SPEAKER_00 0:02

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain Speaking. Welcome aboard Truly Expat Travel, where we're ditching the guidebooks, fastening our seatbelts, and diving into real stories from travelers who have traded the ordinary for the extraordinary, proving the world really is too big to be left upon the table.

Why KL is underrated and Paula's history living there

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Cabin crew be seated and ready for takeoff. Welcome back to the Truly Expat Travel podcast. I'm your host, Paula, and today I'm going to talk to you about a place that I once lived in Malaysia called Kuala Lumpa. I'm pretty sure everyone's heard of Kuala Lumpa, and I'm pretty sure most people in Asia or who've travelled in Asia have either, you know, stopped through there or actually been there. But I want to talk about Kuala Lumpa because I think it's underrated. I think that most people just stop in and think that they will, it's just a city, but there is a lot to do, so let me get started. Firstly, I was in Kuala Lumpa for three years before I was in Singapore. And in that time, I lived in both Monquiara, which is a very big expat area, and Demansara Heights, which is also a very big expat area. The good thing I guess about Kuala Lumpa is that you could live anywhere and it really doesn't matter. You don't actually have to be in an expat area. We just chose there because we weren't sure at the time whether or not my son would be going to school in Monchiara or whether or not I would be, he would be going to school in at the Australian school, which he did, which was kind of not anywhere near that. But the reason we chose Monchiara was because it was kind of halfway between the city where my husband worked and the school, the Australian school, which was out further near at the mines shopping mall and a cyber jar or kind of that kind of area. So anyway, let's get started. I guess I wanted to talk to you about Kuala Lumpa and what it's famous for. So okay, it's famous for its food and shopping. Firstly, I quite often, even when I was living, I can say this now, when I was living in Singapore, which was literally last week, I I go up there quite a bit, you know, and I wanted to say two things, right? Firstly, is

Singapore to KL by bus — why it beats flying

SPEAKER_01 2:10

that yes, you can catch a plane there, but also I did a whole thing where I caught a bus. So there is a bus line, which I'll link in the show notes, that I highly recommend because I actually enjoyed the bus ride to KL from Singapore better than I liked the flight. And that is because of two things. One is the, yeah, sure, you do get a lot of traffic. I've driven back and forwards to Kuala Lumpur. I used to drive back and forwards over quite a few times to Singapore. And you can do that. It's it's a lot of traffic, but you can do that. So if you pick a time that is outside of the main traffic jams, you know, the rush hours, then you should be sweet. You should be fine, and you want there won't be a big build-up at the border. That's where the main congestion is getting in and out of Singapore or in and out of Kuala Lumpur, either way. So the reason I really enjoyed it was because they're big seats like you would get in a business class, and they're also you get a screen so you can watch TV and their little desk and you get a little meal. It's not great, but it you get a meal and you can relax, actually. You can actually relax. So I would I've done it a couple of times where I have watched movies when it was a night trip, or if it's a day trip, I've done got my laptop out and worked. I think that the reason I also really liked it is because it drops you into KL, into the city. If you were to catch a plane, the city is not very close to the airport. So it's about an over an hour's drive in traffic, or it's about an hour's drive in without traffic, or you can catch a train. So it's it stop it it prevents that. And also you you're waiting two hours, you have to be at the airport two hours before, anyway. So for me, all up, it took me about five and a half hours. If I was to catch a plane, the plane rides one hour, be there an hour, three hours, uh two hours before, then you have to be an hour to take you there. It's pretty much roughly close to all the same. So yeah, I would highly recommend catching the bus. I really liked it. And it's it's an excuse to just, and you know what, I can actually do more work on the on the bus than I could if I was flying anyway, because you get that one hour in the bar, and then you get an hour or so at the airport. Anyway, I digress. Let's let's get started. So, yeah, I quite often went up there for food, because the food is great, and also the shopping, it's so much cheaper than it is in Singapore. So for me, when I lived there, that's the one thing I loved. We I went to there is lots of malls, like there is next level amount of malls that there are for everything. So just be wary that when you go, it's going to be busy. But you know, you've got the main ones in the city, the pavilion and the uh twin towers and the new one called T-Rex. Wait, so if you park yourself in the city, the last time I was there, I actually stayed near the pavilion so that I could walk to the pavilion and I could also walk to the new mall, which you know what, for all of a sudden has escaped me the name, but I will put it in the show notes for you. And also the food, the food is incredible and it's it's cheap. It is cheap compared to what you would get in Singapore. It is so much cheaper. It's also famous for the Twin Towers or the Petronius Towers, which is iconic. So you

What KL is famous for: food, shopping and multicultural culture

SPEAKER_01 5:30

see them from everywhere, really, in in the city. You can go up to the towers or you can eat. There's a big shopping mall underneath, so there's a lot of restaurants that I used to go to. I used to go to Twin Towers a lot, to be honest, and that was because I had some really good cafes and stuff, so I would meet up with friends. It's also famous for multicultural living. So you have, like you do in Singapore, you have your three cultures. You have your Chinese, you have your Indian, and predominantly you have your Malay, obviously, because you're Malaysia, which then makes you that which which is quite unique, and it also allows you three amazing cuisines to try. So, yes, you can find areas there that are predominantly the type of food, but generally speaking, you can find it anywhere, except, I mean in Chinatown, you find Chinese food, but and there's an area that has is very similar to Little India where you can find really good banana leaf curries and stuff. So that is also what it's famous for. And it's also really a mix of ultra modern versus old style Malay. So in Singapore, they've got rid of pretty much all of the kampongs, which are the little villages. I think you have one kampong left in Singapore, but in Kuala Lumpa you still have them, which is really lovely. So you see those little towns that have got the still traditional way of living. I like that about Malay, Malaysia, and I like that about Kuala Lumpa. It's always gets, you know, it's a bigger country, Malaysia, but it also it's it's just so much to explore outside of the city. But and we'll talk about that in a little bit later, but in KL itself, it is a busy city. It's a little more rustic. I'm gonna say it's a little more rustic. It isn't as safe as Singapore, so you do still have to be careful of your bags and stuff for pickpocketers. But generally speaking, it's much more safer than a lot of other places that I've ever been on my own. It's also famous for night markets, they've got lots of night markets there and hawker centers. So they've got hawker stores, they've got the old traditional way of food carts outside, pop-up stores, you've got areas where you can actually go to the little, they're not quite haul centers like we have in Singapore. They're a little different because they're not regimented like they are in Singapore. There's still, there is still hawker centres, though. They're similar. It's an easy gateway to the rest of the Malaysia. Places in Malaysia that you want to go and and visit, you will stop in KL to get there outside when you come in into the country. It's it's a diverse, I've I said you spoke about that, it's diverse and it's a diverse country with lots of different religions. So the areas and the attractions that I want I think you should visit, or the things that I want to recommend is definitely Booker Bintang. So Booker Bintang is the area where you've got bars and restaurants. So at night it's lively. Yeah, sure, it's a little bit touristy, but I actually really like it. I, you know, even when I wasn't living there before I was living there, I used to go there all the time. I guess I didn't go there as much when I was living there, but when I did, I always had a lot of fun. There's a Havana bar on the end, there's quite a few good little restaurants. You can walk up and down and see what you feel like. It's just got a really good vibe. You can walk there from kind of like you can walk there from the the city centre, the like near the pavilion or or the twin towers, but I would just you can catch a grab as well, but we'll get to that in a minute. Chinatown, definitely go to Chinatown. It's not as big as other places like Singapore, but there they do have a Chinatown. They've got lots of stores. Uh it's everything that you you expect. You can do, you can put your feet in the water and do the the fishes and stuff if that's your thing. You can do mass get massages. I mean, the massages there are a quarter of the price in sync from Singapore, but they're just as good. Or in fact, sometimes I think they're even better. You can get a full body massage, foot massage, whatever. There's so many places to get them done. So you could probably get it. I don't know. The last time I was there, I got a foot massage for like $20 Singapore dollars, $25 Singapore dollars, which is, I don't know, whatever currency that you're you're uh speaking, that you're thinking in. Batu Caves is another place that is definitely worth uh jumping on your bucket list because it's changed. They've done it all up. So they've painted the stairs now. Um you can go into the caves and have a look at the beautiful temple. Be careful of the monkeys. The monkeys are smart and they're angry. The monkeys in Malaysia seem to be a little bit more hostile than they do they are in Singapore, but for whatever reason. But the monkeys

Batu Caves — the temple, painted stairs and monkey warning

SPEAKER_01 10:15

there, they smell everything. So keep away from them completely. Ignore them, put all your food in your backpack and zip it up because they will attack you because they'll smell it. Drink bottles, put them in your do not do not allow them to see anything because they'll try and grab it. And do not, whatever you do, try and get a photo with them because I've seen a guy get attacked while I was there. There is also cave tours you can do, you can yeah, in there if that's your thing as well. I would also go to you KLCC Park around there. The skyline is just beautiful. It's cooler at night, like much cooler. So if you are going to do any walking, the nighttime is probably a better option. I do find it so much hotter in KL, and I think that's because you don't have the the breeze of the ocean and all of those sky rise buildings, make it more condensed and hot and sweaty. I just find I'm really hot and sweaty there. So I don't really find myself out and about outside as much as I do in Singapore for whatever reason. So the KLCC park is lovely, but you do get pickpocketers there, so just be careful. So the best time to visit, I believe, is probably it depends on you. I prefer the the rainier season just because it's a little bit cooler. I'm not gonna say a lot, but it's a little bit cooler. The rain does cool it down a tiny bit. It used to be just lots of thunderstorms in the afternoon, but it seems to be raining all day now. And I I find that in Singapore as well. It's like an all-day thing. I do think if you are not the type of person that will go out and about in the rain, then maybe during the middle of the year is a better option. But re be reminded that it is super, super hot. And remember to always take an umbrella, always spray jacket. I don't take spray jackets because I get hot and sweaty in them, but take something to cover yourself. Also, shoes are really important if you're gonna walk out and about because the the footpaths are not quite some areas. The footpaths are a little bit tricky. So if you if you're wearing uncomfortable shoes, it's not the best place to be wearing them. So I'd be wearing some uncomfortable shoes if you're gonna go out walking. And I'd also make sure that you take, you know, I would also say take a little bit of cash with you as well as your card. And I'd also take a portable fan if you're like me and you sweat a lot, because honestly, it it is next level. It gets really, really hot. Also, and take a shawl or a cardigan or something, because in the shopping malls and in the public transport, it's freezing, like freezing cold. In the movies, if you're gonna go to the movies theater, which I highly recommend because it's so cheap, especially if you go gold class, it's very, very affordable, but it is freezing, freezing.

Best time to visit and what to pack

SPEAKER_01 13:00

There's blankets in there for a reason. Getting around, so getting around, if you're not gonna hire a car, if you're not gonna travel all through Malaysia, then I wouldn't hire a car. Driving there is different. It's busy, like busy, busy. It used to, it was fine with me after a while, but the first couple of days I was there and driving, we actually had a driver for the first, I don't know how long it was, six months that we were living there, because it was scary, like really scary. And then when he left, we well, we I had to drive, I didn't have a choice. You get used to it. You just get used to it. But there's a lot of bikes, like a lot of motorbikes. So if you can avoid it because grabs there, which is like an Uber, is cheap. Like it's so, so affordable. So it, you know, it doesn't really make sense to drive if you don't have to. So I would either use grabs or there's a free kind of bus around the city if you're staying in the city, which is really lovely. It's um because it's free and it gets you from A to B pretty quickly. So I would use that. Trains, the trains are really good there now. They've got a whole new metro system in there. And also, I've never caught a bus, to be honest. I don't know what buses are like there. I have heard that they are not that great. So, not that I would avoid them. I just don't know. I can't really tell you that. There are some areas that are walkable, so but not many. I'll be honestly, not not that many. So, in terms of souvenirs, so if you don't want a magnet, I always say if you're not gonna get a magnet, then you definitely go off and get some handmade batic. Batic is, you know what, and I also, while you're there, I would do a batic class or even just go somewhere that shows you how they that they they print on the clothing. So it's a very old traditional style. I know that they also do batic in Indonesia and other places like Sri Lanka do it as well, but it's very, very famous in Malaysia. So you could get some batic prints, either prints for the you know, to stick on the wall and a frame, or batic clothing to wear. The other thing that's quite popular there or quite famous for is your pewter from Royal Selengore. So that you can get, you know what you can do actually? At the Royal Selengore Visitors Center, you can actually do a class where you can make some stuff like jewelry and things like that. I would do that. That that's actually quite unique. And I also

Getting around — Grab, trains and the free city bus

SPEAKER_01 15:20

would try their coffee. It's not for everyone, but copy, which is the same as it's actually the same as Singapore. So if you like the local coffee in Singapore, you'll like the local coffee in in uh Malaysia. Not my favourite thing in Malaysia. I actually stopped drinking coffee in Malaysia because I couldn't, I found it really hard to get a like an old school coffee, like a western coffee, if that's the way to explain it. So I did so I kind of stopped drinking coffee. It is uh very common to have iced coffee there just because it's very, very hot, which I found quite too bitter for me. Anyway, that's just me. The local tea's nice though, you know, because you Cameron Highlands is not that far away, which is all the tea plantations. So yeah, that the local tea is actually quite lovely if you like black tea. If you want your souvenirs like everyone else gets your your magnets and stuff, you can go to the central market, which is where you'll find all that stuff. Keyrings and scarves and you know, all those that sort of thing. You can also find the material that they use in Malaysian Airlines, if that's also your thing. Tipping. Now, I always get scared when I go to a place about tipping because I'm never sure whether or not I should or not. America's actually it's scarred me because I'm so worried. Like I'm about to head to the States and I'm super scared about tipping. So I'm just gonna have to have a lot of spare change on me and I don't know, especially when I'm traveling alone, it just bothers me. But anyway, let's let's get into the tipping. So the tipping in Malaysia really isn't it's not something that everyone does. However, if you go and get a massage, you do tip. Not that much, but you do you do tip. You round up if you're at a restaurant and you really like it. You you know, you tip your Uber driver or Grab driver if you want to. But generally speaking, not really. Cards are accepted more now than they ever have, and I think that was because of COVID, especially during COVID. But but you cash is good in hawker markets and things like that. So yeah, I would I would go with both. And if you don't already, if you use your own credit card, yeah, that's fine. But I actually use Revolut, and this is not a sponsored ad or anything, I'm just letting you know. I use Revolut when I travel, and I think that's because it's just

Souvenirs — batik and Royal Selangor pewter

SPEAKER_01 17:40

so easy. Because I can't, no one can ever scam me because I just put the money on there on how much I want to spend, and I don't put all my money on there, I just put a couple of days worth of what I want to spend because then I can't get scammed because there are come they can. I have heard of lots of scams in Malaysia. I know I've been, I have been, so that's why I use Revolute and Cash, and I have a bit of cash on me. The must-try foods. Now you have to try Nazilla Mark. I know we've spoken before. I spoke to Irene about Lankaui. So a lot of the same foods in Lankkaui is what I'm gonna kind of recommend here. But like Chakwai Tao, my husband's favourite. That's he this is he seems to buy purchase that everywhere we go if that's an option. Obviously, the banana leaf rice and the curry, I really like that. And the satay, the peanuts with the peanut sauce. I'm gonna be controversial and say I actually like it better than I like the Singapore one. I yeah, I really, really, really like it. The Roddy can I and you know, going to the hawker markets. But there are, if you want international food, you do have Nobu and you have a few other options like the oh my gosh, what is the name of it? F uh foo fegu, fair, cross that out. There are also high-end restaurants in and around KLCC that are some good options if that's more your thing and you don't want local foods. You've got, I said before, you've got no boo, and you've got that whole tower where is right next to KLCC. So for my perfect three-day itinerary, what I would do is I would, I would, I would actually go to a local coffee shop, not a fancy one, a local Malay coffee shop and try. Try their coffee just because you have to while you're there. I would walk around KLCC, I would have a look around there, I'd go up to the Patronas Towers and have a look up there. That should take your all your morning. So by the time you hit lunchtime, you'll be hungry and have something to eat at KLCC. You've got

Tipping culture and money tips

SPEAKER_01 19:50

all you've got a food court there, or you've got lots of restaurants. There's a Shushuan, actually, now I think about it, there's a Shushuan restaurant in KLCC that's worth trying. I've tried the it's a it's a chain, but I've tried it in Singapore and actually put it out on TikTok because I really loved it so much. So that's also worth trying if you like hot food. Okay, so in the afternoon, I would then go and look around pavilion. So today is all about shopping. And so by the time that evening by the time you hit that evening, I would definitely go to the helipad. So it's a bar on top of the it's a rooftop bar that once was a helipad. So that's why it's called helipad. It's um got beautiful views and it's definitely worth ticking off the box because I don't think I've ever been to anything quite like it anywhere in the world, to be honest. Okay, so day two, we're gonna do a little bit something different. In the morning, we're gonna go to Batu Caves. Now you have two options. You can stay there and do the you can stay there and do the cave walks, like the tours, which will then probably be most of your day. But if you don't want to do the cave orders walks and you just want to go see the temple, then I would go and spend the whole morning there. I would probably do a tour. That would probably be my best bet. I've only ever driven there, so I don't know how easy it would be to get there and what the cost would be in a grab. But I would do a tour because then you get to learn a little bit more about the area than what I did or what I did with my visitors, where we just walked around and had a look. Because there is a little temple there. There is inside, there's a big temple inside up the

Must-try foods

SPEAKER_01 21:30

steps, and also remember you have to cover your knees. So if you have a sarong or something like that, just bring it with you to cover yourself. That's what I normally do, or put a skirt on, a long skirt. If you're male, you can wear a skirt too if you want, but generally, if you're female, you wear the skirt. In the afternoon, go to okay, in the afternoon, go explore Chinatown, have a look around Central Market, and then I would go to Bangsar. So once you so Bangsar is a Really cool area. There's a lot of expats there, but there's a really cool area for lots of great restaurants and bars. So I would end up having my dinner there. I think that area is I love that area actually. It's quite nice to just kind of look look around. Day three, you're gonna do a big day trip outside of the city and you're gonna go to Malacca. You can actually go to Malacca for the day. It's a couple of hours there and a couple hours back. So I would do a tour for that one, unless you've got a car, because otherwise it's gonna be a bit hard to get there. Can catch the bus, but then then you might as well stay overnight. And we don't want to do that. So if you've only time, if you're time restricted, do a tour. You go to Malacca and you can do the river walk, and there's a lot of piranha history like you'd have in Singapore. There, you can get one of those little, I don't know what they're they're like, a trisau, but they're all all jazzed up and they've got lots of music happening and they've got lights and stuff. Yeah, you might as well do something like that while you're there. There's Dutch, there's a Dutch square, it's very European kind of history there. So I do the Dutch Square, there's red buildings, and also remember, I would go on an early morning tour. I wouldn't leave it too late. You can also go Jonka Street, that's kind of like the main street, and you can try the local food. There's some really great restaurants there as well. Try the chicken rice balls, they're they're nice, they're very nice. And then return to by the day by the by the night, you'll end up in KL. So, yeah, spend the whole day in Malacca. Now, I think that there are some hidden gems in the neighborhoods. So if you go to Majestic Hotel, it's probably one of my favorite hotels in it, has this most beautiful high tea. You can have high tea in the orchard room. It's so pretty. It is so, so pretty. So if you're gonna spend an extra day, definitely go there. Stay there if you can. They've got a beautiful brunch, yeah, yeah, like a brunch buffet style thing that you can go to, like a champagne brunch if you're there on the weekends. I think they still have that. I really, really like

Paula's perfect 3-day KL itinerary

SPEAKER_01 24:00

that hotel. I don't know, it's just quite some something quite special. Obviously, go to Banksar, go you can go to Publica, which is a little more artsy, creative, and it is less touristy. So if that's what you'd like to do. Kampong Baru, which is a traditional Malay area, it has amazing food. So if you and it's not that far from the city, and it's got skyscrapers in one section, and then you've got like little tiny resp houses in the right next to it. It's it's very, very cool. You don't really see that much in other places. And so, yeah, that's pretty much what I would do in Malaysia if I was there. Oh, the other thing, if you do have an extra day, you could also go to Cyberjaya around that area. It's a little bit far. So you can get your train there. Pretty sure you can get your train there. I think I have caught a train down there before. They have the pink mosque. It's quite um an interesting thing to do as well while you're there. They have um if you like birds, they've got a really great um bird park. Well, I'm not gonna say it's really great because I've been to other ones that are absolutely amazing. But if that's your thing, you can go to the bird park. And then there's a got like a little national park, not a national park, uh, botanical gardens there. It's it is small. There's some walk walking walkways you can do, you can go around there. You know, I think KL is underestimated because there is really great things you can do outside of KL as well. So you can go into the Fireflies, which is a a night, obviously a night thing, but you can also go off to the elephant sanctuary. That's also really lovely to see. So, yeah, if you're going to go to Malaysia, please try and stay there for at least a few days and check out the city because it has, I think it's worth going. I really do think it's worth going. But anyway, that's just me. So that's all from me today. And I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you do did, don't forget to like and subscribe. And I will see you next week on the Truly Expat Travel Podcast. Bye for now.