Kuala Lumpur!

Next stop.. Kuala Lumpur!

I was a little nervous for the Malaysia part of the trip, I didn't know much about Malaysia and before I bought my Lonely Planet I didn't even know that they were a Muslim country.  Me being my picky-eater self, I also had NO idea what they ate in Malaysia and couldn't help but be wary as we crossed the border, which by the way Singapore into Malaysia by bus was the smoothest/easiest/friendliest border crossing I've ever experienced!  We decided to head to Kuala Lumpur, the capital, as our first stop in Malaysia.  

Reggae Mansion: We scoped out hostelworld.com before our arrival and narrowed our hostel options down to two and decided we'd make home base at whichever one was easier to find.  Luckily after taking the metro and walking the streets of Chinatown, we came across the amazing Reggae Mansion!  I think staying here was one of the decisions we made on the trip.  Reggae Mansion is a brand spanking new hostel in the heart of Chinatown, its only two months old and is unlike any hostel I've ever laid eyes on.  Fiona and I stayed in a 24 person room but the beds were built into the wall and each one had its own under-storage and privacy curtain.  The rooms were ACed, clean, and very comfortable.  The hostel even has a restaurant, cinema, and rooftop bar! They are in the process of building a large rooftop jacuzzi and I may need to go back to KL in the future just to check out.  The thing I liked the most about the hostel was they held activities every evening to get guests mingling with one another.  Tequila Thursdays as well as a club crawl!  On Wednesday night, they loaded everyone in the hostel van and took us down to experience the Malay club scene in another part of town. Sure was fun!

Food: I have to say, Kuala Lumpur opened my eyes to a new world of food!  I had tried Indian food in Singapore, and Fiona and I made it our mission to get to Little India in KL to get more legit Indian food.  After walking the streets in the pouring rain, ducking cover under old building ledges and gazebos in front of mosques to avoid being completely drenched, and getting lost and being redirected by the Mormon Missionaries, we found a little hole in the wall place to grab a bite.  The food was delicious but the atmosphere was interesting.  Fiona was strategic about the table we sat at to be sure we didn't over step our female boundaries (not picking the center of the room table) and we weren't too sure if other customers gave us unwelcoming looks because of our western-ness or if we were doing something wrong.  Either way, the food was good and we left with happy tummies.  That night, I tried SUSHI for the first time! And I enjoyed most of it! Okay, I tended to stay away from the super fishy ones, but I did try and like fish balls.  After, we knew we had to try a traditional Malay dessert so I chose to order the "ABC", a cup of shaved ice with flavoring as well as numerous other toppings, like red beans, creamy sweet corn, peanuts, jellys, and pine nuts.  Interesting combination and I probably wouldn't order it again. Who ever thought I'd be so adventurous.. Indian, sushi, and mystery dessert all in one day!

 Sights: Along with becoming familiar with the surrounding food stalls, shopping streets, bars/clubs,  we did visit a few sights around Kuala Lumpur! One day, Fiona and I did our very own walking tour of historical KL, hiding from the rain in the historical museum and racing past city hall.  We visited the Petronas Towers one night, the huge landmark of KL and the tallest twin buildings in the world.  We went to a mosque and were instructed to put on the body robe and head veil provided.  We went to a ten story shopping mall that was fully equiped with a Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Bowling Alley, and Theme Park!  Lastly, we went to the Batu Caves and climbed up 200 steps to see a temple that was built inside a cave as well as the huge Hindu shrine out front.

We enjoyed KL so much (probably the Reggae Mansion even more) and extended our stay, making our time in KL four days.  I was pleasantly surprised by what KL had to offer and wouldn't mind going back again!

Batu Caves

Reggae Mansion Rooftop Bar