That One Tour: Malaysia Diaries(Part-1)
When I needed to run away from the harsh reality of my breakup, I thought of leaving my country for good. But that wasn’t practical at the moment. Though I actually am leaving my country for Canada pretty soon, that’s another story. This one is about my getaway to Malaysia which changed the way my life turned out later on.
It was February and after booking my ticket with Malaysia Airlines, all I was thinking about was the KL skylines, because I was looking into different vlogs and the Petronas Twin Towers looked magnificent. I was daydreaming about a beach retreat in Langkawi, the food heaven aka Georgetown, and Malaysia’s biggest strawberry farm in Genting Highlands.
Did I get to have that much fun at the end? Let’s jump onto that then.
My flight was at 11.30 pm and it takes around 6 hours to reach Kuala Lumpur. Normally I don’t sleep on the plane. So, I tried to watch something on Netflix, tried streaming through the airline’s library of movies for some time, and ate my dinner for quite a long time. I finally felt a little drowsy and that’s when I heard the announcement telling us to prepare for landing.
Kuala Lumpur day 1:
KL immigration officers didn’t hold me for long and after getting my bags from luggage claim, I hopped on a taxi to my hotel. Since I decided to splurge on this trip, I booked a luxury stay in Grand Hyatt, a five-star hotel for myself. It took around 45 minutes to reach and on my way I took a little nap. After paying 100 RM to my driver and finally setting foot on my humble abode for KL days, the view of the Petronas towers from the reception area caught my eye. These 451m high iconic towers sure were treats for my sore eyes. I knew their check-in time was at 3 PM and it was only 7.50 am. They provide options for early arrivals but I didn’t want to rest. I didn’t feel sleepy for days and I wanted to start exploring the city to get tired and forget everything that made me flee to an unknown city, alone. So, I made arrangements with the reception to leave my luggage with them while I execute my plans.
Breakfast at Brickfields:
I wanted to start feeling the vibes of a new city so badly that I went to Brickfields (Malaysia’s official Little India) for breakfast. I didn’t know what I was looking for and I had nothing to lose. So, I started my experiment with Apam Balik which is a very sweet pancake with peanuts and corn in it. It was too sugary for my taste. So I needed to have something spicy and Ayam percik came to rescue me. It was barbecued chicken smeared with chili, garlic, ginger sauce, and coconut milk. I was still hungry and was looking for something more to fill the void inside me. That’s when I ordered grilled chicken skewer aka Satay with peanut sauce! Who doesn’t love meat on a stick?
Tea please:
After eating to my heart and stomach’s content, I decided to have tea/coffee. That’s how we Bangladeshi people like to finish our breakfast after all. I ordered a popular drink called Teh Tarik which was basically black tea with condensed milk/liquid milk but during the making of it, they kept pulling it back and forth between two cups to release heat which in turn gave the tea a foamy topping.
First stop: Sri Kandaswamy Temple
After satisfying my inner foodie, I started my expedition in Sri KandaswamyTemple, which is over a century old Hindu temple, devoted to the Hindu Deity Lord Muruga. The entrance caught my eye since it was filled with innumerable Hindu deities. I was lucky to visit the temple in February when they celebrate their annual festival called Thaipusam. I got to see thousands of disciples enthusiastically chanting and praying to the statue of Lord Muruga followed by a 15 kilometers walk to the iconic Batu caves. They hold a shiny pot above their heads which they fill with milk, flower, and other stuff.
If you want to visit this shrine, it’s open daily and there is no entrance fee. Just remember to dress appropriately and don’t distract the monks while you look around.
Second stop: Batu caves
I couldn’t bear walking 15 kilometers to the Batu caves, my next destination. So, I ‘Grab’bed a taxi which took around 20 minutes to reach the picturesque limestone caves that I had visited many times virtually before. The procession that had started from Sri Kandaswamy Temple would take the whole day and reach the caves around the early hours of the next morning, when I’d be dead asleep in my hotel bed.
I asked my taxi driver if he could stay and give me a ride back to my hotel once I’m done exploring the caves. He happily agreed to stay and be my guide through the colorful 272 steps to the top of the caves from where you can see pretty much the whole city. If it wasn’t for my driver/guide, I’d have given up after the first 100 steps and come back. But, he told me to sit there and offered to take a couple of pictures while I was sipping on my lemon water which by the way is a must if you plan to climb up those never-ending stairs!
Was it worth the leg cramps, you ask me?
Well, it depends. I am not really a temple/cave kinda person but since this trip needed to be different than others, I chose to visit these places first. Being a non-enthusiast, I liked the experience which is what it was all about but didn’t find it utterly amazing. There were quite a few monkeys and while they’re delightful, be cautious and keep a tight grip on your purse or other stuff because these hooligans don’t mind snatching them while you’re busy enjoying the view.
Anyway, I haven’t been sleeping for more than 28 hours and this unplanned cardio took it’s toll. I was pretty beat by the end of the trip and hopped onto my taxi. I had a plan to see the twin tower in the evening as I have heard so much about how magnificent it looks when illuminated. Also because I really needed to check in and freshen up.
My exhausted face in front of Batu Caves!
Stop 3: Petronas tower tour:
Since my hotel was so close to the tower, I decided to change my clothes before going to my pre-booked tour at 7 pm. I was pretty hungry since I skipped lunch and a shower was unavoidable at that point.
The bell staff helped me with bags and first took me to the sky lobby at level 39 and brought me down to my ‘too spacious for just one person’ suite. Grand Twin Towers View Suite had the floor to ceiling glass window which gave me a full view of the Iconic towers.
I surely didn’t have such big pockets to spend 1500RM for a night here in a 105 square meter suite overlooking something as spectacular as the towers, but maybe a broken heart comes with a broken calculator too! I had a king-size bed for myself, a living room for spreading my agony, and a marble bathtub to drown my sorrows!
Anyway, I had the whole night ahead of me to think about all these but had to go for the tour since it was about to start.
I have heard people saying that your visit to Kuala Lumpur is incomplete without the Petronas Towers tour. I didn’t really get it till the tour started! The world does look like a better place from the top! It wasn’t that crowded for some reason and that somehow felt great after a long haul flight and an even longer day. The guides and staff were pretty friendly and they knew exactly how long to give you to take enough pictures or just to enjoy the view. The sight from the main observation decks made me miss someone close to standing next to me. I felt like something as spectacular as this shouldn’t be enjoyed alone. I felt the same while I was walking the famous sky bridge connecting the two towers. I wanted to scream like a child and share how I was feeling. The tour ended pretty soon or maybe I lost track of time.
Last stop: back to the hotel
It was an eventful day and after the tour, I had zero energy left in my body. So, I came back to my hotel and was too exhausted to go to the restaurant called Thirty8 on the 38th floor, obviously. I ordered room service and ate some Nasi Goreng (fried rice flavored with coconut milk, soy sauce, and ginger) topped with a fried egg. I devoured them like a baby elephant. After dinner, for the first time in forever, I felt sleepy. I didn’t even feel like drawing the curtains and there I was lying down, alone in an unknown city gazing at one of the tallest buildings in the world, and slowly drifted off.
Disclaimer: I lost almost all the pictures that I took on my Malaysia trip because of a friend’s stupidity when I came back. Just have the ones I uploaded on Facebook during my travel. Let’s just say, there was a backup mishap ?
So, I’ll attach the very few pictures that I have left.
