“KL” (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). 

We are currently making our way through Malaysia.  Malaysia was originally scheduled to be our first international trip once we arrived in Southeast Asia but was delayed due to the U.S. President’s visit to the country in Fall 2015 (which resulted in a restriction for any non-essential travel to the country).  This worked in our favor because now we were able to bring Anna with us.  Everyone knows that when you are traveling – you should bring as many young children with you as possible.  It really adds to the experience.

We had planned on doing Malaysia and Singapore together at the start of our year in Southeast Asia.  The southern tip of Thailand lies at the top of the Malay peninsula.  Malaysia is Thailand’s neighbor to the south.  Hitting Singapore and Malaysia would have allowed us to complete the entire Malay peninsula and compare the different peninsular countries.

While we visited Malaysia earlier this spring – we went to Sarawak Province which is not considered part of “peninsular Malaysia.”  Sarawak is sequestered on the island of Borneo and separate from the rest of the country.

Malaysia has proven to be quite distinct from other countries we have visited (mostly Thailand’s northern neighbors).  For one, it is a predominantly Muslim country – most of the other places we have visited have been overwhelmingly Buddhist.  Also, like Singapore, Malaysia has a fairly robust GDP (thanks to abundant oil and natural gas revenues).

We started our trip in Kuala Lumpur (referred to as “KL”) – a beautiful, modern city. We completed a whirlwind 48 hours in the capital,  hitting most of the highlights and exhausting our children.  We stayed in the “Starhill district,” the upscale shopping center of the city.  The clean sidewalks and beautiful shops spoiled us.  I may never be able to go back to Bangkok.

• Petronas Towers:  Our first stop in Kuala Lumpur were the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.  The towers are the largest twin towers in the world.  They house a Skybridge (connecting the towers at the 42nd floor) and an observation deck (on the 86th floor).  I was not originally excited to visit the towers but they really are impressive:  they  literally glitter from anywhere in the city.  We hit the towers after a rainstorm and the remnants of the storm clouds drifting by the towers made for some really excellent photos.

  

  

• Central Market:  On our second day, the boys, Anna and I went to Central Market while daddy went to meetings.  Central Market is nothing spectacular.  If you want to peruse tons of knock-off purses, toys and shoes try it out.  Coming from Bangkok, we really don’t have a problem finding really crappy knock-off tourist souvenirs.  There are some handicraft stalls which are pretty inexpensive if you are looking for small gifts.  There is also a 3-D art exhibit on the second floor of the Annex which the boys really enjoyed.

  

  

  

• Islamic Art Museum of Malaysia:  After Central Market, the boys and I trudged down to the Islamic Arts Museum.  In desperate need need of air conditioning, we headed inside.  The boys and Anna did a great job holding it together long enough for me to look at the beautiful prayer books and porcelain pieces.  The boys loved one of the main rooms which was dedicated to miniature models of the world’s most beautiful mosques.   They enjoyed running up to the models and asking where they were from.  Sam desperately searched for a Thailand mosque (and we did eventually find one).  Sidenote:  The museum had twin strollers to loan, a beautiful gift shop, and almost no other patrons, it is in pristine condition.

  

• Batu Caves:  We met back up with daddy in late afternoon for a trip outide the city to Batu Caves.  While in Southeast Asia we have seen a lot of:  caves, monkeys and stairs.  Batu has ALL of these.  It is still worth the trip.  We took a taxi 30 minutes north to the caves and then took “kommuter” train back into the center of KL.  There is a convenient “Batu Caves” stop on the kommuter line.

  

  

  

  

  

• Petaling Market:  Our  last stop of the night was Petaling Market in Chinatown.  Sam got some dinosaur toys and Jack got a “big onion” (aka Minion) toy and we were set.

  

  

• Merderka Square:   On our last morning in KL, we headed to Merderka Square.  Merderka square is the center of the colonial district.  It was super hot outside.  We stayed for two minutes.

  

• Little India:  We ended out visit to “KL” in “Little India.”  It was pretty and colorful and had a lot of delicious looking food.  The boys bought some bananas and plums and we made our way to the bus depot…and Melaka.