I loved Kuala Lumpur — but I’m completely biased.

Lena took this photo. I just found it. I absolutely love it. This is the Brickfields in KL.

My time in Kuala Lumpur was one of luxury and fantastic sightseeing. Having amassed quite a few points from my travels thus far, I figured out a way to snag five nights at the Alila Bangsar, a 5 star hotel who recently partnered with Hyatt (and by recent, I mean 2 weeks before we checked in). It ended up being 2,500 points + $23 a night, which was good by me. The only reason we didn’t stay longer was that the hotel was understandably sold out.

Alila Bangsar. can you see the logo at the very top?

And yes, brilliant observer, that *is* lo-fi hip hop radio — beats to relax/study to

The pool at Alila, with 41st-floor skyscraper views

This place was gorgeous. It operated from the 35th to 41st floors in the Brickfields, the only skyscraper between KL’s two skylines. It also had a direct access to the LRT, which was also lovely. Our room was as big as our old apartment, it had a living room, rainfall shower, the most comfortable bed, and stunning views of KL. We were quite happy, to say the least. We took most of our time to relax and catch up from the exhaustion of constantly shuffling hotels, cities, and countries, and enjoyed the time to recuperate.

Looking over Kuala Lumpur. Both the elevated LRT and rail lines can be seen in this picture.

Aside from the hotel, I was taken aback by how economically advanced Malaysia was (it’s second behind Singapore in GDP Per Capita). They had a high-speed train linking Kuala Lumpur and KL Sentral (the main train station), a capable subway and rail system, and a level of infrastructure well-surpassing places like Laos and Vietnam, and even Thailand.

A sprawling, and rapidly-expanding, megaopolis.

Sadly, it comes with a couple caveats. KL (and it turns out to be the entire country) has a massive car problem. KL exploded in growth in recent times, and struggled to keep up with infrastructure capacity for both roads and public transit. On top of that, Malaysia was one of the most ardent followers of the US-led car-centric city design. The roads are choked, sprawl is a massive problem, and it makes navigating the city decidedly not fun by foot, and frustrating by car. Hence, why it was so nice to be next to the light rail station.

A stock photo of an Asian megacity, if I’ve ever seen one.

KL has somewhat combated the problem through a mish-mash rapid transit systems consisting of Subway Lines, Elevated Light Rail lines, a train system, and even a monorail system. It certainly doesn’t have a level of cohesion that you would notice in a place like, say, Paris or Singapore, but it’s an important step to un-gridlock a burgeoning global hub.

The LRT Kelana Jaya Line. KL’s main hub is at KL Sentral.

The second problem (though only evident flying into KLIA), is Malaysia loves its palm oil. 80% percent of palm oil is Malaysian, but the kicker is that it’s estimated that up to 80% of Malaysia’s forests and natural lands have been cleared to make way for palm oil trees. It’s sickening. One of our later drives through Malaysia was 100km and there were palm trees as far as we could see the entire drive. Awful. But it’s hard to argue the economic benefit it brings.

Batu Caves

The entrance and staircase leading to the Batu caves. Such color!

Back to our time in KL, one place I really enjoyed visiting was the Batu Caves. A Hindu temple/cave combination, it consists of some stunning imagery, bookended by a towering rainbow staircase leading to the caves. But what I did not expect were the trove of unafraid, opportunistic monkeys. They were smart, and eager for food. They meant business.

The mesmerizing staircase.

Inside the caves.

One of the dozens of monkeys in the Batu caves. This fella managed to steal an apple from some pour soul.

:P

Petronas Towers

The most iconic building in KL (and one of the most iconic in the world) is the Petronas towers — the tallest twin building on Earth. It was quite the sight. Inside was a mall (surprise) and next door was a park. A big draw, and understandably so.

Family Mart

We found a Family Mart! Take that, 7/11.

#teamfamilymart

For those out of the loop, Family Mart is a Japanese Convenience store that we fell in love with back in April. It warmed my heart finding one so far from their home.

Merdeka Square

Merdeka Square, Malaysia’s Independence Square, was certainly worth taking a look, but nothing too special. It’s a pretty big field surrounded by British Colonial Architecture.

Spot the Malaysian Flag on the skyscraper on left. Pretty similar to the American one, no?

Jalan Alor

One of many packed restaurants.

Jalan Alor was quite the spectacle. I’ve been on many teeming night market streets at this point, but Jalan Alor took the energy and stimulation up several notches. I found it to be a complete madhouse, with small stalls side-by-side, and with massive restaurant after restaurant behind them, on either side. They served mostly Malaysian and seafood. We got satay (skewered chicken that you dip in peanut sauce), which has become one of my favorite meals on the trip.

A chicken satay skewer being dipped in peanut sauce.

*A select few photos were taken by Lena Mobin :)*