Ballyhoo: Kuala Lumpur

This was my first visit to KL in almost twenty years. I wanted my cousin to experience another country besides Thailand. I also really desired to try some Malaysian durian. I will do another blog post about the durian. It deserves special attention!

The very first evening in KL, we went to Jalan Alor Walking Street in Bukit Bintang. What a place! We found a restaurant named Meng Kee Grill Fish. We got sweet and sour fish, stir-fried morning glory, fried calamari, grilled chicken satay with peanut sauce and more. It was beyond delicious! And that was even after all the scrumptious food experiences in Thailand. Wow!

Our first full day, we tried Malaysia's national dish, Nasi Lemak. I love fried chicken. Quite a meal! If you are in KL, Capitol Cafe is a great place to find Nasi Lemak and other Malaysian dishes. It's a restaurant with some interesting history.

That same afternoon, we went with GuruWalk on tour of Kuala Lumpur. If you're limited on time and you want to know the basics of a city, small group walking tours are a good way to do it.

Hollywood icons

When this building is finished and officially opens, it will be second tallest building in the world.

I loved the street art and murals in KL.

Some days I would spend walking around on my own - maybe in the morning and afternoon. We were staying in a central location, which made it easy to get around on foot.

Down this escalator was a pretty good food court in the Lot 10 Shopping Center.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of knowing how to obtain local currency at the best rate. Research it ahead of time. Make good decisions.

Do you know those famous towers?

This was my Turkish coffee at Damascus. If you want a delicious Shawarma, go get one at Damascus. There's pretty much always a crowd. I enjoyed eating one in the morning. There were fewer people, and I got a table. I had read about this restaurant prior to getting to KL. Certainly is popular.

beautiful, modern highrises

We ate an early lunch at Nansi Kandar Umar. They serve Indian Muslim food. The two or three times I had Indian food this trip to KL, it was surprisingly very average. If I were to return, I think I would go with a local to their favorite place. I certainly love Indian food. I left KL feeling a bit puzzled about my experiences. Malays and Chinese make up the majority of the people. Then you have about a 10% Indian population.

King of Pop

closest thing I could get to Prince

Sri Mahamariamman: the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpr

This is part of the traveling experience.

I returned to Capitol Cafe for breakfast. I also got some traditional Malaysian desserts.

Well, some people think durian smells like feet.

One evening we went to Petronas Towers and enjoyed the amazing mall at the base of it. The best part was just hanging out in the park until sunset. In 2000, on my first visit to KL, I went inside that very mall.

Finally, after a full week in KL, it was time to leave. Some airports have really good food. Most of the big Asian airports do. Kuala Lumpur's airport was no exception.