Our arrival into Kuala Lumpur was wet. It was tropical, lashing, rain, the storm drains were full to overflowing and we were trudging through puddles with our heavy backpacks trying to find the place where we had planned to say. I say planned because we hadn't actually booked and upon arrival at Reggae Mansion we were told there was no room and we would have to look elsewhere. With blame radiating from me towards Dibbs (who in my opinion had not shown enough interest when I had brought up the subject of booking the hostel- in his opinion he had told me to book it), we stomped off to find somewhere else with the wind and rain beating our faces constantly. Eventually, we arrived at another hostel which thankfully had a room, albeit not the cheapest but we took it anyway.
Sinking down onto a clean double bed was the best feeling in the world, blame was quickly revoked and we were heading out into the storms once again to find some food. Fortunately the rain had subsided a little as we walked in the direction of Chinatown. Sitting down at one of the now familiar street cafes we carefully checked all the stalls before making our orders. I chose a claypot of Loh Shu Fan. I felt a little dubious with my choice as most of the dish names are accompanied by an unappetising picture of the food. The image for this meal looked particularly unappealing however I was feeling adventurous. This was lucky because my meal was delicious. It contained fat, squashy noodles, a tasty stock, ground pork and egg. Although I can admit it doesn't sound magnificent, on that wet cold night it was exactly what I needed and I happily chomped my way through the entire bowl.
After a walk through the Chinese markets looking at the merchandise that we planned to spend our final pennies on we went back to the hostel to dry off and relax.
The following day we arose later than planned and dropped our bags off at Reggae Mansion where we had now booked beds. We caught the train from there to KLCC which is Kuala Lumpur City Centre, the place to be if looking for the main tourist attraction; the Petronas Twin Towers. These buildings were an awesome sight, I craned my head up to the spikes miles above me with my mouth gaping in wonder. They were also situated in a surprisingly picturesque location with a park nearby and water fountains out in front. We walked to the foot of the towers and right through to the vast shopping centre inside holding the names, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Cartier we quickly continued to another level closer to our price range. After exploring the park we walked to 'Imbi Market' a place that I had read about in Lonely Planet which appeared to be non-existent when we arrived, disappointed with this outcome, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon another place; Itesan Food Market. Walking down some steps off the main street we found an endless amount of food stalls where we feasted our taste buds.
With a final spurt of energy on our walk home we visited the KL Skytower. We had planned to climb to the top but this seemed expensive and so we contented ourselves with exploring the attractions at the base. We went into a horrible, grubby animal house that I would not recommend anyone giving business to. We also held some parrots which I did not enjoy after I had been pecked on the head.
I was exhausted walking back but had planned on a little retail therapy and didn't want to leave without having made some purchases. Stocked up with fake handbags and watches we finally made it back to our room where we checked in. Reggae mansion is probably the best hostel I've ever stayed in. It was clean, with each person having their own 'pod' to sleep in, big enough to fit a wide mattress as well as any other belongings you would like to keep inside. Reggae Mansion also has its own bar that we ventured up to, meeting plenty of other backpackers, some of whom we made plans to sight-see further with the next day.
Waking up to a free hostel breakfast we then went to meet our new friends who were planning to visit the Batu caves on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur followed by a trip to some local waterfalls. Aemon, one of the guys in our group, had heard that the caves were home to a gang of monkeys and so he had come prepared with a packet of cheezels to tempt them over. Walking up the 200 or so steps to the caves it was difficult to decide whether I was more eagerly anticipating seeing the attraction or seeing Aemon feed the monkeys. Whilst the caves were an interesting spectacle, the monkey feeding won in terms of entertainment. Watching the monkeys scurrying around to pick up these bright orange crisps was hilarious.
Next came the waterfalls where we did not need a packet of cheezels to tempt out the monkeys; they were everywhere. The waterfalls were stunning but I didn't feel entirely able to relax the whole time there due to the numerous signs warning us of thievery in the park. I'm not sure whether the thieves were the monkeys or humans but a mixture of not wanting to leave my things and also not knowing whether wearing my bikini in the pools was appropriate stopped me from getting into the water.
After a long day with nothing to eat we were all ready for some food and re-visited the Itesan Food Market to fill our bellies. Following this, I was desperate the see the Petronas Towers again, by night. I'm really happy that we summoned the energy to do this because the towers were stunning lit up from top to bottom.
Kuala Lumpur was the perfect end to our time in Asia and I was really sad to be leaving the next day. I loved KL and it is definitely a place that I could see myself living. It's a clean and picturesque city where you can find yourself walking through the richest areas directly into a dirty street market. Clearly a place of contrast it was a very exciting city to visit.
Sinking down onto a clean double bed was the best feeling in the world, blame was quickly revoked and we were heading out into the storms once again to find some food. Fortunately the rain had subsided a little as we walked in the direction of Chinatown. Sitting down at one of the now familiar street cafes we carefully checked all the stalls before making our orders. I chose a claypot of Loh Shu Fan. I felt a little dubious with my choice as most of the dish names are accompanied by an unappetising picture of the food. The image for this meal looked particularly unappealing however I was feeling adventurous. This was lucky because my meal was delicious. It contained fat, squashy noodles, a tasty stock, ground pork and egg. Although I can admit it doesn't sound magnificent, on that wet cold night it was exactly what I needed and I happily chomped my way through the entire bowl.After a walk through the Chinese markets looking at the merchandise that we planned to spend our final pennies on we went back to the hostel to dry off and relax.
The following day we arose later than planned and dropped our bags off at Reggae Mansion where we had now booked beds. We caught the train from there to KLCC which is Kuala Lumpur City Centre, the place to be if looking for the main tourist attraction; the Petronas Twin Towers. These buildings were an awesome sight, I craned my head up to the spikes miles above me with my mouth gaping in wonder. They were also situated in a surprisingly picturesque location with a park nearby and water fountains out in front. We walked to the foot of the towers and right through to the vast shopping centre inside holding the names, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Cartier we quickly continued to another level closer to our price range. After exploring the park we walked to 'Imbi Market' a place that I had read about in Lonely Planet which appeared to be non-existent when we arrived, disappointed with this outcome, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon another place; Itesan Food Market. Walking down some steps off the main street we found an endless amount of food stalls where we feasted our taste buds.
With a final spurt of energy on our walk home we visited the KL Skytower. We had planned to climb to the top but this seemed expensive and so we contented ourselves with exploring the attractions at the base. We went into a horrible, grubby animal house that I would not recommend anyone giving business to. We also held some parrots which I did not enjoy after I had been pecked on the head.I was exhausted walking back but had planned on a little retail therapy and didn't want to leave without having made some purchases. Stocked up with fake handbags and watches we finally made it back to our room where we checked in. Reggae mansion is probably the best hostel I've ever stayed in. It was clean, with each person having their own 'pod' to sleep in, big enough to fit a wide mattress as well as any other belongings you would like to keep inside. Reggae Mansion also has its own bar that we ventured up to, meeting plenty of other backpackers, some of whom we made plans to sight-see further with the next day.
Waking up to a free hostel breakfast we then went to meet our new friends who were planning to visit the Batu caves on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur followed by a trip to some local waterfalls. Aemon, one of the guys in our group, had heard that the caves were home to a gang of monkeys and so he had come prepared with a packet of cheezels to tempt them over. Walking up the 200 or so steps to the caves it was difficult to decide whether I was more eagerly anticipating seeing the attraction or seeing Aemon feed the monkeys. Whilst the caves were an interesting spectacle, the monkey feeding won in terms of entertainment. Watching the monkeys scurrying around to pick up these bright orange crisps was hilarious.
Next came the waterfalls where we did not need a packet of cheezels to tempt out the monkeys; they were everywhere. The waterfalls were stunning but I didn't feel entirely able to relax the whole time there due to the numerous signs warning us of thievery in the park. I'm not sure whether the thieves were the monkeys or humans but a mixture of not wanting to leave my things and also not knowing whether wearing my bikini in the pools was appropriate stopped me from getting into the water.
After a long day with nothing to eat we were all ready for some food and re-visited the Itesan Food Market to fill our bellies. Following this, I was desperate the see the Petronas Towers again, by night. I'm really happy that we summoned the energy to do this because the towers were stunning lit up from top to bottom.
Kuala Lumpur was the perfect end to our time in Asia and I was really sad to be leaving the next day. I loved KL and it is definitely a place that I could see myself living. It's a clean and picturesque city where you can find yourself walking through the richest areas directly into a dirty street market. Clearly a place of contrast it was a very exciting city to visit.
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