Kuala Lumpur: Recharging in Malaysia's Capital

Sabbatical trip continues, 4th country: Malaysia! It’s hard to believe it’s been over a month since we left the UK, but here we are, touching down to the vibrant capital, Kuala Lumpur. This place has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I am beyond excited to finally explore it.

We flew into "KL" from Krabi and landed at its massive international airport, which is quite far from the city centre. Our friend, who had joined us earlier in Phuket, met up with us again for this leg of the trip before his flight back to London. Since we landed around the same time in the early evening, we shared a Grab taxi into the city.

That’s when we got our first taste of the legendary and "horrendous" KL traffic. What should have been a one-hour journey stretched into nearly two hours to reach the city centre (KLCC). It gave me major flashbacks to my life in Istanbul, commuting to work in that nightmare weekday rush hour!

There was a silver lining to the car trip, though. As we crawled through the sea of red brake lights, we witnessed our very first rain of 2026. After weeks of nothing but continuous sunshine, watching the tropical thunderstorms roll in made us weirdly excited. I suspect it’s a side effect of living in the UK—the sight of grey clouds felt like a little piece of home?! Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m missing the British winter AT ALL. We’ve heard it’s been raining non-stop every single day back there this year, which only confirms that our timing for this trip was absolutely perfect.

KL is a vertical city, growing upward at a staggering rate. On the drive in, we passed dozens of massive residential towers (30+ floors) standing like giants even outside the main downtown area. It’s a clear sign of how rapidly the city is expanding.

For our stay, we booked a serviced apartment through Airbnb. This is the most common form of accommodation in KL and offers incredible value. You get a home-like feel (perfect for catching up on mountains of laundry for travellers like us!) plus access to gym and rooftop pool with panoramic views of the skyline - which worked out perfectly.

Our check-in, on the other hand, was a bit of a "Welcome to the Jungle" moment. There were dozens of guests crowded at the entrance, all waiting for a single security guard to manually log everyone into a notebook. With multiple Airbnb agencies managing nearly 500 flats, the lobby was pure chaos! Luckily, our host met us in few mins, handed us the key card and passcode for the door, and gave us one parting warning: "Be patient with the elevators." She wasn't kidding. With only three elevators serving the entire complex, waiting for a lift became our new daily test of patience!

After dropping our bags on the 12th floor flat, we met our friend in the lobby and went hunting for food. We found a local Malaysian-Indian (Mamak) restaurant nearby. You know you’ve hit the jackpot when you are the only tourists in the place and locals give you that "What are you doing here?" look. Waiters were incredibly kind, helping us navigate the menu with Google Translate. We ordered the legendary crispy "pink" fried chicken (Ayam Goreng), spicy chili, and curry sauce over rice. While everyone around us was eating traditionally with their hands, I wasn't quite ready for that level of immersion yet! We also tucked into various types of Roti Canai (flaky Malaysian flatbread)—absolutely delicious!

After fuelling up, we were ready for a night out. We hopped on the LRT (Light Rail Transit) from the nearby station , which runs mostly above ground. KL’s transport is actually quite impressive. The LRT and Monorail are mostly elevated, while the newer MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) is the heavy-duty line that goes deep underground through the city center.

We first headed to Bukit Bintang, the absolute heart of the city. Being a Saturday night, the atmosphere was electric—super crowded, vibrant, and bursting with life. There were street performers everywhere, and people were dancing and singing in the middle of the sidewalk. With the massive, glowing LED screens towering over us, it felt like a tropical version of Times Square. I absolutely loved the energy!

From there, we wandered into Jalan Alor, KL’s most famous food street. It’s a wild mix of Malay, Chinese, and international cuisines, but there is one thing you can’t escape: Durian. Southeast Asia’s obsession with the "King of Fruits" is on full display here. There are entire cafes dedicated to it, selling a dizzying variety of different grades and types.

They always say you either love or hate durian. Personally, I’m stuck in the middle: I actually enjoy the ice cream, but I can't quite handle the fruit itself! Where does that leave me on the durian spectrum? :)

We eventually ended up on Changkat Bukit Bintang (central bar street). In a bizarre twist of Malaysian alcohol taxes, the cocktails were actually cheaper than the beer! We toasted to our first night in KL with two rounds of drinks and danced to 2000s classics until well after midnight.

Next day began with a much-needed slow start, as side effect of our flight and Saturday night-out. We kicked things off with brunch in Chow Kit (apparently it's a new trendy neighbourhood here) here. From there, we spent the afternoon wandering through the city’s historic layers, but I have to say: while KL is such a walkable city, the heat and humidity combo hits hard! So it was compulsory to be fueled by the MANY iced teas and coffees we grabbed at almost every street corner to keep our energy up.

From Chow Kit, we walked through the vibrant Indian community, passing endless rows of gold shops and textile stores. This led us into the heart of the Old Town toward the Masjid Jamek Mosque, which sits at the symbolic "V" where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet. It’s a special spot because it’s literally the birthplace of the city. Back in the 1850s, this area was just a muddy swamp used by tin miners, which is actually where the city gets its name—Kuala Lumpur literally translates to "Muddy Confluence." 

We eventually reached Merdeka Square (Independence Square) and explored the massive open grounds, surrounded by the stunning colonial-era architecture of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, The building has just finished renovations, and we were lucky enough to catch a cool display by the KL Tourism Board showing the city's impressive evolution from that "muddy" junction to the metropolis it is today.

Around late afternoon, we dived into Chinatown and the Central Market, eventually navigating the sensory overload of Petaling Street. We wandered through the endless stalls fake brands and street snacks before settling down for dinner at a Peranakan restaurant. I had the coconut curry noodles (Laksa) and finished with ABC (Ais Kacang)—a traditional Malaysian dessert made of shaved ice, syrups, corn, beans and various toppings. It’s weird, colorful, and exactly what you need in this humidity!

Last but certainly not least, we headed to the main event: Petronas Twin Towers. We timed our arrival to catch the "Lake Symphony" water fountain show at Suria KLCC, which runs for few mins at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm typically every day. I must admit, it's not the most fascinating water show I've seen, but watching the 'silver queens' in the background was totally a "pinch-me" moment!

These towers are incredibly iconic to KL and Malaysia in general; so seeing them in person is a completely different experience—they look like two massive silver spaceships docked in the middle of the city. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world today. It turns out, their construction was an international race! One tower was assigned to a Japanese team and the other to a South Korean team to see who could finish first. Despite starting a month later, the SK wins the race - wow!

The following day started with a classic Malaysian breakfast: Kaya Toast (coconut jam and butter) with soft-boiled eggs and a Teh Tarik (pulled tea).

Properly fuelled, we headed to the city’s other heavy hitter: Batu Caves. While you can take the train, they only run about every 45 minutes, and the nearest station was a 25-minute walk in the melting heat—a distance that felt physically impossible today for some reason! We opted for a Grab taxi, which got us there in about 25 minutes.

Batu Caves is a massive Hindu temple complex and one of the most important Tamil shrines outside of India. As we arrived, we were greeted by the Lord Murugan statue, a towering 42.7-meter golden giant. It had been covered in scaffolding for renovations recently, so we were lucky to see it fully uncovered!

We spent some time exploring the temples at the base, where we were even blessed by a priest who placed the traditional pottu (dot) on our foreheads. Then, it was time for the main event: 272 rainbow-colored stairs, which is definitely worth it as it leads to the breathtaking "Cathedral Cave" - it's massive, with limestone walls reaching toward the sky, estimated to be around 400 million years old!

After a quick refreshment, we tried to call a Grab back, but the traffic let us back again... So we had to pivot our plans to the KTM train instead. Once back in the city center, we navigated our way back to the flat by walking through the malls—one of the best "hacks" in KL! You can cross half the city in air-conditioned comfort by just hopping from one shopping center to the next - mall hopping as it's best.

Finally, the rest of our time in KL was all about the 'slowing down'. After a month on the road, we finally took a breath to catch up on some life admin—there is nothing quite as satisfying as finally getting through a mountain of laundry!

In a brilliant twist of fate, I also got to meet up with a colleague from London, who happened to be back home (KL) at the exact same time we were visiting. I love the random magic of travel plans!

As one of my favourite activities when travelling is 'exploring foreign grocery stores' (what a weirdo!), I spent an evening wandering through a massive local supermarket (I think it's a cultural experience itself, sue me). So, after weeks of street/restaurant food, I was actually craving something homemade. I picked up some fresh ingredients, made myself a massive salad, and spent the night in the flat just watching TV. Much needed mental recharge and fuel-up, before packing back again and hitting the road.

Next stop: Langkawi!

Wrapping up Kuala Lumpur:

Local recommendations:

• Breakfast or Lunch: 103 Coffee Chow Kit, Silverfox Cafe, Bungkus Kaw Kaw, Rani Vegetarian Restaurant

• Dinner: Mohd Yaseem Nasi Kandar, Jalan Alor Street Market

• Coffee: Dines Coffee, Kenangan Coffee

• Drinks: Goodfellas Changkat, Boost Juice Bars, SkyBar, Tealive, Gong Cha

• Accommodation: Majestic Residence