19/07/2018

Kuala Lumpur – 48 Hours on a Budget

Kuala Lumpur – 48 Hours on a Budget
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Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. I have been through its airport a number of times. Thanks to a delayed flight, I once even made it out to the outskirts of the city for a night. Exciting times they were. That Travel lodge was something else.

Needless to say, I was looking forward to arriving in Malaysia for the sole purpose of arriving in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is the perfect place to commence a journey through Malaysia, thanks to its huge international airport and southern location. We planned to work our way North, to the border of Thailand.

Now and again, we have found ourselves arriving in a place we know absolutely nothing about. Or, somewhere nobody really talks about. We arrive with absolutely zero expectations. Sometimes we discover, no one talks about it for a reason (I’m looking at you Quy Nhon) and other times (like this one) we find ourselves in a place where we feel instantly content.

Like most cities, prices are ramped up. Well, actually that’s not fair. Starbucks is overpriced no matter where you are when you badly decide to drink there. It’s probably more apt to state that, should you wish to spend a lot you could, and easily at that. If like us, you’re watching you Malaysian Ringgits, read on to see how we spent a cheap 48 hours in Kuala Lumpur.

The City

If you’re reading this as someone who has never visited Asia, be advised that many cities in Asia smell. Sewage. Hot food in the sun. Hot sewage in the sun. Durian. Fish… The heat can do terrible things to the nostrils.

Hands down Kuala Lumpur was the best smelling city we have visited (in Asia). Now, you might be thinking ‘hey, this is a super weird thing to be commenting on‘, but trust me, it’s something you notice. We stepped out one morning for a walk and it just smelt like London in the summer. OK, now if you’ve been to London you’re probably thinking ‘bitch, London stinks’ and yes, whilst it may, it’s that ‘summer smell in the city’ you know?  It brought a nostalgic feeling over me. Like walking to work on the first day of summer.

Another thing we noticed was how clean it was. Sadly, throughout many places in the World, there is a serious litter problem but the streets of Kuala Lumpur were largely kept.

To conclude, if the weather permits it. KL is a nice city to walk around. Avoid the heavy traffic, save your taxi money and take in the sites the good old-fashioned way.

Day 1: The Petronas Towers & KLCC Mall

Of course. The Petronas Towers, to KL what the Eifel Tower is to Paris. What the Empire State Building is to NYC. What the statue of Byrhtnoth is to Maldon. The symbol(s) of the city. We ventured into the KLCC mall. I know, I know. There’s a whole city to be explored! But Ant-Man & The Wasp had just come out and I love me some Paul Rudd. Word of warning. The cinema is a SOCIAL activity in SE Asia. Do not expect to sit through a film without people having a stupidly loud natter the entire way through. Yes. I’m still bitter about this weird culture difference.

klcc-mall-kuala-lumpur

 

 

 

We were quite content to sit in the park and enjoy the scenery. Plus being on a budget, we decided not to venture to the top. The park is relatively big and makes for a nice walk around the trail (which is mapped and clear for your convenience).

petronas-tower-kuala-lumpur

The mall is HUGE and has everything you could desire – including cold air. Having just come from Bali and eating our fill of Western food there, we weren’t tempted by the home comforts. After the cinema and a quick wander, we managed to find our way out of the enormous mall in search of the famous towers. We found ourselves standing at a gorgeous park area with a body of water and lots of fountains – not dissimilar to stepping out of the Dubai Mall and looking upon the Burj Khalifa. Turning around, there they stood in all their glory.

klcc-mall-park-kl

Day 2: The Bird Park & Planetarium

I had noticed on Google maps that there is a vast park area to the West side of Kuala Lumpur. Inside this green area, there is a butterfly park, botanical gardens, bird park and planetarium. Enough to keep anyone busy for a day.

Saving our pennies, we walked for about an hour in the heat to get to the bird park. With regards to the birds, I had pictured large open spaces and though it was a large area, some of the birds were (I suppose for the safety of other birds) stuck inside smaller aviaries. I can’t deny that I was happy ambling around and looking at species I had never seen in real life before. We saw Hornbills, albino peacocks, flamingos, eagles, parrots… However, there was a questionable enclosure for Ostriches. The females seemed to have hardly any feathers left. I have no idea whether this was due to fighting or their feathers being plucked for financial gain.

The majority of the birds did have huge spaces in which they could roam (and fly) freely. We sat down for a much-needed cold drink and there were peacocks climbing on the tables. There was not much restriction. In fact, the park has labelled itself “the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world”.

Bird Park KL

peacock-kuala-lumpur

Planetarium

Once we had finished the bird park in its entirety. We walked some more to the Planetarium. A gorgeous building. With more f*cking stairs than anyone in their right mind would want to encounter in 30 degrees heat. Come Gimli! Being shouted at me from a distant Toby, as he raced towards the sweet, sweet aircon.

Now. The planetarium had the potential to be really cool. I mean it was really cool in the sense that it was a fabulous respite from the heat. But I meal cool like, woah, awesome man. It was free to enter the day we visited. I think we spent about an hour in here messing around with stuff. But sadly, all the cool shit was not open. Maybe it’s not worth it to keep everything running during weekdays. They had a simulator (not turned on). A theatre (not open). An observation tower (under construction). So yeah. Basically, anything you would want to experience was a solid no. We did, however, get to go in the anti-gravity room. Take the concept of the ‘crooked house’ and add a slide coming out of it. Amazing. 

Stairs to Planetarium

planetarium-kuala-lumpur

Other Stuff

We were completely tuckered out from the miles and miles we walked that day. We were also happy to detox post-Bali, so we didn’t experience anything in terms of nightlife. Though I believe the nightlife resides in Bukit Bintang. Be prepared to pay out your butt for alcohol though.

Food

If you enjoy a curry. Malaysia is the place for you. Thanks to the many migrants from India, there are some superb places to feast for super cheap. We really rated TG’s and went back to eat there more than once. Butter chicken and garlic naan for about £2. I’m drooling just thinking about how good it was. It has been the first time in a long time we’ve devoured nothing but local cuisine. Especially when we would have had easy access to our Western faves.

Little India has many ‘Nasi Kampur’ restaurants largely offering the same thing. Curries and various Indian breads at a budget that makes everyone’s tummies and pockets happy.

Accommodation

Having never really been to Malaysia, I turned to trusty Travel Fish to look at accommodation. Ahyu Hotel caught my eye and we happily stayed here. Initially, we were worried about the location being in Little India. But, it was by no means chaotic or crowded and turned out to be a sweet little spot. Although this wasn’t by any means the cheapest accommodation. It was £20 a night for the room and suited our budget between the two of us. We had a nice clean, air-conditioned room with a nice en-suite. The windowless room actually turned out to be a favourite of ours. Keeping out the sounds and light from outside and ensuring we had a good night’s sleep. We made use of the convenient laundry service and found the staff to be friendly and helpful.

My Final Word

Kuala Lumpur turned out to be an unexpected favourite city of ours. There was enough cheap stuff to keep us occupied for two days. Super delicious food and generally a nice vibe. I’m not sure I would go out of my way to visit again because I don’t think we left without seeing what we wanted to see. That being said, were I to find myself there again for a few days, I wouldn’t be disappointed at all.

[yasr_overall_rating]

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