Welcome to Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

After leaving Singapore, The next stop on our 2024 Asia Mega City Tour was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While planning out this trip, we went back and forth a bit on how best to travel between these two cities. They are only about 225 miles apart. There are several bus services available, but they take 6 hours with no traffic and the scenery is mostly just palm plantations. There's a complicated way you can take rail between the cities, but Malaysia is actively building out their system so that wasn't a good option just yet... so we settled for flying. Fun fact, Singapore to Kuala Lumpur is the highest volume of aircraft seats between two international cities in the world. Better get that train working, Malaysia, so we can lower our carbon footprint!

A highlight of the trip, though, was the Malaysia Airlines catchy safety video, which had a lot of singing and dancing. After going through customs, we took the express train into town, and checked into the Hotel Stripes. We thought this was a great hotel, and was very affordable. The neighborhood is just off to the side of some of the main tourist areas, but is well connected by transit and feels "up and coming" with some great restaurants and cafes. We went up to check out the rooftop view (which was amazing) before heading out for a late lunch.

Best airline safety video ever?

Our first view of the city from the express train.

The express train from the airport was super convenient and easy to use. Would recommend.

A mural in the main train station.

Transferring to the local train. Clean, efficient, and easy to use.

View of Merdeka 118, the second tallest building on earth.

Our hotel room was really nice and had brick screens to protect from the sun.

Can't complain about this rooftop pool view!

We had lunch right next door to the hotel at Budaya, which has traditional Malaysian cuisine. We were the only ones there, which was a bit worrying, but it was like 2pm so maybe we just missed the lunch rush? We shared some laksa, "web roti", and tofu wrapped chicken, all of which were good. From there we took the train to Merdeka Square, which is the heart of the historic colonial city. We stopped by the KL City Gallery, which we had heard had a large model of the city, but that portion must have been closed or removed, because there was just two small rooms of photographs. We walked around a bit checking out the historic fountain and architecture in the square, as well as the giant flagpole. On one side of the square a series of tents and a stage were set up for a lunar new year celebration, and we had good timing to catch a little parade, which included groups in costumes and multiple bagpipe bands.

Lunch time!

Some of the old colonial architecture.

View from Merdeka Square.

A dragon in the parade.

Bagpipe bands? Sure!

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building, with Merdeka 118 behind.

There was even a little horse at the parade! It's Lil Sebastian!

We walked over to the nearby confluence of Klang and Gambak rivers, which has a view of the Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque. At this point it began to rain, and we sought shelter under some large umbrellas next to a café. Then it started to pour - like a torrential downpour. The river swelled substantially, and there were waterfalls of water coming out of the storm drains. There was a local guy next to us who found a folding chair and set up camp under the umbrella with a bluetooth speaker and a cigarette. We stayed under a large umbrella for almost an hour. We had a reservation time to go up the Petronas Towers, so when the rain finally let up a bit we did a power walk to the nearby train station. Overall, David was excited to see a tropical downpour in the literal tropics, though!

View of the mosque right before the rain.

Here comes the rain...

And here it REALLY comes. The flood gates leading into the rivers literally opened.

This was the view before it started raining...

...and after.

After taking the train to KLCC, we walked to the Petronas Towers, once the tallest buildings on earth, and still the tallest twin towers. The tour first takes you up to the skybridge between the midpoint of the towers, where we had amazing views of sunset over the city. We had a set amount of time here, then they took us up to the observation deck at the top. By now it was dark, and it was difficult to see out the windows because there was a lot of reflection from the extremely bright lights shining on the top floors. We'd suggest going a bit earlier, to catch late afternoon from the skybridge and sunset from the top. Unfortunately, you can't linger too long - they put you in color-coded groups and you have about 15 minutes in each place.

Coming back down from the towers, we had a light dinner in the busy mall food court - sweet potato balls, a five spice bun, and a sesame bun. We walked around the popular 5-story mall for a bit, doing some tourist shopping at a store that sold locally themed items. These types of stores are generally hard to find at malls in Kuala Lumpur, where the overwhelming majority of shops are large western, Chinese, or Japanese brands. 

At the base of the Petronas Towers is KLCC Park, a small urban park with a big fountain. It was busy with people enjoying the weather and checking out the nighttime skyline and lunar new year lanterns. We thought there might be a fountain show at 9PM, but it didn't happen despite lots of people waiting around. After hanging out for a bit we took the train back to our hotel.

The rain let up and we had excellent views from the skybridge.

Views of the mountains around the city.

That sunset though!

Selfie time!

The skybridge is pretty cool.

Looking down at the tower, with the skybridge supports.

Made it to the top!

If you know Paul, you know going up the top of tall buildings is a passion of his.

View from the top, with the second tower, Merdeka 118 on the left, and KL tower on the right.

Inside the KLCC mall.

A snack for dinner after a large, late lunch.

View from KLCC park.

The dragon was really aweseme.

The Petronas Towers and Chinese lanterns.

After our first partial day in KL, we had a good impression of the city. It's less put together than Singapore, and just slightly rough around the edges. Transit is more confusing, but still easy to use. It's hard to walk around. There are not always good sidewalks and pedestrians are an afterthought to cars, especially in the more touristic areas of town. Kuala Lumpur is a very diverse city, with really extravagant malls and impressive skyscrapers. It feels safe and welcoming.