Kuala Lumpur-Traffic laws are optional

It's been a while between trips!

Deno and I had quite a time trying to figure out where we were going to go. I won't bore you with all the details and missed opportunities but in the end, we decided to spend a week in Kuala Lumpur.

I had an inkling that a week was going to be too long by the reactions we were getting but we figured we'd get a nice place and at the very least, would be able to relax and use the facilities wherever we were staying.

I'd downloaded the "Grab" app as instructed and would definitely recommend using this to get from the airport to Kuala Lumpur City. The airport is about 55kms away and all other modes of transport cost more and take longer. We had internet access but even if you don't, you can use airport wifi to book your Grab driver. Our drive, which was just under one hour, was only $24 Australian. Our driver was deaf. I knew because it said it on the booking, but he also had a sign in the car AND conversation cards at the back. So if you had to tell him something, there were common phrases ready to go if you needed it. Deno didn't see the cards and I let him try and talk to the driver for a few minutes before I told him. I have to amuse myself.

Our apartment was located about a kilometre from the famous Petronas Towers and it was HUGE. I mean twice as big as the biggest apartment we've ever stayed in!! If you're interested in our little first entry tour that I made for my family watch this. Otherwise, just know that it had two HUGE bedrooms both with desks AND huge walk in robes and big ensuites in each. We also had a fully functional kitchen and washing machine and dryer. In fact, we washed clothes every day just because we could!

Here's a few pictures of the gym and pool area.

We arrived Saturday night and apart from going out to get some supplies we didn't do much else than just sit and stare at the view from our windows We were on the 31st floor and had incredible views from all our windows!

The next morning we thought the humidity wasn’t that bad but we had just left our air conditioned apartment so it took a while to hit. We had barely got to the Petronas Towers when we felt the first sweat trickles! Surprising though, is how many people are covered up or don’t look like they’re affected by the weather. So I guess you really do get used to it?

I was really excited to see my first Family Mart because it reminded me of Japan. What I didn’t know at that time was that Japanese stores and restaurants are highly represented here! Sadly, it just made me sad that we weren’t in Japan.

Next to the Petronas Towers is the Suria KLCC Mall where we took some relief from the heat. Behind that is the KLCC Park. Lots of people were using the walking path. It is really so very pretty and it’s right there in the middle of the city!

We kept walking with no destination in mind – just looking at what was here and stumbled across another mall.

This one is called the Pavillion and on this day, had some pretty decorations up in the centre circle.

There was a whole section dedicated to Japan called Tokyo Street.

I don’t know if this was temporary or something that is always here.

It was now time for lunch. Where would we have our first Kuala Lumpur meal? Deno and I have not been too adventurous when it comes to food in other countries. We ended up going to a Japanese restaurant called Rocku Yakiniku. Grilled meat. Sounds good to me!

You ordered the meat you wanted and grilled it yourself. There was also a foodbar where you could help yourself to sushi, noodles and other things I had no name for. We wondered why there was a whole section of raw vegetables and it wasn’t until we were almost ready to leave that we realised they were for grilling too. Ohhhhhhhhhh.

I’m probably going to get my days mixed up but the next day we wanted to go to what we had read was a “tech” mall. Deno was looking for headphones. Along the way we came to the Lot 10 mall. You might be wondering why we’re spending so much time in the malls – mostly it was to get out of the weather! It only rained once or twice while we were here but the humidity was stifling. It was at this mall that we first went to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and that became our go to breakfast/coffee place. When converting to Aussie dollars, food was so very cheap. Coffee’s and Western style food were probably on par or maybe a little cheaper but any local foods were very cheap.

We were on the look out for Durian because I really wanted to try it. I’d heard so much about this smelly fruit. Apparently in this Lot 10 mall there was a Durian speciality store. While looking for it, we came across a Japanese supermarket!! I was so thrilled!!

But then sad again because, well, we’re not in Japan.

We didn’t find the Durian Store and the Tech Mall ended up not being what we wanted so we continued on to China Town.

Although it wasn’t located very far, the walk was arduous because of the humidity – and also because we didn’t know exactly where we were going or when we were going to come across it.

Traffic is horrendous as well. Traffic lights seem to be a suggestion only. Even if you get a ‘green’ walk sign, doesn’t mean that traffic is going to stop. Motorbike riders especially seem to have their own laws. You just have to look all the time because they can come from anywhere, anytime – even on the footpaths.

We finally came to Petaling Street Market which is the centre of China Town. We were dismayed to find it was not indoor although there was cover from the sun.

Deno wanted to buy a mask and I ended up choosing one too. The lady kept telling me what the design was, I had no idea what she was saying at first but eventually understood

it was a ‘versace’ one. I’m not a brand person but I liked the design so I bought it. Deno bought one with the Malaysian flag on it

Although we did want to eat local, this Hard Rock Cafe was right next to where we were staying so we had to try it right? Deno even bought me some merch from there!

At some point during the day, we didn’t find Durian, but we did find this Durian Candy type product. If there was a smell it was really mild. It had the texture of Turkish Delight and I couldn’t really taste any particular taste so our mission to taste/smell Durian was still on.

The next day we were determined to eat something local and as close to “street food” as we would allow ourselves. We went to this open food court type thing near our apartment. It was very hot and the food ordering was a bit confusing at first. Probably because we started talking to someone who worked there and he misunderstood what we were wanting. We were trying to ask for an authentic Malaysian breakfast but Deno said the word “Roti” so this is what was brought out. I asked for a lychee tea drink and drank it before I realised you’re not supposed to drink water/ice here. I didn’t have a reaction though so all good.

We really wanted to do this Canopy Walk that we had seen on a lot of “things to do in Kuala Lumpur” websites. This was also located near our apartment. We were already sweating by the time we got there and the steps didn’t help but it was definitely worth it!!! Beautiful views and atmosphere. I could have spent longer here. Hard to believe this is so close to the hustle and bustle of the city.

There seems to be a lot of uneven floors here.

Whether inside or outside, you have to be on alert all the time.

Even in our apartment we have trip hazards with no warnings or yellow stripes to alert you. We did see this one alert though which was kind of funny. Deno is used to it!

One of the places we ate from was called “Street Food” so, thank you, we’ve now eaten street food.

These two dishes combined cost $8 Australian!! Wow! And it was so much food and so good!

Here are a few more shots we’ve taken around the place. The “bar” pic was in a place called Gravy Baby which I really liked.

There were fruit vendors near our apartment building and we bought some Lychees. A passerby told us he bought them for 2 ringgit. When we got to the stall, we were told they’re 8 ringgit. You have to haggle here. I said I only had 6 ringgit and was about to walk away when he said “yes that’s okay”. 6 ringgit is about $2 Australian.

The first time we tried to use the pool, despite clear weather when we got changed, it RAINED!

And they don’t want you to use the pool when there’s threat of thunderstorms – which there were.

The next day we were off to IKEA! And we went via GRAB of course! So cheap to get around.

Unsurprisingly, the store layout and items for sale were pretty much the same as in Adelaide. The food was a little different in that it was a chicken based hotdog and soya icecream. There were also some local foods in the restaurant part.

Later that day we were back at Gravy Baby for some Western style food because – just because. Mmmmm Nachos and meat sandwiches!

Here’s more random photos and then we found the DURIAN Speciality store!!

So, what was Durian like? Well, keep in mind that this is a mild version of the fruit again. Not being in season, a few slices of the fruit was about $40 Australian and I didn’t really want to spend that on something I probably was not going to like, so we tried the next best thing – icecream! The texture was beautiful. It was a creamy icecream.

The flavour didn’t hit us at first. We were enjoying the “icecream”. You could taste something but it was hard to put a word to it.

It was unpleasant but not so much that we stopped eating it because – icecream. However – for the next couple of hours we kept burping up Durian and that was disgusting!!!

It was like we’d eaten rotten, creamed onions.

While it was disgusting, I’m glad I’ve tried it in a way. I’ve had enough to know I don’t want to eat the real thing!

Walking around we came by the Museum of Illusions. This was another thing listed on those “Things to do in Kuala Lumpur” websites. I’d seen pictures of people in there and was excited to go.

I’m sure there are better museums of illusions around the place but I was like a kid in here!

It was a lot of fun and they had an explanation next to most of the illusions to explain why it looked the way it did.

I also discovered that I do like beer!

We were looking to have a drink and came across this self described “probably the best beer in the world”.

How could I go wrong?

And, it was absolutely perfect and refreshing in this humid climate.

Also, just to prove that we actually did use the pool successfully a couple of times, here are the photos.

There is also a video somewhere of me trying to “swim” but, that can remain hidden!

We never ended going UP the Petronas Towers because the view from the top floor of our apartment was arguably just as good – in our opinion.

Our favourite malls were definitely the Pavillion and Suria KLCC Malls.

We often walked between the two, dodging motorbikes and watching for cracked pavements.

Unfortunately it wasn’t until the second to last day that we found an undercover walkway that linked the two malls!! It was partially air conditioned and protected from the rain.

How did we not find this before!!!!

The day before we left was “Malaysia Day” and there must have been events on around the place as we noticed more people out and about.

The photo below was taken from the Suria KLCC Mall. On one of the levels, there is a food court that overlooks the park area. How pretty is that!

One of our last meals was at “The Dark Horse”. Their motto is “Be nice or leave” which should have been a warning to us.

Not that we’re not nice, but if you have a complaint, they won’t care. I’d made a booking on their website and it asked if we had a preference of where we want to sit. I chose a booth because the option was there.

When we got to the restaurant however, we were told that the booth was not available for us two. This is despite the fact that there were only two other parties in the restaurant and neither of them were in a booth.

When I stated nicely that we’d booked online and had requested the booth, the server again said that it’s not possible. But he said this with a smiling face which, in my opinion, seemed a bit arrogant.

It was a take it or leave it option. So, we took it.

We were in and out of there before any of the booths were used by the way so we could have easily sat there.

We came back via Perth. It was a long trip home but we managed to catch a nice sunrise while waiting to board our Perth/Adelaide flight. We had to board before I could get the perfect shot but this one below will have to do.

And if you’ve read to the end I thank you! Kuala Lumpur, we will definitely visit again.