7 Days in Malaysia
Some things I've noticed:
- It's a really nice, modern and clean city. Except that there wasn't that much to do after a couple of days. I think Malaysia has really good marketing people working for them as all the landmarks they've advertised sounded so spectacular on the website and brochures, but when you look at the real thing, it's actually quite disappointing. My favorite area was Little India. It's very lively with a lot of shops, markets and restaurants. Another favorite place was Central Market around Chinatown. It's a great place to buy souvenirs. Dates were very cheap there (500 grams for 10 Ringgit). I bought a kilo of dates back to Thailand. Yum!
- The Petronas Twin Tower is really beautiful I think. I love how at night it gleams amidst the darkened sky, and if it's especially foggy, it really looks like something out of a Batman movie. It's also a great way to figure out where you are in Kuala Lumpur as you use that as a location marker and calculate how far you are and which direction you are from the city center.
- The transporation is great in Kuala Lumpur. It's very easy to navigate using the sky train and monorail. It's also cheaper than Thailand's MRT and BTS, for example two stops would only cost around 12 baht. Beware of taxis though as they will most likely never use the meter, except for the blue ones which starts at 4 Ringgit (about 40 baht). They'll usually ask for 10-15 Ringgit to go anywhere in the city center so do negotiate. Always try to ask a couple of taxis before jumping into one. Depending on the weather and the hour of the day you hail a taxi, the price can be jacked up.
- Talking about the weather, it rains a lot more than Thailand! It rains in the morning, it rains in the afternoon, it rains in the evening. Really. And the rain may last for hours at a time too. Heavy downpours. I love and hate it at the same time depending on whether I'm trying to get home or I'm in the hotel room enjoying how the rain engulfs the city in gray. And due to the rain, Malaysia is a lot greener than Thailand. It's really nice as you travel around the city and outside to see loads of trees instead of the usual flatness in Thailand's countryside.
- Nick said I got a lot of stares when I walked around on the streets. His Malaysian friend said it may be because my boyfriend is white and not a lot of Malaysians mix with foreigners. You can see quite a bit of Chinese and Muslim influences in Malaysia but it was interesting that both cultures don't really mix there also.
- I couldn't help but stare sometimes when I see Malaysians eating with their fingers. It's so neat how they're so adept at gathering the wet rice and curry into their mouth. Food in Malaysia seems heavier than Thailand for some reason although we both eat curries and have our fair share of beef and chicken. Maybe it's the portion size that's different. I do like Malaysian food though and was extremely happy to taste it more often as I don't know of that many Malaysian restaurants in Thailand. The Nasi Ayam, Nasi Lemak, Rendang Curries, Mee Goreng, Roti Canai and Masala Dosa were taste-bud delights!
- There's a department store in Bukit Bintang area that reminded me of MBK and Platinum Mall. It's called Sun Wang Gei? Not sure.
- The Bird Park was quite fun. After finishing the book, Life of Pi, I'm definitely looking at zoos and animals in different ways than before now. A bird also puked on me from above the trees (well at least I hope it was puke rather than something else). It was pretty disgusting as it was all over my hair and t-shirt.
- Melaka is a quiet and touristy destination. I took the bus there from Puduraya Station. It was very cheap. 12.40 Ringgit for one way. It's two hours away. Worth a stop if you want to see something different. They've got amazing Chicken Rice and what's even more cool is that they've balled up the rice! Rice balls! Who would've thought of that. The things people come up with to be different. Anyhow, the chicken was really soft. There's also a local dessert called Cendol, which reminds me of the shaved-ice with Thai sweets and coconut on top. I had the Durian Cendol and it was lovely. I also went to the Portuguese Settlement because it sounded interesting in the brochures but don't waste your time there, it was completely empty and looked abandoned.
- The Petronas Twin Tower is really beautiful I think. I love how at night it gleams amidst the darkened sky, and if it's especially foggy, it really looks like something out of a Batman movie. It's also a great way to figure out where you are in Kuala Lumpur as you use that as a location marker and calculate how far you are and which direction you are from the city center.
- The transporation is great in Kuala Lumpur. It's very easy to navigate using the sky train and monorail. It's also cheaper than Thailand's MRT and BTS, for example two stops would only cost around 12 baht. Beware of taxis though as they will most likely never use the meter, except for the blue ones which starts at 4 Ringgit (about 40 baht). They'll usually ask for 10-15 Ringgit to go anywhere in the city center so do negotiate. Always try to ask a couple of taxis before jumping into one. Depending on the weather and the hour of the day you hail a taxi, the price can be jacked up.
- Talking about the weather, it rains a lot more than Thailand! It rains in the morning, it rains in the afternoon, it rains in the evening. Really. And the rain may last for hours at a time too. Heavy downpours. I love and hate it at the same time depending on whether I'm trying to get home or I'm in the hotel room enjoying how the rain engulfs the city in gray. And due to the rain, Malaysia is a lot greener than Thailand. It's really nice as you travel around the city and outside to see loads of trees instead of the usual flatness in Thailand's countryside.
- Nick said I got a lot of stares when I walked around on the streets. His Malaysian friend said it may be because my boyfriend is white and not a lot of Malaysians mix with foreigners. You can see quite a bit of Chinese and Muslim influences in Malaysia but it was interesting that both cultures don't really mix there also.
- I couldn't help but stare sometimes when I see Malaysians eating with their fingers. It's so neat how they're so adept at gathering the wet rice and curry into their mouth. Food in Malaysia seems heavier than Thailand for some reason although we both eat curries and have our fair share of beef and chicken. Maybe it's the portion size that's different. I do like Malaysian food though and was extremely happy to taste it more often as I don't know of that many Malaysian restaurants in Thailand. The Nasi Ayam, Nasi Lemak, Rendang Curries, Mee Goreng, Roti Canai and Masala Dosa were taste-bud delights!
- There's a department store in Bukit Bintang area that reminded me of MBK and Platinum Mall. It's called Sun Wang Gei? Not sure.
- The Bird Park was quite fun. After finishing the book, Life of Pi, I'm definitely looking at zoos and animals in different ways than before now. A bird also puked on me from above the trees (well at least I hope it was puke rather than something else). It was pretty disgusting as it was all over my hair and t-shirt.
- Melaka is a quiet and touristy destination. I took the bus there from Puduraya Station. It was very cheap. 12.40 Ringgit for one way. It's two hours away. Worth a stop if you want to see something different. They've got amazing Chicken Rice and what's even more cool is that they've balled up the rice! Rice balls! Who would've thought of that. The things people come up with to be different. Anyhow, the chicken was really soft. There's also a local dessert called Cendol, which reminds me of the shaved-ice with Thai sweets and coconut on top. I had the Durian Cendol and it was lovely. I also went to the Portuguese Settlement because it sounded interesting in the brochures but don't waste your time there, it was completely empty and looked abandoned.
Labels: travelling
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