I Love Kuala Lumpur!

Petronas Towers

We travelled to Kuala Lumpur via Air Phil Express during Holy Week of this year. It was actually my first time spending Semana Santa outside the country. It felt weird because all my life either I spend it at home watching Biblical film or joining some sort of a retreat activity in a mission house.

Sophie my niece

The reason I booked Malaysia for a five full day vacation was that I wanted to see my sister and family and spend some quality time with them. Though the idea to explore Kuala Lumpur was there, I opted to make this trip low key (activities wise). I wanted my little pamangkins to join me in every destination I go to.

I wouldn’t recommend our itinerary to thrill seekers. But if you’re the type who simply plans to loiter around the city, eat, shop and chill, then I guess our itinerary is good enough to consider.

 

Elbert enjoying curry noodles

Our accommodation – Menara Pinang Condominium

courtesy of www.propwall.com

In any trip or vacation, it’s always a steal when you have a friend or relative who resides in your target destination. Expenses would be less since the accommodation is free like in my case. 

Menara Pinang Condominium is just a few minutes away from Pavilion and Surria, and just right opposite of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC). Apartments are intended for short and long term tenancy. 

Going around Kuala Lumpur

Our activities were pretty simple and easy.

Day 1: Batu Caves, Chocolate Factory, Istana Negara, Pavilion 

Batu Caves is one of the most popular tourist destination in Kuala Lumpur. It is situated in Selangor, 20 minutes taxi ride from KLCC. The gigantic iconic golden statue at the entrance is Lord Murugan, a Hindu God. To appreciate the beauty of the historic caves, one must take 272 steps. You'll see handful of monkeys loitering around and I highly suggests not to play with them.

 

inside Batu Caves

Berly's Chocolate Factory is the home of the most desired and mouth-watering chocolate products you could ever taste in Malaysia. It uses the highest quality coco beans from Ghana.

It was a chocolate feast inside the store and I got to tastes every single "sample" they offered. If only I could buy everything! Argh!

*drool*

The famous Berly's Chocolate. My favorite is the dark chocolate balls in a jar and tiramisu square chocolate. 

Istana Negara (National Palace) in Jalan Duta is the new official residence of Malaysia's head of state. The old "house" is located in Jalan Istana, Bukit Petaling. Tourists are not allowed to enter the gates. Picture-picture lang!

the palace

Pavilion, a high-end commercial establishment is situated in the heart of the hip Jalan Bukit Bintang. It showcases fashion, food and urban leisures. It's a premiere shopping destination in Kuala Lumpur. (I was happy because this is just a 10 minute walk from Menara Pinang Condominium). Andito kami araw-araw in flip flops (he-he).

 Ladies would definitely go gaga over signature products! See that huge Coach boutique in the picture? 

Day 2: Jalan Petaling (flee market), Guang Zhao Hui Guan, Guan Ti Miao (Chinese Temple), Sri Mahamariamman Temple (Indian Temple), KLCC Park and Petronas Twin Towers.

Jalan Petaling, Chinese Temple and Indian Temple are walkable in flip flops. We took a taxi from Menara Pinang Condominium and asked driver to drop us off at Jalan Petaling which took only about 15 minutes.

Jalan Petaling is the heart of Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown. They sell random products from souvenir items, pirated bags, wallets, apparels, etc. There were also restaurants and food stations situated in this area.

Petaling Street: KL's version of our Divisoria

a clean walk way of Petaling Street

From flee market, we headed to Guang Zhao Hui Guan, Guan Ti Miao (Chinese Temple) which is also located in Petaling Street. The place is heavily adorned with Chinese embellishments and huge statues which are really captivating in the eyes. The temple's red and gold motif was really inviting.

Chinese Temple in Petaling Street

Devotees praying in the temple offering incense on the altar. 

From Chinese temple, we walked a little bit farther from our left (if my memory serves me right) and there was Sri Mahamariamman Temple (Hindu Temple). The latter is the oldest and richest Indian Temple in Kuala Lumpur. It is open to the public.

Before we entered the temple, we were asked to take off our sandals. Ladies were required to put on long skirts. I was wearing shorts then but good thing I brought Elbert's big arafat wrap and it was fitting to make a skirt.

facade of Sri Mahamariamman Temple

KLCC Park is in the vicinity of Surria mall. It was meant to provide a good view of the majestic Petronas Twin Towers. At night, people gathered to check out dancing fountain for entertainment.

dancing fountain

Day 3: Mass at St. John Cathedral, Surria, Tesco (grocery), Pavilion

We attended the Easter Mass in St. John Cathedral. It's the most accessible catholic church available in Kuala Lumpur. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the church via taxi from Menara Pinang. Upon entering the gates, I saw bunch of Filipino vendors selling Filipino dishes and stuffs outside the church. It felt very pinoy!

plain and simple interior of St.John Cathedral

one of the amazing choirs in St. John Cathedral gave me chills 

Day 4 – Surria, Pavillion and Jalan Bukit Bintang (shopping)

Another premiere mall in Kuala Lumpur is Surria KLCC. It offers more attractions cater to family you with kids young and old. Attractions include Aquaria, KLCC Park, art gallery, music hall, cinemas and of course the Petronas Twin Towers.

Surria KLCC at night

Petronas Towers, KLCC Park, Surria Mall and dancing fountain at Symphony Lake

Jalan Bukit Bintang on the other hand is the shopping district, entertainment zone and food center in Kuala Lumpur. It's a street full of famous brands and shops such as Sephora, Zara, Vincci (VNC), H&M, Uniqlo just to mention a few.

Day 5 – Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Alor

Jalan Alor is Bukit Bintang's famous street food haven for both locals and tourists. It offers wide variety of food that will definitely excite your taste buds.

Jalan Alor 

yum! yum! 

a sumptuous street food in Jalan Alor 

Transportation

We took the taxi most of time but I guess people who visited Malaysia had issues with Malaysian taxi drivers as the latter tend to overcharge passengers even the destination is just ten minutes away. We too experienced the same but I don’t want to elaborate it further. Medyo nakakaloka ‘yung offered price!

My sister said taking the blue cab is quite impractical to budget travellers. Since we have kids who need comfortable seats, we took this one and just divided the fare to 5 adult (Me, Elbert, Ate and Kuya and then my Tita).

Taking the train is the most popular transport that could get you through places in Malaysia. When we went back to Manila, we took KLIA Transit to LCCT Airport. It was a 45 minutes travel without hassle at affordable rate (RM12.50). I guess the challenge here is that you need to understand the train map and rail companies. Below is the transit map my sister provided me in case Elbert and I decided to go to Melaka.

Next is the bus. From LCCT Airport to KL Sentral, we took the Aerobus which is just RM8 each one way. It was also convenient as buses leave usually after every 15 minutes. There are also buses that take you to Singapore.

KL Sentral is the main transportation hub and basically serves as the jump-off point of every destination in Malaysia. It's a station of trains, buses and taxis. Ticket booths are everywhere and you can ask ticket attendants if you're unsure which train takes you to your target destination.

So there you have it! See you again, Malaysia! Next year :D

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