The Peninsular Malaysia
Continuing our Malaysian adventures from section 8, we transitioned from the island of Borneo to the more heavily populated Malaysian Peninsular.
Singapore
We had a brief layover in Singapore back in Section 4 where we took a free airport sightseeing bus, but this time we were here to explore and dive into the Lion City.
Even though Singapore also uses Grab as a means of transportation, we chose to use their metro system. We purchased 3-day Singapore Tourist Passes ($30 per person with a $10 credit back when you return the card), which included access to:
- A state of the art subway system,
- A light rail,
- and public buses.
The metro is very easy to use and everything is in English, Malay, Indian, and Mandarin!
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Serangoon. This was a great location in the heart of Little India with countless shops and great Indian vegetarian food options! We took full advantage of aromatic Indian delicacies at a restaurant called Komala Vilas right down the street.
Budget-conscious, we utilized our metro card and explored some of the free sights Singapore has to offer. Our first stop was the Singapore Botanical Gardens (free) which had a bountiful array of plants, ponds, and animals, including black swans and minotaur lizards, close cousins to Comodo dragons.
To Julia’s great delight, our second stop was the Harborfront Mall. It also provides access to Sentosa Island - home to Universal Studios, a monorail, harbor walk, and a cable car. We settled on just taking in the views and walking around.
Near Little India is another prime cultural neighborhood - Chinatown, which has lots of street food and shops. In the center, there is a gigantic Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (free), which had a Buddhist ceremony going on when we walked into it. A very peaceful scene compared to the hustle and bustle of the streets right outside their temple.
The other reason we were in Singapore was to get together with my aunt Meng’s family. Her cousin Karen and husband Yoong, with their daughter Joanne, were able to meet us for a lovely evening. Joanne set up an awesome experience at a restaurant called Element where we were navigated through the menu picking out a planned 8 course meal! It was a feast!
After that, we rushed to the Gardens by the Bay (free) to enjoy the nightly Lights and Music mashup. It was surreal, standing under the supertrees, listening to music with the ever-changing colors. The Gardens by the Bay is an amazing futuristic park like nothing you have ever seen before.
Across from the gardens is the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel or the “Surf Board Hotel”. It sits atop of the waterfront that was reclaimed from the sea.
We spent the rest of the evening enjoying our relatives’ company at the Clarke Quay, an old warehouse district that was renovated into bars and restaurants. On our way back to the hotel, we were given a night tour of the city, seeing a few more places that we missed including the president’s palace!
At our relatives’ recommendation, our final stop in Singapore was the brand-new breathtaking Jewel.
Thank you Karen, Yoong, and Joanne for sharing the Lion City with us!
Sepang
After we landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Julia thought we were heading into the city. To her surprise, our Grab driver went in the opposite direction. I wanted to surprise her with a relaxing stay in a water bungalow at Avani Goldcoast Resort in Sepang, Malaysia. The whole ride, we saw countless rows of palm oil trees, coconut trees, and rubber trees, while the resort itself is shaped as a palm tree, branching out into the Indian Ocean.
To navigate the resort, we could either use golf carts or borrow one of the hundreds of complementary bicycles. You can easily guess which one of us gladly opted for a comfortable golf cart ride and which one raced along on a two-wheeler.
To satisfy our craving for local seafood, we found a restaurant, Bayu Malam, along the beach. At first, we were hesitant to eat there because we didn’t see anyone else dining there. We took a chance and were pleasantly surprised at the variety of fresh sea catch. We picked out what we wanted and the chef cooked us some mouthwatering soup, spicy shrimps, and grouper with fresh coconut water. The meal was great and amazingly cheap, give it a shot!
After our dinner, we headed back to the beach where we enjoyed the world-class death-defying fire show. If the performers were in Las Vegas, this would have been the headline show, because the way they marry dance and fire was a true masterpiece. While the show was complementary, the tips were well deserved.
The resort was great, and I only bring it up as I want to state how all of what I just discussed cost only $80+ per night if booked on the right days. It was a unique water bungalow experience, full of infinity pool swimming, bicycle riding, fire breathing, and breakfast buffet eating extravaganza, at an amazing price point compared to similar experiences in more expensive Pacific islands!
Kuala Lumpur
The Avani Resort offered complementary transportation to the city center. We readily took advantage of that and after an hour and a half arrived at the hustling and bustling city center in Kuala Lumpur “KL”. We got off the bus right in front of the iconic Petronas Towers that were towering over us (no pun intended). Since we stayed at the Intercontinental KL which was just a few minutes away from the towers, we quickly checked in, dropped off our suitcases, and headed out.
First, we hopped on board a GO KL Bus (free) at the Petronas Towers City Center. This service is completely and is a courtesy of the KL city. It follows a few routes around the city.
After a loop around downtown, we returned to the KLCC park near the towers. It offered great views of the city, ponds, fountains, and an awesome water park, which was just for kids (of which we learned after being yelled at by the staff). To hide from the burning sun (35 Celsius!), we meandered through the KLCC mall to cool off.
North of the city lies Batu Caves. Home to a Hindu Temple sitting inside a giant cave 200+ steps high. The temple is guarded by the 140 ft Lord Murugan Statue. At first, the prospect of the climb was intimidating, but we were determined to make it to the very top. While climbing, we saw armies of monkeys swiftly running up and down the handrails. This threw Julia back to her unfortunate encounter with these animals in Borneo. Previously they had stolen her lunch in Bako, and they seemed ready for a repeat as we witnessed them snatch food left and right from naïve tourists. Since we were now seasoned, we didn’t bring any food. And, to our great delight, the monkeys left us alone, searching for other unsuspecting victims!
But in all seriousness, it was a gorgeous hike up to the temple. Although there were many tourists, we found it quite peaceful at the top. The whole place is very colorful and amazing, with beautiful Hindu carvings and shrines.
The ride to and from Batu Caves was easy and cheap. A simple metro ride ($1 per person one way) carried us all the way to and from KL Central station. Studying the city map, we noticed the largest Bird Park in the world was nearby and knew we needed to see it. The park was a bit pricey (at $15 per person), but well worth it. The covered park was huge and had a variety of birds from all over the world, from peacocks to eagles, owls to ostriches, emus to pelicans, cassowary to parrots, you name it.
The birds were allowed to roam around the park so they did lay claim to the pathways and walked amongst the tourists. The best part was us feeding parrots (for 50 cents).
The same evening, we got together with my aunt Meng’s brother James, his wife Ching Choo, my second cousin Reuben, and his girlfriend Deb. Together, we explored my aunt’s old neighborhood Jalan Alor, where she and James grew up. The neighborhood transformed over the years from a residential area to a blossoming night market filled with a variety of restaurants, shops, and delicious street food.
We had a chance to stop by my aunt’s old church Gereja Baptist and where she used to live. While walking, I noticed an exotic fruit I hadn’t tried in a long time called rambutan and decided to try it again. It was as delicious as I remembered!
For dinner, we went to the Pavillion shopping district. In the mall basement, we were treated to a variety of cuisines from all over Malaysia. To top it off, we rode an escalator a few levels up to try a world famous cheesecake at a local Japanese restaurant.
Thank you James, Ching Choo, Reuben, and Deb for an awesome evening in KL.
Melacca
After cheesecake, Reuben and Deb asked about our plans for the final day, to which we replied that we had none. They told us to be ready in the morning for a surprise road trip. We waited impatiently.
We were picked up Friday morning and were soon on our way south to Melacca with Reuben and Deb. It was a pleasant surprise and a welcome detour from our structured schedule. I like to think that I plan and organize things in advance and to a T, but sometimes a spontaneous adventure is needed!
Melacca is smaller city compared to KL and Singapore, but has an amazing walkable downtown area. We parked in the city center and Reuben took us to a local restaurant Kedai Kopi Chung Wah for some rice balls!
After having our fill, we walked down Jonker Street filled with shops and restaurants. Reuben told us to remember how the street looked during the day, because we would return there at night! At the end of the street we cooled off trying a traditional Melacca dessert, Cendol. There were two ways to eat it - with or without Durian. I decided it was time to try the signature fruit, so I opted for Durian. It was my first true experience with durian, as I all had prior was a durian macaron in the Philippines. I was ready for it and the durian was not as bad as I thought it would be, as I heard it was an acquired taste, but the Cendol was amazing and the perfect dessert to cool off.
Refreshed, we were ready for the museums. We went to the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum ($4 per person), where we walked a historic Chinese-Malay house and learned how life was over a 100 years ago.
From there, we wandered back to the town center, where we saw the Christ Church of Melacca, which was built over 350 years ago by the Dutch settlers.
Off in the distance, we could see the towering sails of a pirate ship. We made our way over to the Maritime Museum Melaka ($1 per person), a replica of a Portuguese ship sunk in the harbor. We learned about the history of the Melaccan port, how it became a trading hub, and the subsequent clashes between the Malay, Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch over the area.
After wetting our historical appetite, we were ready to quench our thirst. Reuben knew what was needed - the original Klebang Cocunut Shake! It was like a root beer float with local handmade vanilla ice cream scoops. The drink itself was coconut juice. It was the perfect combo.
Feeling tired from a long day in the sun, we watched as the sun started to set and the air cooled. Reuben said it was time to re-walk Jonker Street by night! We headed back to the same street we just walked in the afternoon sun, only it looked much different. Earlier, there were cars driving down the middle. This time the street was filled with rows of pop-up tents and shops as far as the eye can see. The street metamorphosed in a matter of 2 hours. There were street performers, live musicians, coconut jugglers, and much more.
After that, we returned to our hotel. I want to again say thanks to aunt Meng and all of her family for an amazing time and for showing us Singapore, KL and Melacca.
No comments:
Post a Comment