A weekend in Kuala Lumpur

If there’s one thing I love about being a bum, aside from waking up late, it would be gettingto travel to interesting places close to Singapore. Three weeks ago, we booked flights for Kuala Lumpur since it was a long weekend here because of their celebration of the National Day Parade. 

On our way 

We got flight via Tiger Airways from SG-KL for SGD 100 for two persons. For our return flight, we booked AirAsia tickets for SGD 109. These are the cheapest flights we got given that is another last minute travel plans like four days before the trip.

We took an 8PM Tiger Airways flightfrom Changi Airport Budget Terminal and arrived in Kuala Lumpur’s Low CostCarrier Terminal (LCCT) almost 9PM. After going through immigration,exchanging a few Singapore dollars to Malaysian ringgits, we took the Aerobusgoing to KL Sentral for RM 8. Their airport is far from the city approximately a 1-hrdrive. You won’t miss the booths selling bus tickets because they are right outside once you get out the arrival hall. There are other bus routes but since our hotel is in KL Sentral we took Aerobus which offered that route.

We reached KLSentral almost 12MN. Our hotel is just a walking distance from KL Sentral whichis Malaysia’s largest transit hub. It is connected to the six railsystems in Kuala Lumpur. There are also taxi and car rentals here, and businessestablishments like fastfoods, stores, money exchange, etc. 

MyHotel

We kinda gotlost on our way to MyHotel @ Sentral. There are no signs leading you to whichdirection. We just relied on KL Streetdirectory map we downloaded. There was anongoing construction at KL Sentral which made it a bit difficult to find ourway. Good thing, there was a security personnel and we just asked directions.

We arrived inMyHotel and checked in. We paid RM 110 for the room for our first night staysince it was required. We’ve stayed in MyHotel Bangkok before and we likedit. So we opted to try another MyHotel, this time in KL. The moment we got intoour room, we noticed that it was noisy. And we wondered why, we looked into ourwindow and found that our room is situated in a side street where there is a bardownstairs. Ugh. I was looking for a quiet night to sleep. There was no fridgeand our cable only had five channels  -all of them were about the Olympics. 

De Luxe Room

other side of the room

I got bit disappointed. And yeah, nowarm water in the shower although it says its hot. Oh wells. The roomwasn’t so bad except I just thought. Fresh and clean sheets, firm bed, spacious and clean room..moved on!

the hotel entrance

Since we wereon a limited time, we carefully chose what we wanted to see in Kuala Lumpur. Wedid Genting Highlands, Petronas Towers, Batu Caves, streetfood dinner at JalanAlor, Bukit Bintang, and food adventure.

Petronas Towers

It’s best tosee Petronas Towers at night. The lights are all out and night shots are justglorious. You see all the lights illuminating from the towers and it’s a sightto behold.

We did all theshots we can think of.  Good thing webrought a mini tripod. 

streetsmartgirl @ Petronas

lovers in Petronas

just another Petronas shot

Jalan Alor 

Jalan Alor islocated in Bukit Bintang which is the main shopping and entertainment area in KL. You will findan array of food stalls in both side of the streets. You may get overwhelmed atfirst because of the peddlers urging you to eat in their restaurants. We toohad a hard time deciding where to have our dinner. 

But as they say, eat wherethe crowd is and so we did.

food coma :)

Jalan Alor istruly a foodie paradise where you can sample authentic Malaysian cuisine.We had chili crab, cereal prawns, and chicken fried rice. Fantastic street food!

Bukit Bintang

Bukit Bintangor BB is known as the shopping and entertainment center of KL. You will findhere a number of shopping malls. And when you say mall, I’d say BUY! We strolledaround some malls in the area like Lot 10, Fahrenheit 88, Pavilion KL, BB Plaza(like Greenhills), Sungei Wang Plaza, and Low Yat Plaza which is the one-stopshop for gadgets.

Pavilion KL - high end shopping mall

Lot 10 - nearest mall to Bukit Bintang monoral station

Fahrenheit 88

I was able tobuy three pairs of shoes from Vincci or VNC as popularly known in Manila.

shoe shopping at Vincci

Batu Caves

The Batu Cavesis in Erick’s must-go places ever since we planned to visit KL in 2010. But itdidn’t push through. So he was delighted that finally we will able to go andsee Batu Caves. 

Batu Caves is a sacred place for the Hindus in Malaysia. Itconsisted of three big caves and smaller ones. We went there by taking the KTMtrain in KL Sentral bound for Batu Caves. You won't get lost because the laststation is Batu Caves and from there the site is a walking distance.

Batu Caves

We alsoascended the 272 steps; these steps are kinda steep so be careful.

On the way up

There arealso monkeys along the way chancing uponyour belongings especially if you are carrying plastic bag with food inside.  

monkeys are usual sight in batu caves

I was amazedby the structure of the Batu Caves. It was huge inside and there are many temples full of devotees.

One of the many temples

At the end of the biggest cave which is named Cathedral Cave you will see a large opening when you look above. 

big opening at the end of the cave

Foodtrip

Any trip would not be complete without trying the local cuisine. We would not miss trying authentic Malaysian food. Here are some of the yummiest food we had while in Malaysia.

Penang Fried Kway Teow

This dish is made from flat rice noodles and stir-fried in soy sauce, chili, prawns, squid, mussels, bean sprouts, and chives.

Chicken satay

How could anyone miss chicken satay while in KL? It's one of the most popular dishes in Malaysia. The barbecued chicken is best served with rice but you can also eat it on its own.

Chicken fried rice

We also tried chili crab when we had dinner at Jalan Alor. The crab is stir-fried in semi-thick, sweet and spicy-based sauce. The crab that we ate was actually sweet and spicy.

Chili crab

Cereal prawn

Fried chicken with fries and salad

This is it for now. I'll post our Resorts World Genting experience in my next entry :D

PS: Sorry for uber late posts. Work has been crazy lately :P

Mt Kinabalu National Park and Poring Hot Spring Tour (day 3)

Despite our bad headaches, we woke up early the next day for our Mt Kinabalu and Poring Hot Spring Tour. We arranged  the tour through a local guide. There was a bit of a mix-up though, the tour agency thought that we were 5 in the group so they gave a rate good for 5 which was actually a lot cheaper. When the guide picked us up and coordinated with his manager thru the phone, the manager was surprised to know that we were only three. He gave us a higher rate so we declined and decided to cancel the tour. The guide talked to his manager and he convinced him to give it to us at the same rate. He finally agreed. Yay! Turns out our tour guide, Amin, is a Filipino also from Mindanao. He grew up and studied in Sabah but he is Filipino by birth.

We paid around RM 130-150 (Php1900+) for the entire tour, which included transportation, entrance fees, lunch, and a guided tour.

Mt. Kinabalu Park was the first thing in our agenda. It was a 1.5 hour drive from the city with winding roads and scenic mountain views. We stopped first at a viewing deck and souvenir center to take pictures of Mt Kinabalu. It’s best to view the mountain in the morning because you can see the peaks. In the afternoon, the clouds cover portions of Mt Kinabalu.

 Mt. Kinabalu awed me at first sight

While Nino and Anna slept during most of the travel, I was wide awake enjoying the view. As soon as our van went uphill, we felt the cool mountain air. Very refreshing!

We visited the museum first where we learned about Sabah’s history. For history buffs like moi, I bet you know that Sabah was originally part of the Philippines during the early times of the sultanate of Sulu. In 1870s, an Austrian expeditionary leased Sabah from the Sultan in exchange of weapons to be used against the Spaniards. The lease continued until Malaysia gained its independence. Amin, our guide, shared that most of the people in Sabah are Filipinos from Mindanao but they don’t speak Filipino anymore. They prefer that Sabah remains part of Malaysia because the government provides them jobs. He shared that he actually goes to the Philippines through the backdoor.

Learning about Sabah's history and wildlife

After that, we went to the Timpohon Gate – the first gate to the trail going to Mt. Kinabalu. Actually, there are two trails to climb Mt. Kinabalu – Timpohon and Mesilau. Timpohon trail is recommended to newbies because it has the shortest route to aban Rata – the lodge whe you’ll be staying at. Mesilau, on the other hand, offers a more challenging route.

Timpohon Gate

At the gate, we saw mountain climbers as they prepared for their ascent to Mt. Kinabalu.

A porter registering at Timpohon Gate

Amin, pointing the trail to the summit

I’ve joined minor climbs and it was always an achievement reaching the peak of the mountain no matter how easy or challenging the climb is. I want to climb Mt Kinabalu in the near future, after all it is Southeast Asia’s highest peak. There’s really something about this mountain that captured me. It’s so majestic and mysterious. So next year, wait til I conquer Mt. Kinabalu :)

 Malay ladies :)

Sporting our best turista pose 

We drove to for an hour to visit another tourist destination in Sabah, Poring Hot Spring (PHS). Before we went inside, we had a lunch first at a nearby restaurant. The meal was already included in our package tour.

Aside from the natural hot spring, the park offers other attractions like the canopy walkway, butterfly garden, and orchid conservation center, Rafflesia flowe site. Rafflesia is the largest flower in the world. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in bloom by the time we visited Malaysia.

At Poring Hot Spring

Tiring but fun canopy walk

After the canopy walk, we soaked into the warm water with sulphuric minerals of Poring. We chose an enclosed tub for the three of us. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do since it was a hot day to begin with.

Soaking in really hot water on a scorching day

We arrived in Lavender Lodge a little past 8pm. We were in the mood again for some party but we wanted to try other bars aside from those found at the Waterfront. So we googled and learned that there is another party scene in KK – Times Plaza.

at KK Times Plaza

We tried White Room. The place is new and has a great party mood. Nino managed to get us in the VIP lounge without paying extra. He must have talked to the bouncer who was Pinoy also.

White Room

It was our last night in KK and we made most out of it. KK nights are the best :)

Dance like nobody's watching

Btw, if you’re going to KK Times Plaza through a cab, get his number or make sure you have a card of a taxi service. We got stranded there because there were no cabs at all. We had to walk to the main highway to hail a cab. It wasn’t really safe.

Beach bumming at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (day 2)

As much as we wanted to wake up early on our real first day in KK, we had a quite hard time to drag ourselves from the bed. Blame the Tiger beer for that!

Our hostel receptionist arranged a taxi for us to bring us to Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal where take a boat to the the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Our kind receptionist also gave us the card of a tour operator in Jesselton. 

Anna and I at the Jesselton Ferry Terminal

Upon arriving at the terminal, we booked our tour through Aparu Holiday Tours. We paid around RM 50 (Php700) for the terminal fee and transportation to- and from- the two islands, Mamutik and Manukan Islands. We wanted to include Sapi or Gaya Islands but since we started late that today, the travel agent said it can’t be included anymore. Awww. The two islands are really what we wanted to see because we heard that the beaches are more beautiful and there are less crowd. Oh well.

Busy day at the terminal

We boarded the speedboat with other passengers to the marine park. It took us only 10 minutes to reach our first destination, Mamutik Island. Whew, that was fast! I can’t help but compare how we do our island hopping here in the Philippines. You know what I’m talking about.

The speedboat dropped us off at Mamutik Island first. We paid RM 10 (Non-Malaysian) for the admission to the island which is good for all the islands you will visit. There was fewer crowds in the island so we found a good spot near the shore. The sand is not that fine and white but the water is perfect for swimming and snorkeling. 

quiet beach time at Mamutik Island

with travel buddies Nino and Anna

After an hour of staying the island, we proceeded to the docking station and waited for our speedboat for our parasailing. Yay!

It was my first time to try parasailing. I was both ecstatic and nervous.; I am not good in the water and I am also scared of heights. But for the excitement, I wanted to experience getting high in the sky and being submerged into the water. By the way, I paid RM 30 (Php 900) for this 20-minute activity.

Uh oh...

Anna is all smiles while I look STUPID

Getting the hang of it

Now being submerged into the water

After our parasailing, the speedboat brought us to Manukan Island which is the most famous of the entire islands comprising the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. It has a number of facilities like restaurants, convenience store, shower and changing rooms, and a lodge (Sutera Lodge) where you can spend a night. The facilities more specifically the shower rooms are not that well-maintained but that would suffice.

Manukan Island docking station

One of the Sutera lodges

As expected, there were lots of people in the island mostly Caucasians. We settled in the far-end of the beach to avoid the crowd. I can say that the sand is not 100% fine and white, if you compare it to Boracay. Pinas beachers are still the best! But what I love most in Manukan Island is the abundance of fishes near the shore and the cool bluewater. I enjoyed snorkeling to my heart’s delight. 

Beachineering at Manukan Island

Calm water

We spent our rest of our day here, just getting ourselves baked, soundtripping,drinking Tiger beer,  eating, swimming, and just enjoying the sunny Kota Kinabalu day. This is the life! 

Beer and beach

At around 5pm, we left the island and was back in Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal. We planned to go to 1Borneo, which is the largest mall in East Malaysia, for some serious shopping so we left our bags first at Lavender Lodge. There is a free shuttle bus to- and from- 1Borneo being 30 minutes away from the city center. We arrived in the mall around 730pm and ate dinner at KFC. 

Afterwards, we looked for the Vincci shop (VNC). Vincci is actually located inside Padini Concept Store. They sell not only shoes, but bags, accessories, clothes, and other ladies apparel as well.

Whew! Shoe shopping is crazy. Anna and I went gaga over their shoe collection. And what’s great is that the prices are half compared when you buy Vinnci (VNC) here in Manila. Yay for that!

SHOES <3

Happy, obviously

We almost missed the last bus going back to the city at 10:30pm because of shopping.. hehe

Our day wasn’t over yet. As soon as we arrived at Lavender, we were in the mood for some clubbing.

We decided to parteyyy at BED since that’s where the most people are.. We orderd a pitcher of Margarita and finger foods. Drinking in KK is kinda expensive, so better share among yourselves.

After party

Party all night until we drop!