After the wildlife delights of Borneo, we flew back to mainland Malaysia to the capital, Kuala Lumpur. This would be our base for 5 nights, and this time we’d have the added bonus of a guide, Caitlin’s cousin (Chloe), who currently lives there. We arrived late in the evening, so after eventually escaping the labyrinth that is KL airport, we hopped in a Grab car (Grab is SE Asia’s Uber) and made our way to Chloe’s flat in the city. We caught up for a few hours, before heading to bed for a long dreamless sleep. It felt good to be in a nice bed for a change.
Over the next few days we hit the genuine fake stalls of Chinatown and the central market, which literally sold everything from decent replica football shirts, to watches, handbags, snazzy pants, trainers, all sorts. Temptation was everywhere.
The majestic Petronas Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world, were a sight to behold by day and night.
We soaked in the hectic atmosphere of Bukit Bintang and its many shopping malls, and necked a few beers down the avenue of Changkat.
We visited the KL Bird Park too, which is one of the world’s largest walk in aviaries, and is home to 3000 birds and over 200 species. Naturally, I was loving life. Scarlet Ibis, Hornbills, Kingfishers, Pelicans, Night Herons, many birds I’d never heard of.
My favourite was the Superb Starling.
I don’t think the girls enjoyed their visit as much as me. A duck flew into Chloe’s face at one point, and Caitlin was nipped on the thigh by a cheeky Painted Stork, which was hilarious.
Chloe had told us that KL suffers from enormous storms every few days, and we were lucky enough to experience one during our visit to the Bird Park. Sheltering from the pelting rain under a wooden shack, the lightning whipped and the thunder burst our ear drums. It was immense, like nothing we had heard before. It was as if a mountain had been split in half. A small child was terrified next to us, his father consoled him. The gang of Painted Storks didn’t flinch during the whole ordeal.
We spent an afternoon up in the clouds of the Genting Highlands as well, which is basically a bunch of hotel resorts 1800m up above KL. There’s a temple, a Buddha statue, retail outlets, a massive entertainment centre at the top filled with bars, restaurants, casinos etc; it felt surreal that all this was perched so high up (we caught the cable car to the top). It was much cooler up there though, under 20 degrees, which gave us a break from the constant 30+ degree temperatures and humidity we still haven’t got used to.
One of the highlights of our stay in KL was the authentic Indian meal we had at Sri Paandi; a tiny, non descript restaurant in Little India. The waiter arrived with various curries, rice and sauces which were laid out on a huge banana leaf in front of us. We didn’t delve in with our hands like the locals, which amused an old lady in the corner as she watched us dissect our meals with cutlery. Nonetheless, it was tasty and it was one of the best meals we’ve had in ages.
We thanked Chloe for her hospitality, proper tea and for introducing us to the Greatest Showman. On the 10th April, we reluctantly left her flat for KL Sentral, where we caught the train 4 hrs north, to Penang.
After enduring sub zero temperatures on the train (the A/C was on full, the fleeces were out) we arrived at Butterworth station, just across the bridge from Penang Island, where we would be staying. We learned that Grab/Uber are killing the local taxis in SE Asia, but as we found out, the taxis are way more expensive so you can’t blame tourists for choosing the cheaper option.
We stayed in George Town, the capital of Penang and a UNESCO World Heritage site since ’08. It has its fair share of shopping plazas, historical buildings, food hawkers and famous street art. Before exploring the town on our first day, we had breakfast at a small bakery (Continental Bakery), which was a short walk from our guest house. We scoffed a simple egg tart and apple pie, but they were delightful. The aroma of freshly baked bread was something we hadn’t experienced in a while.
George Town is famous for its street art, so we spent a couple of hrs ticking off a list of them, here’s some of the stand-outs.
Oh, Caitlin got a henna done as well. She was desperate.
We also visited the Peranakan Mansion, which is a pastel green building from the street, but inside it’s like stepping back to the 19th century. We learned that the mansion was owned by a prominent Chinese baba back in the day, who had many wives and smoked a lot of Opium with his pals. The place is full of priceless gems and ornate furniture you can’t get anymore.
An afternoon was spent at Entopia, which is a large butterfly farm about an hour from George Town. With indoor and outdoor enclosures, housing butterflies, monitor lizards, rhinoceros beetles and scorpions, to name a few.
Travel Ramblings 