A few weeks ago I won a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia through Travelscene American Express’ Fan Trip giveaway over on their facebook page. If you’re Australian, I recommend getting over there now and liking their page – they do these fan trips regularly and to a different location each time!
This morning when I got into the office, upon opening my inbox, my e-ticket and itinerary were waiting for me. I may have let out a tiny squeal and done a happy dance on the inside.
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April 14
– Flying Emirates from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur
– Private Transfer from airport to the Parkroyal KL with early check in
– Lunch
– Kuala Lumpur City Tour
– Afternoon at leisure
– Dinner hosted by the Parkroyal KL
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April 15
– Buffet Breakfast
– Malaysian Home Cooking Class including lunch
– Afternoon Free
– Kuala Lumpur night Tour including cultural show and dinner
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April 16
– Buffet Breakfast
– Entire day free to do what I want
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April 17
– Buffet Breakfast
– Private Transfers back to Kuala Lumpur Airport
– Emirates from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne
..
The blue font indicates all the free time I have to explore during this trip…
This is where you come in. I want you to help me choose my Malaysian adventure!
Tell me what I should do during my free time in Kuala Lumpur?
I’ve never been to KL before so I’m open to anything!
Sights I must see, shops I must go to, restaurants I must try, night life recommendations… share them!
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While I’m a fan of the buffet breakfast, i don’t think you need to have it three days in a row. Get out and sample some of the local breakfast foods, like the roti, or if you’re like me, the char kway teow… oh yeah!
And with two afternoons and a full day, surely you’re only going to *jus* have enough time for shopping? 😉
I loveeee roti, I’m looking forward to having some good roti there 😀 As far as the buffet breakfasts go, it’s all included as part of the win and I’ll be needing to blog about it so I think I kinda need to keep that part included. I have no idea what char kway teow is!
There is always time for shopping… although I’m off to the US in 4 weeks so I think I may leave it until then 😀
Well I love Malaysia and go every year, landing in KL first. I really love the malls there and if you like fashion I recommend you spend a bit of time apart from the city tour exploring on your own. My faves are Pavilion, Berjaya Times Square, Lot 10, BB Plaza, and Suria KLCC http://thefashionatetraveller.com/adventures-in-shopping-malls-in-kl-gothic-lolita-shop-i-socks-2 and http://thefashionatetraveller.com/fashion-shopping-in-kl-and-uk-high-street-brands-in-kl
Check out Jalan Alor near Bukit Bintang for food (http://thefashionatetraveller.com/fabulous-food-in-kuala-lumpur-2). If you’re into clubbing with r&b/doof-doof music, check out Zouk (http://thefashionatetraveller.com/big-night-out-at-zouk-nightclub-in-kl).
Oh, awesome, thanks for the recommendations! I’m always up for a big night out and I’ll be going up with four other winners so I think we’ll have quite a few big nights! Somebody else recommended Zouk to me so it must be an awesome hot spot! I’ll check out your posts tonight after work, excited to read them! Thanks again 😀
Definitely gotta try Petaling Street night market hawker food such as Claypot rice drop, ‘Tai lok mee’, longan drinks, ‘Keropok’….
Petaling Street during the day will be a good spot for photography.
KLCC twin tower for shopping!
Petaling Jaya SS2 at night for yummy desserts!
Excellent – thank you so much 😀 The Twin Towers are a must for me!!! I also want to try head out to Batu Caves to see the big golden buddha and climb the huge stair case! Yummy desserts, hmmm must go there!
I’m from KL!. 😀 Are you a shopping person or a food person? Well, since AUD is very strong, lots of stuff in KL will be cheap for you.
For good shopping, I suggest Pavilion KL (swanky new mall opened in 2007/8) and MidValley Megamall (one of the largest malls in KL). Also, do visit Suria KLCC. 🙂 There’s Petrosains (some exhibition place) and a HUGE Japanese bookstore housed in there. Oh and in MidValley Megamall, there’s this nice fine dining place called Sage. YOU MUST GO THERE!
I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS. SHOPPING IS A MUST IN KL! MNG, ZARA and lots of brands are wayy cheaper in kl than in aust. Even buying branded goods is cheap in kl compared to aust.
For good food:
-Chinese:
I highly recommend having yum cha at Shang Palace, shangri-la or Celestial Court at sheraton imperial. Both are in KL city centre They serve super good dim sum dishes and relatively inexpensive for Australian standards.
For Chinese ala-carte, head to Grand Imperial at Bangsar.
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2011/03/review-dim-sum-celestial-court-sheraton.html
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2010/07/grand-imperial-bangsar-shoppihng-centre.html
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2010/12/review-shang-palace-shangri-la-kuala.html
-Xiao Long Bao:
Forget Din Tai Fung. Shanghai Restaurant at JW Marriot KL (just opposite Pavilion KL) serves the best XLB in town!
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2010/12/review-dim-sum-shanghai-restaurant-jw.html
If you can’t make it there, you can try Dragon-I signature at Pavilion KL.
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2011/01/review-dragon-i-signature-pavilion-kl.html
They serve decent XLB as well!
-HK styled char chan teng:
These are very popular in KL. You must give Kim Gary a go. It’s located at MidValley. 🙂
-Hawker delights:
PLEASE stay away from touristy places such as Jalan Alor. Instead, head to wet markets such as taman muda market, pudu market or imbi market. Pudu market and imbi market are located at the city centre and are open in the mornings. 🙂
And you must eat yong tau foo and bak kut teh in KL!
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2011/02/review-lunch-ampang-homeland-yong-tau.html
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2011/01/review-bak-kut-teh-yu-yi-jalan-imbi.html
– Korean food:
If you’re in KL, check out KL’s Korean town. It’s at Ampang, a suburb not too far away from KLCC.
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2010/12/review-dinner-bee-won-korean-restaurant.html
http://www.michelle-chin.com/2010/07/jal-dae-ji-korean-restaurant-korean.html
Sorry, I am very enthusiastic about you going to KL! Cannot wait to hear what you have to say about KL!
Wow, Michelle! Your comment is AWESOME – so much useful info… and yes, I LOVE shopping, however, I am going to the US in a few weeks and it’s also insanely cheap there too, especially with the dollar so I’ll probably do a vast majority of my shopping there, but I wouldn’t mind checking out the electronics in KL! BUT I TOTALLY FORGOT ZARA IS THERE OMGGGG *dies*
Love the Yum Cha suggestions, adding them to my list! Yeah, I want to avoid touristy places as much as possible!! I’m super pumped for this trip, I’ve never been to Malaysia before and the fact that this is something I won makes it even better!
I will definitely be blogging about this entire trip so stay tuned and thank you again for such awesome information!
Nice one Lynda! I will definitely be joining you on some of these great recommendations from your fans! They sound great!! I”m with you, the towers and Batu Caves are musts for me! I’m compiling my list tonight! I think we’ll have to give the fish spa a go….when in Rome 😉 Cant wait to see what else we come up with!!
PS Luna Bar (with a pool in the middle of the bar) over looking the city for a fancy cocktail sounds fabulous!! and Ceylon Bar for a more chilled out (budget friendly) indoor/outdoor bar is on my list!!
Jess, I’ll be putting together a list tonight and then we can all share, discuss and head out together if we have the same interests!
PS. You know I’m up for drinking now matter what bar we’re at hahaha but overlooking the city sounds amazing! Love chilled out places though too!
this is awesome! loving some of these recommendations. I’m going through and compiling a list now (should really probably be doing my online mid semester exam… but meh!).
I think shopping is a must at some point, as are the caves and the towers!! I’d love to check out the Friday Mosque and the Lake Gardens… and so many other things I’m sure we won’t have time to see! haha
Hahaha, Miranda… exams can wait 😛 Man, I’m so glad I’m done with uni!
Shopping, yes please, I totally forgot they have Zara there! Haven’t heard of the Friday Mosque or the Lake Gardens but will take a look at them now online! AHHHHH I’m so excited!
Lucky duck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you better shop till you drop Lynda!!!!!!!!! stay safe xxxxxxx
Megan
Haha thanks Megan! I’ll shop a little, but I’m going to the US in a few weeks, that’s where the real shopping spree will happen! xo
I vote for a wander through kampung baru- it’s great to see the old way of life, old buildings and leisurely pace, all in the shadow of the twin towers:)
Thanks for the tip Linda 😀
I’ve been to Kuala Lumpur 3 times now and have done plenty of activities outside of shopping (incidently my favourite shopping mall are Pavillion, Suria KLCC & The Gardens but these carry mostly European & UK brands). I always come home with things from Coast, Marks & Spencer, Burberry, Zara & Gap but have never really found any local Malaysian brands/ labels for clothing or shoes (being a size 10 probably doesn’t help!). Shopping centres are open until 10pm so plenty of time to shop.
I would recommend the “green precinct” where you can wander the Lake & Orchid Gardens and then head down to the Islamic Arts Museum with its beautiful works of art, my favourite thing there was marvelling the detailed models of some of the great mosques in the world. In the same area there is a bird park which is supposed to be the largest in SE Asia (I haven’t been so can’t recommend this) and I also put on a hijab and went inside the National Mosque.
If you are interested in going onto the Sky bridge at Petronas Towers you are able to get free tickets (note it goes up to floor 40 something so only about half way up the towers). The tickets are released every morning (I think 8:30am) and generally go within the first 30mins. Menara KL provides the perfect panoramic view of the whole of KL.
I must say I was disappointed with the actual inside of Batu Caves (it could be also because I built it up to something else in my mind before visiting) and I remember my tour leader on my first visit saying a lot of people didn’t find the effort to get out there worthwhile and after visiting I can see why others form this opinion. The inside of the caves are fairly empty except for a couple of small areas. The Hindu temples in KL are more spectacular. It is more of a spiritual journey which could be difficult for a non-Hindu person to appreciate. The experience of getting the bus there on my own and climbing the seemingly endless stairs with monkeys everywhere was the highlight for me!
A couple of other things Berjaya Times Square has a massive 48 lane ten pin bowling alley, an indoor theme park and The Gardens with its comfortable “gold class” cinemas. All these activities are inexpensive (especially compared to doing the same in Australia) and a good way to escape the heat for an hour or two during the middle of the day.
Finally, I’ve always wanted to make the journey out to Putrajaya (on the way to the airport), Malaysia’s planned federal administrative city which is supposed to have some spectacular modern architecture.
Wow, Kristen, thanks for such a detailed response! Will definitely be jotting this down and adding it to my list! Didn’t know about the time limit on getting tickets for the Petronas Towers so thank you for that!
Oh, you are one of the first people I’ve heard express disappointment towards the Batu Caves… having said that though, I still think I have to go there and experience it otherwise I will definitely regret not going! I have some temples highlighted on my list too!
48 lane ten pin bowling, woah, that’s huge! That sounds like fun as does the indoor theme park! Thanks again for all your information – it’s just made me even more excited for the trip there!
check out Menara Telecommunications Tower. you can fly through the air while being safely secured to a harness.
Wow, Great photos. I like it.
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