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Girl's Trip to Asia Final Part, Kuala Lumpur - November 2017

by - 07:27


KUALA LUMPUR
Our third and last destination on this Asia trip was to Kuala Lumpur (KL). It was also the place where our group split into 2, I went KL first with J.C as we were due back to London first and the other 3 flew to Langkawi before flying to KL later.

Flight: Our third flight on this trip was from Penang to KL and it was approximately 1 hour long. Me and J.C booked the flight last minute, originally we were going to travel by train/ferry but they only had seats at either really late or really early times left. You can also travel by bus from Penang to KL but that's around 8 hours long and the reviews for the bus/coaches that we found were all terrible. We booked our flight with AirAsia (a Malaysian low-cost airline) and the only seats available were the premium seats but thankfully it didn't cost that much more than the normal seats, however what we didn't know was that we also purchased a meal on this 1-hour flight (in our defence the WiFi in the Penang hotel was going funny when we tried to purchase the flight tickets and we had to try several times before it actually went through). The chicken pasta arrabiata was surprisingly really nice but unfortunately J.C's doesn't like cheese so her one was left untouched. 


Stay: The hotel that we stayed in was Hotel Istana. The location of the hotel is in Central next to the shopping malls (such as Pavilion and Fahrenheit88) and just 10 minutes walk away from Jalan Alor Night Food Market. The hotel itself is very grand, our room was quite spacious with a good city view, a massive bathroom and the beds were comfy enough, however one of the biggest cons of this hotel was the car entrance. Our main transport in KL was Uber and Grab (Grab is like the Asian version of Uber and both had similar prices so it was mainly down to waiting times as to which we would pick), but there were many times where the driver didn't know how to get to the hotel entrance and to be fair to them, the car entrance from the main road to the hotel lobby is really weird, you have to turn in at an awkward place that only had a tiny sign. 
Our booking did not include breakfast but we decided to try the breakfast buffet for our last morning at Hotel Istana. They had such a big selection from Western to Asian food and there were also 2 cooking stations outside where the chef would cook up the selected food fresh for you. Breakfast was lovely and well-worth the money.
Do: Shopping! There is so many shopping malls and markets in KL. The first market we visited was Central Market; this is a good place to buy your souvenirs where you can also try haggling. It also closes late at 9:30pm.

My favourite place for shopping in KL, had to be the Pavilion shopping mall because it has so many Korean skincare brands inside and a massive Japanese quarter which holds my ultimate discount shop, Daiso. If you haven't heard of Daiso before, you need to go! My first time visiting was in the Myeongdong branch in Seoul, South Korea and they have so many cute stuff in there for just £1 (or approximate of depending on currency). There is also a Japanese snack store there with decent prices, which I wished I had bought more from. Aside from these shops Pavilion has so much more and once you have finished shopping you can go downstairs where there is a big food court, Food Republic (see eat section below).


A must-visit in KL is of course, the Petronas Towers. We went at night-time to take pictures of the towers with the lights on but also so that we could catch the light show at Lake Symphony (just behind the towers at KLCC Park). The light show with music at Lake Symphony is said to be shown 3 times a day at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm. Also a little heads-up but when you are taking pictures of the towers, there are these young men hanging around the area who are targeting tourists taking photos on their phone and 'offering' their fish eye lens, for a better picture at a price. The picture does come out better but my issue with them is that they were so pushy even when I refused. Funnily enough when I got home I purchased my own fish eye lens. 

For a night out we went to Marini's on 57, which had good reviews and included a clear view of the Petronas Towers and a nice cocktail menu. When we went it was very busy but staff were friendly and the music was good too. At this point I did miss the other girls and wished they were there with us. 
One of the things that I wanted to do in KL was to get my nails done. A Shellac manicure in London would typically cost £30-£40 but in KL it was £15! The salon that I found was You'nique Nail Boutique which looked like it was still a fairly new business but was full of positive reviews. The salon is located inside a small complex (Shoplex Mont Kiara) with restaurants on the ground floor and then various beauty salons on the second floor. The salon itself is small but staff were very friendly and I was so happy with my nails. My nail lady was so gentle but thorough with my nails, it was my first experience where it didn't actually hurt when she done my cuticles (and I've been to various nails salons in London, sadly I've just accepted the pain now). Also on the day we were leaving my nail lady must have remembered and messaged us thank you and to have a safe flight back, which was super sweet of her. 

One of the must-visit attractions in KL listed on Tripadvisor is Batu Caves. This place is filled with monkeys everywhere, we were instructed by our nail lady to not wear anything shiny or reflective to attract them. Another thing is to not be eating anywhere near them because they will snatch your food. The toilets here are disgusting and even more so when you have to pay to use them, I don't actually know if the 2 men 'guarding' the toilets were official staff but they looked scary and I needed to go so I just paid. Oh and don't forget to bring your own tissue! Before you start the ascent of 272 steps, there are staff at the bottom of the steps checking your dress code (you must not show your legs or shoulders). There are also bricks and buckets of sand which you can volunteer to bring up to the caves, as the temple is so old it is in constant need of construction.

Side Story - Monkey Dash: I'll be honest, the monkeys did scare me. J.C wouldn't even go near the toilets because there were monkeys hanging around there but it was all good going up the actual steps. They were actually quite cute when we got to the top and we saw them up close eating snacks that people had offered them; one big ol' monkey scored a lollipop from someone and it was fascinating watching him rip open the plastic to get the goods. However, when we were coming down we saw one mischievous monkey actually grab someone's fanny-pack and then climb up a pole. Everyone was shouting at the monkey but this just prompted him to climb up even higher. Once he was satisfied there was no food in the fanny-pack he then dropped it to the ground where the owner and his family were patiently waiting. This was what I was most afraid of, them stealing my bag!


Another attraction is the KL (or Menara) Tower. We wanted to go for sunset but the place was very busy as you can imagine and they only had one lift working at the time so it took longer than usual. The view is stunning and there are 2 glass boxes where you can take pictures (you will need to take your shoes off before you enter the box). We bought a ticket for the sky deck and sky observation which included a fast-track queue for 105RM (£19).

Side Story - I don't want it!: In the 2 glass boxes there is a professional photographer there who will take your photo, these photos will then be available for purchase downstairs. J.C was the first to go pose, the photographer asked her if she wanted her photo to be taken and she politely refused and so I was free to take photos for her on her own phone. Next up was my turn, again the photographer asked if I would like my photos taken, I politely refused and was geared up to pose for my own camera which J.C was holding but then suddenly the photographer beside her, aimed his camera at me and started throwing his tourist set of suggested poses which included a peace-sign, your arms spread out wide and to top it off, a thumbs-up. HELLO, I said no thank you! To make matters worse each turn is timed and this guy was wasting my time, granted its his job but if someone says no then no, please don't make it awkward. 


Eat: Being in Malaysia we couldn't leave without trying the typical Malaysian food so we found Madam Kwan's (in Pavilion), which has the slogan 'Truly Malaysian Cuisine', perfect. I ordered Nasi Lamak and J.C ordered Assam Laksa with a Mixed Satay to share. My nasi lamak was okay but the sauce was very strong and J.C's soup was too fishy for our liking. The best dish was definitely the satay.
I mentioned this food court earlier, Food Republic (in Pavilion), where we had breakfast one morning. I got congee with mixed dimsum. The congee was nice but just a tad salty as the staff put all the seasonings (soy sauce and pepper) on for you rather then you pouring it on yourself. The dimsum wasn't great but I do love prawns and dimsum without prawns just isn't dimsum for me. Other foods I purchased from Food Republic was a matcha cream puff from Beard Papa's (why, why did you close the branch down in London!? It was always so busy when I visited) and a milk tea. 

Next up is Korean food at Doma (which is located in Shoplex Mont Kiara). I ordered the spicy seafood udon and J.C got the octopus rice, and a seafood pancake to share. We also ordered 2 matcha frappucinos. The food here was delicious, I would definitely recommend it to others.
Another Korean restaurant that we tried was Choo Choo Chicken. We wanted something quick and small (originally) for lunch. I ordered the spicy wings and these were so good but the sweet wings were much too sweet for both me and J.C. The tteokboki was okay but by far not the best I have had.


If you're in KL you have to visit Jalan Alor Night Food Market. There is so much food to choose from and oh-so-cheap! My favourite stall was the one where you pick all your foods from seafoods, to meats and vegetables and depending on what you pick is how they'll cook the foods i.e. Fried or grilled and with the vegetables either boiled or steamed (depending on your choice).
Another thing that I wanted to do in KL was afternoon tea. I love afternoon tea and when I found this one at Thirty8 (Grand Hyatt KL), I knew I had to go and thankfully J.C was on-board too. Look at all the food you get and for just 80RM (£15)! The view was also very nice here and staff were friendly too. On the day that we went they were having a little photoshoot at the bar with new cocktails, once the photoshoot had finished they went around with the cocktails and offered them to customers, which was nice of them. 
Last but not least when in Asia, 7/Eleven is a staple and life-saver. Needless to say we bought various snacks and our waters from 7/Eleven and one night we were too lazy (and it was late) so we just had pot noodles for dinner. At the time of visiting Häagen-Dazs had just released the mochi version of their green-tea ice-cream in Singapore and Malaysia. I absolutely love their green tea ice-cream but I wouldn't purchase the mochi version again. They were quite big pieces and hard to chew.
This ends my journey in Asia with the girls, I hope you've enjoyed reading it! ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡

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