We grabbed a Grab and headed towards Chinatown; our only big tourist attraction left in the city. We walked around all the open markets and street vendors and it smelled like delicious Chinese food everywhere. Ryan found a local restaurant lunch. We ate some sort of duck and chicken dishes, both were delicious. We walked around some more after lunch and saw a big, beautiful Hindu temple before looking heading toward the train station.
We enjoyed a final bubble tea waiting on the train ride back to our hotel. We hope Thailand has a strong bubble tea game; we are kind of addicted now. After getting our bags and checking out we took a Grab 45 minutes to the airport. We hung out in the lounge and stocked up on more Vitamin C pills to keep us healthy. Finally we boarded our flight to Thailand at 1:55 vowing to return to Malaysia one day.
Things we learned in Malaysia:
- Bubble tea is life.
- We want to return to experience the highlands and other areas of the country.
- There were very few street hawkers or people aggressively trying to sell you things, a nice change of pace.
Ryan and Elizabeth Goss 