I switched jobs in February 2007 and had to take the obligatory “visa run” that so many expats in Thailand have done before me. My husband teaches architecture and had to switch from a work visa to a tourist visa for the term break. If you’re not familiar with this insanity, I will summarize it: in order to stay in the country, you have to leave the country, go to the Thai embassy in another country, get a new visa then return to the country. The Thai government has significantly cracked down on the hordes of backpackers who want to hang out here for life without official paperwork and so those of us WITH the right paperwork have found it harder and harder to deal with the bureaucracy. So we searched the internet for many “visa run” reviews, talked to a travel agent and chose Malaysia. We had to spend at least two days in Kuala Lumpur at the Thai embassy obtaining our visas but the rest of the time was up to. We’ve been traveling since we met ten years ago but I think that as we get older, we’re becoming less and less organized. We booked our tickets 5 days before left, let the travel agent pick us a barely affordable hotel in KL and picked up our Lonely Planet for Malaysia on the day we flew out on Air Asia (a direct flight from CNX). Air Asia is another low cost Asian airline that charges for water and has tickets that look like they’re for a bus but they’re safe and highly affordable.
We stayed at the Equatorial in KL (booked on Asia rooms) which was nice and had a fantastic buffet breakfast. I’m still very fond of my western-style breakfast but the spicy soup that Asians love for breakfast is growing on me- this buffet had both. I think the time we spent and the amount that we ate means that I should really emphasize the glory of this breakfast. It was fantastic! Full and rested we were off to explore the city. Our impression of Kuala Lumpur was that after nearly a year in Thailand and four years in Manhattan, it felt very clean and orderly. Here are the places we visited, the places we ate and what we liked best (**) in the city.
Chinatown: We like the Central Market (mainly because it had AC and the outside world was a bit hot) and hated the tourist stalls of the Jalan Petaling. We liked the Sze Ya (Taoist) and Sri Mahariamman (Hindu) Temples but they were mobbed with people and steaming with incense so we didn’t spend long at either. We agreed with the Lonely Planet that the Old China Cafe** was rich with atmosphere and served fantastic laksa. We also loved the Purple Cane Tea Restaurant** and I loved the beautiful tea pots they had for sale in their store. I still kick myself that my frugal husband talked me out of “another” tea pot!
Golden Triangle: We stayed here because of the proximity to the Thai embassy but it wasn’t really a highlight of the city. The malls were interesting (I’m always up for a good bookstore) and we enjoyed the giant Ferris wheel inside the Mid Valley Megamall. We spent one evening bowling at Mid Valley and it was an interesting experience as the only woman without a headscarf in the whole place.
Masjid Negara area: We wondered out to the old KL Train Station (built in 1911) and loved the Malayan Railway Administration Building** across the street. The Masjid Negara Mosque was a nice place to hide from the rain but I was less impressed with the building. Our next stop was a hike up the hill to the Islamic Arts Museum** which was fantastic. My friend Ian highly recommended this place and I have to agree with him.
That was all we had time for in our short visit except I have to mention the famous Petronas Towers. Thanks to a hot morning at the embassy (and some bacteria or virus that wanted to hitch a ride in my gastrointestinal system) I wasn’t well for this part of the trip so our last night in town we ended up at the adjoining Suria KLCC mall. We did not go up in the famous Towers, instead we followed Ian’s advice again to go to the KL Tower** which is much shorter but the crowds (and cost) are lower and the view is fantastic at night. We spent several hours walking around the glass windows to see all of KL (including the Petronas Towers) and then spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to hold my husband’s digital camera at arm’s length to capture us with the Petronas Towers in the background.
One place we didn’t stay but wish we could have was the Number Eight Guesthouse which looked fantastic but wasn’t available for both nights of our visit. If anyone goes here and has a different experience, please do let me know as we plan to stay there again if we have the chance.
In the middle of our trip, we took a bus 2 hours to the city of Melaka (or Malacca) where we spent several nights. I consider Melaka the highlight of my trip to Malaysia. This will be the subject of my next blog.
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