George Town

I have been to Malaysia several times for short vacations and I've always enjoyed it very much. Finally, this time I made it to George Town, a UNESCO listed town in Penang to visit friends and also to try some great food.

I loved George Town immediately because of the old houses, small streets and food everywhere. I'd say this is a food town as food stalls are prominent everywhere; from Indian, Malay to Chinese food and the PROBLEM here is they all delicious. My friends who have a very delicious food blog (Eating Asia) took me eating around George Town to their favorite places. I feel very fortunate to know Robyn and Dave not just because of their food expertise, but also because of how I got treated and learnt so much from them, about photography and about food.

It's really hard to pick the best dish in Penang as I love them all. You probably have your choice but for me they were all fabulous. For me street food served on the street or in a small stall is the best. It's really my type of dining and I never have any issues eating on the side walk as I know and see what I'm going to eat, which is fresh and well cooked. It's a bit similar to the street food in Hanoi but probably heavier with lots of stir fries and curry with noodles. Probably my favourite meal was from the lady who sells a small buffet of Nyonya dishes one of the main food markets. The highlight was a fantastic fish curry with lots of fresh chilies. I love her life story (in one of Robyn's recent blog posts) and loved her big smile and friendliness. We also drank white coffee, similar to Saigon's style with lots of crushed ice which is kind of addictive.

After a few breakfasts, a few lunches and a couple of dishes for dinner per day, it was essential that we walk around George Town's small lanes to try to create space for more food the next day. It definitely pays to be led by experts. Not one meal or snack opportunity was missed. But I do need to go back George town for more. I had a ball!!!!

Shopping In Kuala Lumpur

Shopping in KL is great and cheaper in some areas compared to Hanoi. I love shopping in shopping centres and in local markets because I can see the difference in the prices and the quality as well.

I went to one of the local markets called Central Market and actually loved it. I feel shopping here is very easy and I can play bargaining games as well :). I was really lucky that I found a clearance shop and they sold all their things with a fantastic discount and I of course spent lots of time (and money!) there. I bought quite a few items like masks and wall hangings from them and I am very happy with the quality as well. I also stopped at an Indian shop called Little Kashmir which sells stuff made in Kashmir and other parts of India. This is a great shop with all beautiful hand-made stuff reasonably priced. I feel regret now because I should have bought another wall hanging or another blanket. Their stuff is carefully made with so much detail. Check this shop out if you have a chance.

Shopping centers in KL look like other shopping centers around the world but they are all located in huge tall buildings. The difference is that they have a variety of stuff at great prices and the salespeople are really friendly. Clothes and cosmetics are cheaper and better quality than some other countries and I've also seen many Vietnamese in those shopping centers. I talked to some of them and they also feel a bit cold walking around these places, with the airconditioning turned down really low? Shopping in Malaysia is a very pleasant and cheap experience.

Food In Malaysia

I realized that Malaysians think food is like sport by the way they talk together. They talk about food all the time. I understand now that Malaysia is a country of food. You can try all types of great food here from Western to Asian. I was very surprised about how may KFC and MacDonalds there are around Malaysia and they seem to be popular. These fast food restaurants are always busy! I wonder why they love fast food while they have hundreds of fantastic options available.

I did make a dumb choice for one of my meals, however. I had a chicken omelette with beans for my breakfast at the shopping center while I was waiting for my mother and sister. It was horrible and afterwards, I couldn't believe that I chose it. It was supposed to include a cup of tea but my tea never came. I should've known before that never eat anything in a shopping center.

I stayed in Malaysia for a few days and I tried so many different cuisines from local, Chinese, Indian to Muslim food. I love food so I don't mind trying new things but, to be honest, I ate too many curries of both Malaysian and Indian style. One curry was so hot that it brought tears to my eyes, at Madam Kwan's restaurant, even though I'd told the staff to make it mild. I suppose my idea of mild is different to theirs!

I also enjoyed some great stir fried noodles and grilled chicken with sate at the local Chinese restaurants and a fantastic Indian buffet at Nasi Kandar Penang. All in all, there's a lot to choose from in Malaysia.

Architecture in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia is such a multi-cultural country which includes Indian, Muslim, Malaysian and Chinese people. This had had an influence on the architecture that is easily recognized in the cities throughout Malaysia.

On the way to the city from the airport you can see the most colorful part of Kuala Lumpur wherethere are several big tall buildings with different shapes. When you get into the city center, each districts buildings seem to be a different colour and I think this is related to the people who live there.

China town has lots of similar houses with lots of charactor on both the side and the top of the houses. there's lots of Chinese writing on the signage on the houses, too. It makes this part of town look great and different to other parts of KL. I love China town alot.

If you walk into the Merdeka Square area, you can see some beautiful Muslim buildings with hundred of years of history.

Between these places, there are hundreds of old churches and Indian temples and also lots of tall modern buildings. This gives Kuala Lumpur a lot of character as far as the architecture goes. Come to Malaysia, go to Kuala Lumpur and you will agree with me that KL is quite a unique Asian city.

Bars in Kuala Lumpur

Sky bar is such a great bar located on top of Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. This is a really nice bar with simple decoration. Drinks are a little bit expensive but it's worth every penny. My friend had to make a reservation in advance to make sure that we have a nice table with great city views and a view of the PETRONAS Tower. When we arrived there, I was so pleased with our seats and the view. We also had seats in front of the swimming pool with lights on, the surrounding are just really nice. The bar was full when we arrived but it wasn't noisy at all, the music was low and people were talking together gently which made a relaxing atmosphere for conversations with friends.

Luna Bar is another night bar which is on the top of the Pacific Regency Hotel Suites. A very nice bar, but the cocktails were really bad and really expensive. We thought about a beer instead but ended up trying four different cocktails which were quite disappointing. It was a shame because they had everything, nice swimming pool, great location, friendly staff, amazing view. I do love the toilet there to be honest. This is the best toilet I've ever seen. I felt like I was peeing down the tower through the glass. I would come back to this place just to check out the toilet again for sure :).

My friend wanted to show me all aspects of the nightlife. The Queen was another stop and this is one of the most popular gay bars in Kuala Lumpur. The night life in KL is just amazing, so wild especially if you come to this bar. It was so crowded with young people around, dancing and smoking. Beer and drinks here wasn't expensive at all. This is a really late bar which people come to from 11.30 pm till 4 am.

Transportation In Malaysia

As I mentioned in the previous post, Malaysia is a really modern city and they have great transportation system. It helped me so much to travel around KL. I used the 'Hop On Hop Off' bus for my city tour. I paid only R$38 for the whole day! The bus also provided head phones with recorded information about all of the stops. You can get off the bus at any stop and get back on 45 minutes later.

Traveling around KL by taxi is not a good idea at all because of the cost, especially from the airport. There are quite a few different levels of taxi for you to choose from budget taxi up to deluxe. I took the premier taxi - a very old Mercedes - and it cost R117 which is over $30 and I couldn't even wind the window down. But it is possible to make a deal with the taxi driver for long distance trips or even inside the city. A friend told me that later.

The normal bus system is another good option for getting around KL. They provide big buses with air conditioning, which are clean and comfortable. For less than a dollar that you can travel from one place to another. The local bus from KL to Melaka was really nice and there was plenty of leg room and it was a pleasant trip. But I wasn't happy with the mean bus driver from Maleka to Singapore at all. He was so rude by the way he spoke to everyone but the trip was fine. Thank god I made it to Singapore.

The sky train is also a great to get around KL for both day time or in the evening. It's really clean and not really fast so I could see everything happening out the window.

All in all, the transport in KL is pretty convenient.

Welcome To Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is such a modern and green city with big trees along the streets and in the parks. It is a very interesting city with lots of fun things to do, and it's very easy to travel from place to place. There are heaps of options for visitors to choose from, including bus, MRT, Sky train or taxi. This is a really multi-ccultural country which means you can find different types of great food and meet different people from all over the world.

Wandering around Kuala Lumpur is very easy and safe during the day or late at night. Accommodation and food are not really expensive as well. The people are friendly in general and helpful and I'm really impressed. There are a mix of Indian, Arab, Chinese and Malaysian people. After quite a few conversations with the locals, I guessed that Malaysians don't really like Indians and Arabs for some reason. I recognised that during my trip but my attitude is that people are different and I don't like to judge people on their race.

Follow my story in the next few posts and you'll see how enjoyable my trip was and I also will give you guys some entertaining places that I have been to. I am sure you will like them if you ever make it to this part of the world.