Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The last stop on my mini-Asia trip. When I was looking at flights to Taiwan, it ended up being cheaper to break up the trip in multiple cities than by a round trip Australia-Taiwan ticket. Plus, the thought of breaking the long flights up into smaller sections was very appealing. So, off to Malaysia!

I expected to love Kuala Lumpur. But a combination of sadness from saying goodbye to friends, end of vacation blues, and an uncertainty in the language - I felt very lonely. I wanted to share the experience with someone...and I needed friends to share the amazing food so I could try more things!

But, the travels must carry on. I had a list of things I wanted to do and see as well as recommendations from my friend who had grown up here. By far my favorite day was spent taking the train to see Batu Caves. The colors and details at all the temples and shrines I visited took my breath away. In order to be respectful, the women had to either wear clothing that covered their knees or wrap a scarf around their waist. When it’s 90 degrees and 100% humidity, the thought of wearing long pants is just not an option, so I went in favor of the scarf around the waist.

My last night, I decided to “splurge” and upgraded from my $7 a night shared room hostel to a $13 a night AirBnB private room and rooftop pool. Considering how hot the weather had been the past few weeks, I hadn’t spent any time in the water. Very unlike me. A refreshing pool swim was very necessary. And the view of the city was stunning.

Similar to Singapore and Taipei, the best places to get food were the night markets and hawker centres. I tried traditional Malay dishes such as nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk served with sides of hard boiled egg and a chicken curry), laksa (a spicy noodle soup), more satay.

While not my favorite city, I enjoyed the city lit up at night and the diverse culture. I could have gone without the dripping sweat and inappropriate men on the street, but what can you do!