(Click here for our Singapore trip)
Pol and I wanted to celebrate our 3rd anniversary as a dating couple in an out-of-the-country escapade. We decided to go for a Malaysia-Singapore trip and this was our very first time to travel abroad together. Pol had been to Kuala Lumpur before for a business trip, but it was only for one night. Our travel plan was to book an AirAsia flight from Clark to Kuala Lumpur, a sleeper train ride via Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, and then a Cebu Pacific flight from Singapore to Manila. Our whole trip is proudly DIY.
Pol and I wanted to celebrate our 3rd anniversary as a dating couple in an out-of-the-country escapade. We decided to go for a Malaysia-Singapore trip and this was our very first time to travel abroad together. Pol had been to Kuala Lumpur before for a business trip, but it was only for one night. Our travel plan was to book an AirAsia flight from Clark to Kuala Lumpur, a sleeper train ride via Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, and then a Cebu Pacific flight from Singapore to Manila. Our whole trip is proudly DIY.
 |
| View of Petronas Twin Towers & KL Tower |
Day 1: Fligt from Clark to Kuala Lumpur, old KL walk, Jalan Alor food trip
We took a scheduled shuttle bus from SM Megamall which would take us to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga for PhP 300. It was also our first time to fly with AirAsia so we tried ordering in-flight meals along with the flight booking. We also booked with AirAsia their shuttle bus ride from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur’s very efficient central transportation hub.
I had Nasi Briyani for my in-flight lunch while Pol had Nasi Lemak. I love spicy food but I didn’t expect Nasi Briyani to be painfully spicy. I had to order two Milo drinks to ease my stinging tongue.
 |
| Clockwise from left: AirAsia in-flight menu, Nasi Briyani, Nasi Lemak |
Touchdown KLIA, we exchanged USD 100 (budget for the two of us) for some ringgit, then took AirAsia’s scheduled shuttle bus ride to KL sentral, where the ride lasted for about an hour. From KL Sentral, we took the KL Monorail and alighted at Imbi station where we started walking to our hotel along Jalan Alor, which was Hotel Nova.
 |
| KL Monorail |
Upon check-in to our room, we didn’t waste the remaining hours of the afternoon and started walking around KL. We passed by Berjaya Times Square along Jalan Imbi and Old Pudu Jail along Jalan Hang Tuah as we walked to the nearest LRT station, which is Hang Tuah station on Kelana Jaya LRT line. From there, we alighted at Masjid Jamek station and took photos of the mosque. We were not able to enter the mosque but it can be viewed from the LRT exit.
 |
Clockwise from left: Berjaya Times Square, Old Pudu Jail, Masjid Jamek (Jamek Mosque), Kelana Jaya LRT line |
Near Masjid Jamek are other old KL landmarks where we took strolls and passed by Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square), Sultan Abdul Samad Bldg., and other museums within the square. After some photo-ops, we walked back to Masjid Jamek LRT station and took the train to KLCC station. We saw several people there wearing football uniforms and found out that Manchester United and Malaysia National Team just had a game on that day.
 |
Sultan Abdul Samad Bldg. and Muzium Tekstil Negara (National Textile Museum) |
From KLCC station, we took a short walk to have a view of the breathtaking Petronas Twin Towers at night.
 |
| Suria KLCC and Petronas Twin Towers |
Our long walks and numerous train rides got us very hungry, so we finally decided to eat somewhere near our hotel. Hotel Nova is located in Jalan Alor, a well-known street of food paradise parallel to Bukit Bintang. Again, we took the LRT from KLCC to Hang Tuah, and then the monorail from Hang Tuah to Bukit Bintang. We wanted to take a quick stroll along the popular nightlife of Bintang Walk before finally having dinner.
 |
| Suria KLCC and Petronas Twin Towers |
We were finally in Jalan Alor and it was indeed a food haven. All the “street food” restaurants were jampacked with food trippers and beer drinkers. We finally settled at Restoran Sun Chui Yuen and had small orders each of seafood beancurd, lemon chicken, salted crispy crab, and lotsa rice. We were given free peanuts for appetizer. The food was really good, and their serving of their menu’s “small order” size was big enough! They also serve medium orders and large orders. I ordered their fresh coconut juice and it had a naturally sweet taste that was different from any other buko juice I had in the Philippines. We had to order another one because it was so addictive. Our bill for everything was MYR 68. Not bad for three viands and plenty of rice!
 |
Clockwise from left: Restoran Sun Chui Yuen, half-devoured lemon chicken. seafood beancurd, a foodboat along Jalan Alor, fresh coconut juice, salted soft-shell crab |
We retired to our nearby hotel with tired feet but full stomachs. Our room had a beautiful night view of the Petronas Towers. It was a splendid stay!
 |
| View of Petronas Twin Towers from our hotel room |
Day 2: Checkout from hotel, KL tour via KL Hop-On Hop-Off City Tour Bus, sleeper train from KL to SG
After having buffet breakfast in our hotel, we purchased 24-hour hop-on hop-off tickets from the hotel reception at MYR 38 each for adult fare. We also checked out and left our luggage there.
We took our first hop-on ride from our nearest stop at Bukit Bintang Plaza along Bintang Walk, and hopped off to Chinatown for the bargains. From Chinatown, we found Petaling Street but most stalls were just starting to open and it was already past 10 AM. We walked off to Sri Mahamarriaman temple in Little India adjacent to Chinatown. Unfortunately, the temple was being 'reconsecrated', so we weren’t able to take a photo of the beautiful front of the temple because it was covered. We went inside barefooted.
 |
| Jalan Petaling (Petaling Street) in Chinatown |
We walked back to the hop-on hop-off station in Chinatown, took the bus, passed by the stops to Istana Negara (National Palace) and Muzium Negara (National Museum), and hopped off to Arkib Negara (National Archives). From there, we took a very long walk to Tugu Negara (National Monument) and back again to Arkib Negara for another hop-on bus ride.
We skipped hopping off to the Masjid Negara (National Mosque) stop because we were not properly dressed, as well as Merdeka Square because we had been there the night before and our feet were getting tired again. We hopped off at Central Market (the biggest in KL and used to be the most efficient building during the old times), bought souvenirs, and waited again for the hop-on hop-off bus.
 |
| Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Little India |
We walked back to the hop-on hop-off station in Chinatown, took the bus, passed by the stops to Istana Negara (National Palace) and Muzium Negara (National Museum), and hopped off to Arkib Negara (National Archives). From there, we took a very long walk to Tugu Negara (National Monument) and back again to Arkib Negara for another hop-on bus ride.
 |
| Istana Negara (National Palace) |
 |
| Tugu Negara (National Monument) |
We skipped hopping off to the Masjid Negara (National Mosque) stop because we were not properly dressed, as well as Merdeka Square because we had been there the night before and our feet were getting tired again. We hopped off at Central Market (the biggest in KL and used to be the most efficient building during the old times), bought souvenirs, and waited again for the hop-on hop-off bus.
 |
| Masjid Negara (National Mosque) |
 |
| Central Market |
We hopped off to the next stop, Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, which had a view of the Petronas Towers. Actually, Petronas Towers can be seen from anywhere. The Titiwangsa Lake Gardens just had a more tranquil view because of the lake and the greenery. It was a good thing that the bus waited for those who hopped off from this stop.
 |
| Titiwangsa Lake Gardens |
We skipped the stop of Petronas Towers because we enjoyed its view more in the previous evening. We hopped off at Menara KL (KL tower) and had lunch. This was also where we last hopped on before we hopped off to Bukit Bintang Plaza and from there on our way back to our hotel to claim our luggage, we stopped by Berjaya Times Square to take a peek at the rollercoaster in their indoor theme park, Cosmo's World.
We skipped the stop of Petronas Towers because we enjoyed its view more in the previous evening. We hopped off at Menara KL (KL tower) and had lunch. This was also where we last hopped on before we hopped off to Bukit Bintang Plaza and from there on our way back to our hotel to claim our luggage, we stopped by Berjaya Times Square to take a peek at the rollercoaster in their indoor theme park, Cosmo's World.
When we got our luggage from our hotel, we took the hop-on bus again from Bukit Bintang Plaza for our last hop-off to KL Sentral. We of course passed by the same stops again before we finally hopped off to KL Sentral.
 |
| Menara KL (KL Tower) |
 |
| Along Bukit Bintang |
 |
| Rollercoaster inside Berjaya Times Square |
When we got our luggage from our hotel, we took the hop-on bus again from Bukit Bintang Plaza for our last hop-off to KL Sentral. We of course passed by the same stops again before we finally hopped off to KL Sentral.
At the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) counter in KL Sentral, we presented our e-tickets from our online reservation for KTM Intercity 2nd Class sleeper train to Singapore. While waiting for boarding, we had dinner at KFC, Malaysian style. Unlike here in the Philippines, chicken rice meals were not served with fork and gravy sauce, only spoon and chili sauce.
We finally boarded the sleeper train at around 10 PM. We were able to save hotel expenses through this overnight sleeper train. Our point of departure from Malaysia was Johor Bahru at around 6 AM. We arrived in Singapore at around 7:30 AM.
Two days is not really enough to explore Kuala Lumpur. There are more places I want to go back for like the Batu Caves, Genting Highlands and Berjaya Hills. Their transportation system is efficient and tourist-friendly too. Aside from Kuala Lumpur, there are more places in Malaysia for much greater adventures. Until we meet again Malaysia, Truly Asia!
 |
| KTM Intercity second class sleeper |
Two days is not really enough to explore Kuala Lumpur. There are more places I want to go back for like the Batu Caves, Genting Highlands and Berjaya Hills. Their transportation system is efficient and tourist-friendly too. Aside from Kuala Lumpur, there are more places in Malaysia for much greater adventures. Until we meet again Malaysia, Truly Asia!
No comments:
Post a Comment