Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend, I start to be more and more excited about writing this blog and having the opportunity to share my pictures and stories to perfect strangers. I hope you like it and I have so many projects and content ideas.I am finishing a video about KL as well, the tone is different but I would be happy to have your opinion about it. Do you like travel videos? And if you do, what kind of content do you prefer: vlog, documentary styles or just videos with music background? Please don't be shy and leave me a comment at the end of this post or on my social media pages, your opinion is still important :-)
For my last post, here is some extra information and impressions about my 2 days in Kuala Lumpur.
For this short trip, I prepared mixing different contents online and in city guides. I am a bit of a control freak, so I always have a list of things to do and/or see.
Where to stay
Hostelworld is the website I always use to compare rates and fares for hostels and B&B. I always mix information between this site and also Airbnb, Tripadvisor or even Trivago...That time, I found a private double bedroom, with shared bathroom in a Chinatown hostel. It was enough for privacy and we were able to leave our luggage after checkout so we could spend our last day visiting the city. The place was clean and safe so we could feel comfortable.
Note that Hostelworld provides some free and interesting city guides for short trips.
I know everyone has a different idea about vacations and travels, depending on your budget, mentality or the number of guests, choosing the right place to stay isn't always easy. I don't always trust negative reviews as we don't know the circumstances but if you only find negatives comments for the same place you better try another place.
In my situation, I didn't want to spend too much money in Kuala Lumpur as I was going to stay in France for the next 4 months, a luxury hotel in the Golden Triangle wasn't an option.
I am now planning a few weeks holidays in Japan and options are of course different and I am actually saving for at least one stay in a traditional Ryokan.
The budget travellers may prefer couchsurfing and I heard some nice experience about couchsurfing in KL, as long as the cultural barrier doesn't affect your stay and your host.
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| View on the temple from the Rooftop of the hostel |
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| View from the rooftop of the hostel |
Speaking about cultural barrier, KL is a multicultural city, with Little India and Chinatown, different cultures are represented. For instance, shoulders may be covered for temples visits, mostly for muslim and hindu religions. I should admit there that by the high humidity and temperatures, I had difficulties complying with this rules outside visits, while walking around the city and noticed a lot of occidental girls like me in the same situation. Although the presence of tourists in some areas is high, I noticed some shocked looks on me, wearing a sleeveless top and even in the airport. Some people don't really pay attention to this cultural barriers but as I am a tourist, I always prefer being mixed in the mass instead of dragging unconsciously the attention on me.
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Transports and not getting lost
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Well, I am sorry in advance, but I don't have the miracle solution not to get lost,unless you have a lot of internet data to use a GPS on your phone, I always trust the old map.
You have many more options depending on your travel, I am just sharing my experience here.
From and to the airport
We tried 2 differents methods. When we arrived, it was late, around 11 pm,so we decided to take a taxi. Prices are always a bit higher during the night, although I tried to use my negotiation skills... To be improved ;-) On the way back, we took the KLIA express to the airport from the center. It's direct, easy, not too pricey... What else?
In around the city
Although the presence of taxis is striking in the city, we found the metro and train system easy. For only 2 days, most of the main attractions are well served. Once that said, the train is the budget friendly option.We also had a mini map and a guide which was helpful with some detailed areas.
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| A train station in KL |
Weather, hygiene and ambiance
Humid would be word to qualify the weather in KL. With temperatures over 30 degrees, we were never cold although the sun was hidden by the pollution clouds above the city. You can notice on the pictures that the sky seems to be white or grey, but barely blue.
The water in the river was also very polluted and you can be disgusted only by the sight of it! But drinkable water is easy to find, you are in a city after all, and some refill spots can also be found in the street.
I wish I would have had more time to visit some other parts of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur was an experience with its busy ambiance but I think I would enjoy even more some secluded parts of the country to be able to improve my knowledge about the culture and to try local food as well!
So, is Kuala Lumpur rich or poor?
Answering that question would be answering about Malaysian situation. I am not an economist, but what striked me the most are the contrasts between the different parts of the city. You could see people sleeping in the streets or selling "sewing machines" made up of staples and a piece of fabric. Malay are full of resources and so is their country!
On the other side, you can go on the top of the Petronas towers, named after a big petrol company, and spend as much money in shopping as you could do in Paris...
After reading that, you can relate to a lot of developing countries where distribution of wealth issues need to be worked out.
As long as you are aware of it, it shouldn't prevent you from enjoying this complex city.
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