Kuala Lumpur in 72 hours
Destination
The city that never sleeps, Kuala Lumpar. Malaysia wasn’t on my primary list to visit soon but I found myself booking flight tickets to see a Korean girl group perform and honestly it was the best decision made. Malaysia somewhat felt like home, and I loved every moment of being in the country. If I had known how much things there were to do and see in this city, I would have stayed longer. We were there for one purpose (Mamamoo) so I had to squeeze as many things to see as possible, so this are tips and recommendations for Kuala Lumpur in 72 days.
How to get to desitnation
From Perth (Western Australia) to Malaysia; it takes about 5 hours 30 mins travel time, and a return ticket usually costs roughly $600- $700 (AUD) depending on when you booked and how long ago you booked. I booked 3 months before the trip, so it was fairly cheap. My sister was kind enough to accompany me to Malaysia on this short trip so I would not travel alone (not that Malaysia is unsafe, it’s better when you have a travel partner).If you read my other blog, you will know I travel on budgeted airlines, so we flew Batik Air and like Singapore we flew on a red eye flight as this was a cheaper option. Our flight was due to depart at 12:45am at night.
We live regional Western Australia (WA), by the time we arrived in Perth, it was 3pm so we checked into our Airbnb ($90) that was close to the airport. You can use the extra time to roam around Perth, but we took a small nap from 7pm to 10:00pm and got picked up by Taxi at 10:30am to head to the airport. We needed the sleep to travel the red-eye flight so $90 for Airbnb was worth the comfort. Meals are available on flight but in this instance, we worried about a comfy neck pillow and sleep. By the time we arrived it was roughly 7am as we had a bit of a delay on departures.
Note: I know this not ideal for parents travelling with kids or family. This blog will be leaning more towards a target audience of a solo, young travellers or young couples, and those wishing to travel comfortably cheap.
Where to stay and how to get around
Kuala Lumpur has a lot of accommodations available from Airbnb, shared accommodation to 5-star hotels. Most of the accommodations provide outstanding views with an affordable price. This country was an exception for myself, as I would usually go for a unique Airbnb that’s within a budget and is comfortable regardless of the view however as it was inexpensive, we decided to stay at a luxurious Airbnb apartment with a great view of the Petronas tower all for a price of $350 AUD ($175 pp) for 3 nights. The apartment came with a shared infinity pool with skyline views and a closed gym that was usually empty. If you are like me, where you choose accommodation for comfort, I encourage you to try book something that you hardly would when travelling in Kuala Lumpur. Check Airbnb as well as they provide great prices for unique places.
Malaysia is quite an easy city to get around as they have taxis, buses, trains, grab etc available. When we arrived, we bought a KLIA Ekspress ($40 AUD pp) train ticket that was valid for 2 days unlimited travelling on certain train lines (the main train lines you would need to go to tourist hot spots). Included in the ticket is return pass from the International Airport which was a 30 min ride from the Sentral Station that stopped at the entrance of the airport. You can book online and pick your cards up or pay at the counter when you arrive at the airport.
To get around we used our unlimited 2-day ticket, the free Singapore bus and Grab. Grab is like uber, and the service is excellent, I highly recommend using Grab. Note that in order to use Grab you will need either a portable Wi-Fi or a sim that works in Kuala Lumpur. We ordered a portable Wi-Fi (from Wobicom- $60) which was dropped off at our apartment, usually you’ll be able to pick it up when you arrive at the airport however the building was getting renovated, so they were kind enough to drop it off.
Activities available to do
Kuala Lumpur has so many activities to do and things to see that in the 3 days we were there that we were exhausted just trying to fit everything in. These activities included, visiting the shopping malls, night Market, Night life, Petronas tower, Batu Caves, and Cameron Highlands (Waterfall, Strawberry Farm, Cactus Garden, Tea Plantation).
This is a quick itinerary of how both my >72 hours in Kuala Lumpur went:
Shopping Malls: Kuala Lumpur shopping malls are at every corner of the city. This is great to do a bit of luxurious shopping however, at some of the night markets we noticed that things being sold outside of the mall were much cheaper than those at the shops in the mall i.e., souvenirs. The shopping malls are quite westernised and have Western food like Dunkin donuts, Starbucks etc… which we didn’t pay too much attention. The streets of Kuala Lumpur have much more to offer food wise; even the 7/11 shops and the little marts. We preferred to support the locals that had their food stalls open until 5am in the morning and the had much more to offer from firsthand experience, Malaysians are great people to have conversations with and are very friendly.
Jalan Alor Food Street
Jalan Alor food street is a must for the food, atmosphere, and livelihood. There were different Asian cuisines with different smells coming out all the restaurants and food stalls. Food was also affordable. We went quite early and had a stroll on the whole street so by 7pm the crowds starting packing in, and we found a great spot that offered a great seafood dish. You have seafood to chicken/lamb, vegetarian meals to street style food if you’re feeling snakish. We also got some fresh sugarcane juice that was freshly pressed which we enjoyed as well as a lot of tropical fruits. Altogether we spent at least $60 AUD.
KL Night Life
We decided to go have a Valentines Day cocktail near the bars that was down the block from the Jalan Alor night market. This wasn’t great decision as one cocktail led to another, and we stayed out until 1am on the morning. Despite this, I have to say that as someone who hardly heads out or drink much while travelling, this has to be one of my favourite experiences. Kuala Lumpur definitely knows how to party, and they play the best global hit songs from Spanish to English to Punjab. If you’re a party animal or enjoy a good night out, this is a great spot. Cocktail, beers & shots were cheap and had early bird specials or valentine’s days deal. We spent at least $100 (AUD) for drinks and manage to be tipsy by the time we ended up at home. The crowd was friendly, and the bar staff were professionals, it was a safe environment to have fun in. We got a taxi ($15) back to our apartment with a guy that was super friendly and understanding
Petronas Tower
The Petronas towers or the KLCC win Towers are 88 storey skyscrapers which is roughly 451.9 meters are the world’s tallest tower. The Petronas tower tour tickets have to be booked in advanced. We made the mistake of rocking up expecting to get tickets but there are certain viewing times available, so I suggest booking a ticket for a suitable viewing time way before arriving, so you have a chance to tour the twin towers. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop us from walking around to look at the magnificent structure. I will be revisiting again at the end of August 2023 so I will book a ticket in advance and update this blog to inform readers of the tour.
Batu Caves
Batu caves is must when visiting Kuala Lumpur. We went in February during the Thaipusam celebration. This is a celebration for Hindus carrying ‘kavadi’ and ‘paal kudam’ (milk offerings) to pay homage to lord Murugan (the large famous golden statue at location). There was a large number Hindus dressed in bright orange- to yellow (to symbolise purity) that walked up the stairs barefoot carrying the offering on the head. The rainbow stairs aren’t hard to miss and if you’re like me with knee problems, I suggest remaining at the bottom near the temple. The stairs were quite steep and with the festivities, many people came flooding to walk up the stairs, which I respected so stood by and watched. It was such a great experience to see how Hindu beliefs and the religion come to life.
Cameron Highlands
This trip for us started at 5:30 am where we got picked up by our driver. The trip was booked through Trip advisor and our driver Navin was very professional. We left Kuala Lumpur by 8:00am after visiting Batu Caves and then headed to the Cameron Highlands. The drive took roughly 5 hours 30 mins including breaks and on the way there we were told about the History of the Cameron Highlands, the landowners, and some rich facts about the country. Navin also provided tips on other places to visit in Malaysia.
Lata Iskander Waterfall
Our first stop was the Lata Iskander Waterfall, which was a very quiet. There weren’t too many people there, and they had a great stall nearby if you wanted to but weaving baskets and vase. We also bought more tropical fruits (including Guava, Mango, Papaya, Pineapple) to snack in the car.
Cactus Valley
We then jumped in the car and headed further in the mountains. The drive very scenic and beautiful like driving through a rainforest with scatters of civilisation here and there. Once we arrived at Cameron Highlands, we went to the Cactus Valley and the Strawberry farm. We were able to stretch and walk around the Cactus valley with a variety of cactus and flowers on display which was very beautiful. It a Xenophile’s heaven.
Strawberry Farm
At the strawberry farm we picked some strawberries, and they were the juiciest strawberries I’ve had in my life. As we walked back down to Navin, we had a local lady sell some chocolate dipping sauce for the strawberries which we bought and I’m usually not a fan but with how juicy the strawberries were, this was heaven. This is one of the delicacies that I urge everyone to try, it’s not the same as the one you have at home.
Tea Plantation
After this, we made our way to the tea plantation which was the highlight of the trip. They had a restaurant available which you could seat and enjoy a Malay cuisine dish there but with the limited time we had, we headed straight to the plantation for a 30-minute walk around to enjoy the view and take photos. It was such a beautiful view. Once we came out, we headed into the tea shop next door and bought some tea to take back home and made a stop at the ice cream shop next door to cool down after the walk back uphill to the entrance. Once done, we started our 5 hours drive back the Airport to get dropped off for our flight.
Other options worth mentioning from locals who highly recommended for us, but we didn’t have enough time so didn’t get a chance to go to is below. Hopefully I will go one day and when I do, I will update the below in another blog.
Genting Highlands: 2 days and 1 night
Spend one night at Genting Highlands
Head to a number of Theme Park
Awana Skyway
Casino
Hot Tips
Have a rough plan in mind to know what you want to do and see in Kuala Lumpur, so it limits time spent on thinking about what to do.
If you do not have a working sim, make sure to get a portable Wi-Fi. We relied 100% of it on all 3 days to help us get around. We ordered a portable Wi-Fi (from Wobicom- $60) which was dropped off at our apartment. We stored the Wi-Fi at a luggage centre at the airport for them to collect later.
Note that there are no showers to freshen up at the KL international airport and we found that out the hard way as we carried a carry-on bag which we would have like to shower and change before the flight after a long day. Either way, we did change and use fresh wipes to change into comfy travel pants for the flight.
I absolutely enjoyed every second of my short trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 72 hours and I highly recommend it specifically to those new travellers who are looking to head out of the country for the first time. Rather than going to Bali, head to Malaysia as its slow paced and cheaper. For new couples looking for a place to holiday, head to Kuala Lumpur. I will be heading back end of August 2023, so I will update some other options on this blog.
(Kuala Lumpur, Feb 2023)
