We’re nearly at the end of our month in Malaysia and today we fly back to KL (from Brunei) for our final 4 days. Our flight is a little delayed so it’s quite late by the time we arrive. Next morning we’re ready to investigate KL. We head out for breakfast and I have one of the last things on my list that I want to try – Murtabak, which is essentially a stuffed pancake. It’s very good.
After getting a few provisions (the obligatory milk for tea, water, etc), we go for a wander to tick some sites off our list. We visit Masjid Jamek, the mosque built at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers, considered to be the birthplace of Kuala Lumpur. In fact Kuala Lumpur translates to Muddy Waters, which is how it got its name… the water is indeed muddy here!
Opposite Merdaka square we see the beautiful Sultan Abdul Samad building which originally housed the offices of the British colonial administration. In later years it housed the superior courts and now it is filled with galleries and cafes.
Cendol, which you find all over Malaysia has been on our list to try since we got here but we haven’t managed to have one… well until now that is. It’s a traditional dessert of shaved ice topped with soft, green, worm-like jelly strands made of rice flour, coconut ice cream, palm sugar and in the case of this one, kidney beans!!! It’s not very sweet considering it’s a desert – worth trying once I reckon!
We continue walking to Pasar Seni or the Cultural Bazaar. It was the original town market, constructed in 1888. There’s a huge amount of craft shops and food stalls and it’s a really buzzing place to walk around.
Another food item on my list to try is beef roti. This is a food staple that was popular on the Silk Road and consists of mince and onion rolled into pastry and deep fried. Now you wouldn’t want to be eating these regularly but it’s very very tasty!!
We go to the National Mosque – it’s giant – capacity to hold 15,000 people. We don’t go in although it does look like it allows visitors. Too many rules for us women!
When I was here in 2018, the construction of the building “Merdeka 118” was underway. It was finished in 2023 and is the tallest building in Southeast Asia and second in the world. I had a view of it from my hotel.
Our final stop is the Islamic Arts Museum. Housed in a beautiful building with some beautifully painted domes on the inside, it also has an inverted dome in the entryway. There’s a brilliant exhibit of the worlds most famous mosques with amazing models of them – in particular the giant Mecca.
A bit worn out from all the walking in the heat, we head back and go for a swim on the top floor of the building. I’m loving it with a view of the Petronas Towers.
This evening we go for dinner in a Chinese restaurant in the huge shopping mall beside us. Shane does the online order at the table and somehow manages to order me an XL dish while his is regular!!! Mine has “exploding pork and beef balls” and they are fantastic … and yes of course I share!!
Next morning we are off to visit the Batu caves. These limestone caves house the most important Hindu temple for Malaysian people.
We climb the 272 colourful steps and enter the main cave which is impressive as caves go, but the temple part is quite basic. We spend a fair while – mainly because I’m looking at the monkeys climbing the cliff walls!
There are monkeys roaming everywhere… as you enter Batu from the train, as you climb the steps and in the cave itself!
While it’s free to visit the main cave, there are smaller caves that you can pay to visit. We chose “Cave Villa” as I’ve seen it online and it looks really colourful – in a crazy tacky way, but I really want to see it!! It doesn’t disappoint on either fronts!
There are peacocks roaming around and some animals on display. We are also treated to a cultural show. A short one thankfully!!!
A few more monkeys terrorized on the way out and then we head home. We go for lunch at a restaurant called 1919 which has been around for as many years and have some Nyona food – salted egg chicken, tofu and a really good fried rice. Roasting again, it’s time for a swim to cool down. This time we head to the 6th floor to a much bigger pool… we even use the very well kitted out gym.
Later in the evening we walk through KLCC park and see the Petronas Towers light up. We go to Traders Sky Bar and have a cocktail with a view.
A light dinner at another mall restaurant, this time a Malay restaurant (that usually means no booze – you need to go to the Chinese restaurants for beer!), which like pretty much all the meals we’ve had, is really tasty.
Saturday morning means Parkrun… yay!!! There’s just one Parkrun in Malaysia and it’s in Putrajaya which is about a 40 minute drive from KL but we are committed! We get up at 6:15am and taxi in the dark, but by the time we arrive, it’s light and we are ready to go. It’s a small number of people but they are all really friendly.
We stay on in Putrajaya for a while to explore. It is a new city, built just over 20 years ago and is the administrative hub of the country. There is building after building of either government offices or residential apartment blocks.
And of course there are a number of mosques including this huge one known as the Iron mosque.
We walk along the river and see the Putrajaya Millenium monument.
Further along, bumping into hardly anybody, we cross this very impressive bridge and get some great views as we cross.
We get a great view back to Putra mosque, or the Pink Mosque – and the large Perdana Putra, which serves as the Prime Minister’s Office complex. We had close up views of these this morning as we ran Parkrun.
Looking down from the bridge on the extremely clean and well maintained roads and rows of residential blocks:
When we get back home, we swim, rest, pack and it’s time for our final meal. We walk past the Petronas one last time (I just can’t help taking a photo every time I see them!!)…
For our final dinner we eat at Bombay Indian restaurant and it’s quite fancy and really delicious and we can have a glass of beer!
Next morning we both fly home. I was supposed to fly through Dubai on Emirates but my flight has been cancelled due to the war that broke out this week. I’ve been lucky enough to get a flight to Istanbul and although when I arrive to the airport I think I’m getting booked through to Dublin, the pleasant tiny Malaysian woman tells me my flight to Dublin is actually tomorrow ….. SO that means although my Malaysia trip is over, I will have a day to spend in Istanbul before I get home!
This is the longest travel we’ve done in just one country and although there are still some parts we’d like to visit, we both feel like we’ve seen Malaysia and we give it 5 stars!
odohertyelaine 