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Useful informations
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia and the biggest in the country. The vibrant city offers many cultural attractions as it holds different populations with different religion. The city is growing very fast and that’s why it is the fifth biggest economic city in the ASEAN.
To visit Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia in general here is what you need to know.
- You need a UK plug to charge your devices.
- The currency is the Malaysian ringgit. As for today 1€ is around 6rm.
- The majority of the country is from a Muslim confession. I advice you to wear modest clothes and cover your knees and shoulders if you want to respect the people.
How to get around
- They drive on the left ( like every ex-british colony). You can rent a car but I wouldn’t recommend it if you only stay in Kuala Lumpur.
- The easiest way to go around is to take a Grab. The average ride’s price was 1.5€ for us. You can download the app on your phone.
- You can choose the metro option too. It’s the cheapest option but it won’t take you everywhere and you need to walk a lot to see certain attractions.
Things to do
- Masjid Wilayah Persekutan
- Thean Hou Temple
- Batu Caves
- Botanical Garden
- KL Forest Eco Park
- Petronas Towers
- Jln Alor
- Central Market
- Museum of Islamics arts
Masjid Wilayah Persekutan
This mosque must be one of my favorite place to visit in Kuala Lumpur. At the second you enter you can feel the peaceful and quiet atmosphere. The building itself isn’t too old as it was finished in 2002 but the architect got inspire by several monuments around the world (the Taj Mahal for example) to create this beauty.
You need to cover your shoulders and knees to enter. If you have a scarf bring it along with you but if you didn’t take any they will land it for free for you.
The entrance is free and there is a guide as well (free) to explain you everything you need to know about this mosque. Feel free to ask all your questions as well. Our guide was really sweet and she was very interested to answer all my interrogations about the place and the religion.
Thean Hou Temple
Continuing with my second favorite place in Kuala Lumpur, Thean Hou Temple is one of the most famous Chinese temple in the capital. It was dedicated to the goddess of the fishermen. The Temple itself is beautiful and decorated with lots of lanterns. No wonders that lot of Chinese couples come to take their wedding pictures in this place.
The entrance is free. However I recommend taking a Grab there as the location is not any near public transports and very far by walk.
Batu Caves
It might be an unpopular opinion but as famous as Batu Caves are, I didn’t quite like it. Don’t take me wrong it is a beautiful place with these gorgeous colorful stairs and the huge statue of Marugan. However it is crowded all the time by tourists, locals, monkeys and pigeons. It is a holy place and I feel the devoted are not really in peace to pray when coming to this temple. This is only my feeling but I felt I was disturbing a bit. Also the monkeys are very aggressive and to scared at all. I did not feel safe around them.
If you want to visit the entrance is free. The stairs are a little walk but you get at the top quite quickly.
Museum of islamics arts
This museum is one of the highlight for me. The architecture looks gorgeous and the museum itself is very interesting. My favorite part was the second floor with representations of mosques around the world. Such a great place!
The entrance is 40rm per person.
Botanical Garden
It is small but cute. It is not a must do but if you want to chill and walk in the nature it is a good spot.
KL forest park
For me this is a little scam. The entrance is 40rm (around 7-8€) and the park is really small. You walk on canopies which is kind of fun but there is not much to see and you’ve done literally everything in 15 minutes.
Petronas Towers
I haven’t visited them but they are very pretty and worth a visit. My room had the view on them and it was absolutely gorgeous especially at night when they lighted up.
Actually if you are interested to visit them and combined it with other activities you can join a day tour of Kuala Lumpur. They are quite a lot of options but these tours are the most popular.
Jln Alor
This street holds the biggest food night market. It is very popular and you’ll find lots of people but it is worth the visit! I’d recommend to take a meal at least once here while you’re in KL.
Central Market
The central market and the Petaling street market are two very close places. You can go walk around and find some souvenirs at these locations.
If you are interested in Asian big cities have a look at my blog post : 10 FREE things to do in Singapore
Where to stay ?
Ceylonz Suites : You can find several flat or studio on Booking and Airbnb. They are located in a skyscraper of 39 floors. You can access to a rooftop pool, a bar, a gym and even a laundry. We stayed in one of the flat and it was the perfect location to get around the city. It is also the best offer I found in term of price and quality. I really recommend it.
Scarletz Suites by Exsim : This is another place similar to the Ceylonz. I personally didn’t stay there but one of my friend did and really enjoyed it. They have a pool and a gym as well and the price is similar to the Ceylonz.
Bonus : Where to eat ?
- VCR : Really nice place for coffee and breakfast.
- Timothy Cafe : my favorite place for brunch in KL.
- LOKL Café : Another coffee place.
- 1947 Namaste India : Really nice Indian restaurant.
- Damascus Bukit Bintang : The best Kebab in town.
- Jln Alor : The street food market.
