«» Travel Notes 027: Malaysia
Stranded on the streets of KL, subsidized Grabs, and the best Nasi Lemak ever
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What time does the office open? I asked the attending guard of the Robertson Bukit Bintang, where we had booked our Airbnb.
… Oh, 8 AM still? Ok, thank you…
I returned to Joanne and Ryan with the news that it would not be another five hours until we could expect someone to arrive and help us check-in. We had no choice but to keep calling Mr. Aliff, the manager of the Airbnb and our point person for the reservation. I was ashamed to be disturbing him at such an ungodly time of the morning, but the person we were promised to meet was nowhere to be found.
We can catch the sunrise in Batu Caves? I joked with Joanne and Ryan. Or maybe find somewhere to eat?
I remembered seeing a stretch of stores nearby, so we could only hope one was a restaurant that was still open. Anything seemed better than waiting around the Robertson's poorly ventilated lobby for Mr. Aliff to pick up.
After a short walk, we found ourselves staring at the stained black menu pages of Kedai Mamak Husin, a decently lit restaurant with dozens of cigarette butts littering its disarrayed tables and chairs. Was this really better than our poorly ventilated lobby? I wasn't sure about it, but I know one thing: a full stomach is better than an empty one.
We sat, placed our bags just a bit closer to our bodies than usual, and ordered the dish with the biggest picture.
This wound up being a very good decision because it was in this very sorry state of affairs, sitting in a dingy restaurant after 12 hours of travel and nowhere to sleep, that we found the very best Nasi Lemak we had ever had and will have on that trip (we would even come back for it two mornings later).
Things quickly picked up, too. At 4:30 AM, after almost a dozen missed calls, Mr. Aliff finally picked up to give us our check-in instructions.
We slept through the morning, so it was already 3:30 PM when we found ourselves in a Grab to Masjid Wilayah Persekutua with the friendliest driver.
For some reason, he kept referring to himself as "uncle," e.g., "Ah yes, yes, uncle was there before," or "Uncle will bring you there, don't worry," or "Uncle prefers going to this mosque outside the city." He was pure joy!
It was through Uncle, too, that we learned that the Malaysian government subsidized gas in the country, so a liter of gas that would typically cost 60 PHP in Manila would only cost 20 PHP in Kuala Lumpur. It was through the convenience of these subsidized Grab rides that we found ourselves doing everything we wanted to do despite our late start to the day:
We had a free guided tour of Masjid Wilaya and its picturesque structure,
We found ourselves on a surprising adventure in Batu Caves with its steep steps and dress-grabbing monkeys,
We danced (😂😅) with the fountains of KLCC Park while the lighted Petronas Twin Towers stood in the background, and
Dinner ended up being a four-hour excursion beginning in Chinatown and ending in the night market of Jalan Alor.
We were back in The Robertson by 11:30 PM, not even 24 hours since we first set foot in Malaysia.
I have to admit Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia surprised me.
Besides getting stuck outside our Airbnb, the trip was enjoyable, nothing like the trash-littered streets or monotonous mosques I expected to power through. In fact, the three days that followed passed like a blur.
Our two-hour bus ride to Malacca was taken in very wide and comfortable reclining chairs.
We checked in our second Airbnb, making sure to message ahead to notify our arrival. In the end, we arrived at 3 PM, so no problems were checking in. For 1000 PHP per person, we had a three-bedroom apartment equipped with two toilets (!!).
We visited the famous Red Dutch Square and Christ Church before walking around Jonker Walk and Malaka River in search of murals. On the weekends, Jonker Walk turns into a kilometer-long night market that boasts the widest variety of street food I'd ever seen. My must-tries are the deep-fried durian and the Ayam Buah Keluak (Nyonya braised chicken served with black nuts).
We woke up early the following day to visit the Malacca Straits Mosque before taking another two-hour bus ride back to KL, where we immediately took a Grab to Robert's Char Kuey Teow. It was a foodie afternoon as we couldn't resist passing by Village Park Restaurant for their famous Nasi Lemak right after (Husin's is still the winner for me).
We checked in our third Airbnb. Again, no problems with check-in. And again, for 1000 PHP per person, we had another beautifully furnished and spacious apartment.
We explored Pavilion and the surrounding Bukit Bintang area almost every day of the trip. Highlights included Joanne finding American Tourister on a buy 1 take 1 sale and Ryan fulfilling a lifelong dream of dancing with Zaitoun.
KL has a lot of beautiful places to stroll around too. Merdeka Square, Sultan Abdul Samad Building, and the Perdana Botanical Gardens are the ones we managed to visit.
We booked this trip to KL last November 2022 because we rushed on to Cebu Pacific tickets on sale. Still, between then and our departure date, we shortened our journey from 9 to 5 days and even contemplated canceling. Why? Because we heard KL was boring. Because we heard there was nothing to do. Instead, it's been nothing but exciting, beautiful, and eventful.
While writing this post, I had a conversation with a friend about photography. Apparently, there's a saying that "The best camera is the one you have with you."
Likewise, I would like to say, "The best trip is the one you're on,"… Especially if you get locked out of your Airbnb at 3 in the morning.
Until next week,
Atom
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