How to Spend Two Days In Kuala Lumpur, I Call It KL!
I was looking at a stop over between UK, Qatar, Singapore and Thailand.Kuala Lumpur, locals call it KL, was not high up my list originally although I did want to see the iconic Petronas Towers.
I know, I’m spoilt rotten to be able to travel whilst working. This entrepreneur writing lifestyle allows me to travel to the most amazing destinations.
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The awesome internet and (mostly decent) wifi enables me to keep in touch with my online community of writers and solopreneurs as well as not missing any coaching calls or other appointments.
Wow, I’m so glad I didn’t discount it. According to some media reports it’s one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Really? Now I’m not naive, I know bad things happen, they happen everywhere, but KL, the multi cultural metropolis, surely it wasn’t that bad.
I’ve no hesitation in recommending the city as a joy to visit.
All I can say is I always do strong pre-trip research to make sure my travel insurance is valid. The UK foreign office didn’t warn me off, and I won’t warn you off either. I felt safe there, I walked around, got trams and taxis, shopped and visited parks and the sights.
There’s something for everyone, it’s beautiful with designer architecture, lush parkland, huge designer malls and of course friendly locals who don’t hesitate to help you.
Whilst studying a traffic map we were approached by someone asking if they could help us. How awesome is that?
They stopped their rush to work to take the time to welcome us to their home city. In my, quite friendly, home town I’d struggle to find someone to do that on their commute if I asked them to help, let alone encounter them approaching a stranger.
My visit was just two days but the city is quite compact with great transport links so you can fit alot into that time.
Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary
I prioritised a day out to see the well known elephant rescue, Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre or the Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary.
I could’ve booked direct but decided to let the hotel take the strain. They sorted the excursion for me, at the same price as if I’d gone direct.
I had quite a chat with one who was so greedy he didn’t even let the food touch the sides! Bless him! It was truly a day of irreplaceable memories.
Bathing a young elephant, giving him a sand epilating massage in a river where I’d seen a 2 metre monitor lizard just minutes before is an experience I will truly never forget!
Batu Caves
The driver took us to the famous Hindu Temple at ancient, and I mean ancient, 400million years ancient, Batu Caves on the way back, with its amazing statue of Murugan.
Wiki: (Standing at 42.7 m (140 ft) high, the world’s tallest statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity, is located outside Batu Caves. The statue, which cost approximately 24 million rupees, is made of 1550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of gold paint brought in from neighbouring Thailand.)
I did my bit to help the ongoing renovation by carrying a brick all the way to the top, you can see the poster asking tourists to take part on the post in my pic.
I’m glad it was later in the day as it was a bit cooler. The scary high steps were more nerve wracking coming back down, I’m not a great fan of slippy concrete or monkeys! Say no more!
Kuala Lumpur City
Arriving back at the hotel two hours later than scheduled was amazing, with no haggling for extra payment, although it was gladly given. What a great way to see outside the city and see so much of the lush mountainous countryside. It’s worth noting though, if you do go out of the city, or around it, traffic is BUSY so allow extra time.
One reason the city is so stunning is the weather. We hid and had a coffee whilst the most massive storm approached and jumped in a cab to avoid getting literally soaked through.
Tip: Take a rain coat, and do not leave it in the hotel room because it’s warm when you set off!
Petronas Towers
If you go to Petronas Towers don’t worry about your phone camera not being able to fit it all in, there are plenty of street sellers offering wide angle lenses that clip on your phone, I think they were all $5, I didn’t need one so can’t comment.
Umbrellas were the other stock in trade, market forces eh?
This shot was taken in a glass box hanging precariously from the KL tower next to the Petronas pair. Wow!!
This is one of my ‘pushing your boundaries’ activities, I have vertigo so how super excited was I (aka terrfied, deep breaths abound!)
Shopping
The malls in KL are packed to the rafters with designer stores so if you love to shop, you’ve cracked it. The malls are also a great place to grab a tea or coffee to get out of the frequent rain storms.
The joy I find in Asia and Malaysia is how green the cities are. I live in Yorkshire, UK, and in Sheffield there is a huge controversy / civic battleground about the felling of healthy trees. Oh I wish they would learn from cities like Hong Kong, and yes KL, and allow the trees to stay.
Note to city planners: even the humble local KL taxi driver knows that trees are essential for temperature management, water management, oxygen levels, pollution management, etc etc Basically humans need trees!
The last few hours of the trip were spent hiding from rain in one of the many parks, and visiting the amazing KL Butterfly Park. A gorgeous little tactile educational haven of peaceful green space in the city.
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https://www.christieadamswriter.com/hong-kong-an-unexpected-joyous-city/
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