Whenever visiting a new place, chances are, you will end up asking people for recommendations on spots to visit where they will name a couple of them followed by “That’s where the tourists go”. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2016)
After having lunch at the food court of Pavilion KL, my college classmates and I hailed a cab to Merdeka Square. We are staying in an Airbnb at the KLCC area, so it took us a while to get there, plus there was a traffic jam.
Our cab driver dropped us off in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and said, “There, that’s where the tourists go” while pointing at the Merdeka Square and the museums surrounding it.
I remembered specifically requesting my classmates to visit museums because I need to get some information for a paper on Southeast Asian Art that I was then writing for grad school. I am pretty sure they don’t like it but said yes anyway.
We met another classmate for dinner at Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang where a lot of street food stalls are located. He asked me, “Ano, Sher, okay ka na sa museums mo?” (“So, Sher, were you able to do your museum thing?) That’s how I confirmed it. Everybody wants something else that afternoon, but they went to the museums with me anyway.
Naturally, I asked her for recommendations on where to go, and she told me that I can take the train to Kota Tua, and Cafe Batavia is “where the tourists go”. She added that it’s a very touristy cafe, therefore the food is expensive.
Jakarta, Indonesia
This time I did not mind visiting the cafe. It has a colonial vibe, old, rustic interiors, and damn, the toilet is so selfie-friendly. The nasi goreng I had was one of the best. I also had the most expensive coconut juice, ever. It was a lovely day.
I know a lot of people who were ‘not impressed’ with Kuala Lumpur, saying there’s really nothing special there. I beg to disagree.
I had the chance to visit Malaysia when a group of friends came up with an idea of going there as a group. I honestly don’t have a lot of expectations going there, and I just want to catch up with friends whom I have not seen for a long time. I surely had a good time with them, but KL has exceeded my expectations. In my opinion, here are three reasons on how to appreciate KL as a city to travel to, despite a lot of people saying it’s not impressive:
#1: Kuala Lumpur is a cultural melting pot, therefore it is also a foodie haven.
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, but like Singapore, it has a huge number of Chinese and Indians. Therefore, expect that Kuala Lumpur can offer you the best gastronomic experience of your life. Fancy some big Indian food? Kuala Lumpur has got you covered. Craving for Chinese food? There are Chinese restaurants all over the city. Want to have a local culinary awareness? There are night markets for that.
#2: Petronas Twin Towers is a unique world wonder.
Are you planning a trip to Malaysia a la Anthony Bourdain? Click the banner above to check where Tony went.
#3: If you’re missing a piece of home, wherever you came from, Kuala Lumpur most likely has got you.
Kuala Lumpur is a cultural melting pot, but it is also one of the obvious manifestations of the globalization phenomenon. You can possibly find McDonald’s and Starbucks all over the city. If you want to go shopping for foreign brands, Kuala Lumpur has a lot of high-end malls for that. Just like any other big Southeast Asian city, Kuala Lumpur is a concrete jungle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLehIcEH-V8/
When I previously attended a conference in Surabaya, Indonesia, I met a lot of new colleagues from Universiti Malaya and University of Malaysia Terengganu, and they were the most amazing people I met. I love how kind and gentle Malaysians are, and I actually promised them I’ll visit them in Malaysia next time. Having more reasons to visit a place again apart from the usual sightseeing makes a more meaningful travel experience for me. Plus, who doesn’t want to see Kuala Terengganu? I’ve been Googling the place and it’s so beautiful there.
Also, since my friends and I only spent a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur, I never had the chance to visit other sites, such as Batu Caves, Cameron Highlands, and even the local markets. After this pandemic, I vow to go back to KL again this time to go around on my own like I usually did in other cities, visit more museums and art galleries, eat food I haven’t tried yet, visit restaurants and sites that Anthony Bourdain visited, and visit nearby cities like Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, Selangor, and many other. God, I miss traveling, a lot.
On our first day in Kuala Lumpur, my friends and I had a chill stroll around the Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square) area to observe the local city life, see what the tourists are up to, and visit a couple of museums.
Not so long ago, I had the chance to travel to Malaysia with a group of friends. Having traveled to a Southeast Asian city outside the Philippines is a dream come true for me since I want to visit as many of them as possible. If you’ve been reading articles in this blog from time to time, you might been getting the idea that I love Southeast Asia to death.
Kuala Lumpur did not surprise me so much, but don’t get me wrong, I had the best experience traveling with friends in this city. I love the food scene, I love the Manila-like cityscapes, and I love that it’s a melting pot of different cultures, just ike Singapore.
One afternoon, we decided to walk around Merdeka Square (as our cab driver has described, it’s the place “where tourists usually go”). I was able to appreciate some remnants of the British colonial rule, the differences of its culture with the Philippines, and how Malaysia could be like any other city that responds to the demands of globalization.
KLCC PARK. From our accommodation at ViPod Residences in KLCC, we took a walk around the vicinity to go sightseeing before hopping on a cab going to Merdeka Square. I was excited to take street shots because I’m more comfortable and more creative if I’m in another city making photographs than when I’m in my own homeland. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that since the Philippines is so familiar to me and I see all the usual sights every single day, I underappreciate their beauty and therefore not really give much attention to them. I’m always obsessed about traveling outside and seeing fresh destination, but I tend to forget that my own ‘backyard’ has its own beauty.
CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. A detour at a bank for a small errand has led us to observe the vicinity of the corporate area of Kuala Lumpur. Just like any other business district in Asia, you will encounter workers dressed in a typical Western corporate attire because they are working in an airconditioned office in a high-rise building despite having a very hot humid Southeast Asian weather outside. Walking around her feels very much like walking around the Makati Central Business District in Manila.
THE INTERSECTION. Traffic officers are very well-dressed and controlling the flow of the vehicles at the intersection of the Merdeka Square area. Just like any other Southeast Asian big city, Kuala Lumpur traffic could get crazy with all the vehicles especially during rush hour. I honestly can no longer remember how I ended up taking this photo, but I love how it depicts a busy scene and lots of movements. I don’t know about you, but I’m also hearing the noise of the road in this photograph. The part of Sultan Abdul Samad Building by the background gave the photo an even more interesting texture.
THE FOUNTAIN IS OFF. Had they turned on this fountain, it could make a perfect shot with the Sultan Abdul Samad Building at the background, but it’s totally fine. Adding an element of people inside the frame can usually add life to a photo. Street photography is known to have lots of people walking inside the frame, but most of the time they are not the subject of the photo.
THE INTERSECTION, AGAIN, DESATURATED, THIS TIME. As the sun kept on moving the whole afternoon, one corner of the area is expected to look differently at a certain interval. Now that the sun is about to set in this time, I made it a point to go back to the intersection, this time in another corner, to take a shot of the possible new shadows and exposures that the current direction of the sun provides. It’s still a busy and noisy road.
A NOT-SO-CROWDED SQUARE. There were only a few people at Dataran Merdeka during the time of our visit — mostly locals, a few tourists, including our group. As I saw a lady just sitting quietly at the square, I can’t help but think about how come I find it so hard to slow down at life. I’m living life everyday exhausting myself so much and always figuring out the next big thing. I want to go to lots of places. I want to achieve lots of things. I want to buy whatever I want. I can’t even manage to try doing what this lady is doing. I feel like it’s a waste of time because I only have a limited time in KL, so might as well go to as many places as I can. But, the good news is, fast forward to the time you’re reading it, I already learned how to slow down in life. Thank you, COVID-19.
THE ICONIC FACADE. Across Dataran Merdeka is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building where you can literally see how the former colonial rule influenced the building’s architecture and how it defines the present-day Kuala Lumpur. The building looks very stunning! While I want to take a perfect shot of the building, my noob photography skills did not allow me to. But hey, I love this shot.
BLANK (AND GREEN) SPACES. We all know that the concrete jungle which is Metro Manila was not gifted with an open green space this wide, so having something like this in the city of Kuala Lumpur at the Dataran Merdeka is a huge deal.
Are you in Malaysia and looking for some fun activities to do with your friends and family? I’ve got a recommendation for ya!
During our stay in Malaysia, my friends and myself dedicated one whole day to explore and have fun at Sunway Lagoon. I must say that this place is a good bonding place for friends and families. There are so many attractions and shops. Sure, it’s crowded because this theme park is sooooo huge, but you will really have a good time here if you visit it with friends. For Filipinos, I can compare this place to Splash Island and Enchanted Kingdom and Star City combined.
There are a lot of parts to visit and a lot of activities to do. Aside from the water parks and rides, there are ATVs and archery ranges.
Sunway Lagoon Amusement Park
This is the dry part of the park. Shops, food kiosks, and rides suitable to kids are found here. To my surprise, the dancers in one part of the park are Filipinos. They recognized me as a Filipino because I was wearing my school shirt that day. Cool!
See? It looks like a typical happy theme park.
Sunway Lagoon Extreme Park
This is the part with extreme rides. Call me a loser but I did not try any of these haha! It’s been 20+ years of existing in this planet and yet I never found joy and excitement over trying extreme rides like the ones in theme parks. I would rather chase for adrenaline somewhere.
So here at Sunway Lagoon, I’d rather chill at the beach area.
Sunway Lagoon Water Park
This is the largest area in Sunway Lagoon. It consists of water playgrounds and several pools that are suitable for all ages. Please note that they do not allow denim shorts in all pool areas. The lifeguards are strict and vigilant enough to refuse entry of those not wearing the proper swimming attire.
How did I know about this important information? I was wearing a damn denim shorts when I went here. I did not bother bringing any swimwear. I forgot I have a cycling shorts which I was wearing underneath my dress when I took the flight, but man, I totally forgot about it. Fml.
I checked out the swimwears being sold at shops inside Sunway Lagoon, but they were unsurprisingly overpriced. Like I said, let’s just proceed to the beach area.
Surf Beach
This artificial wave pool looks like a real beach and I did not mind spending hours at the shore. Since the sun is not that hot that day, I was even able to sleep while my friends are trying out the extreme rides. According to sources, it is Asia’s largest wave pool. Near the pools are shops and lockers where you can leave your valuables while swimming.
See? It’s more peaceful here! I’m really getting older, damn.
When we get older, we tend to get easily drained from too much social activity and we constantly tend to seek some peace and quiet away from this complicated world and life.
The Verdict
Sunway Lagoon is really worth your time and money. There are many parts that we were not able to visit, and I was hoping to come back next time to try the other parts, such as the Scream Park, the Wildlife Park, and the Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon. While it is more enjoyable to experience if you have friends and/or family with you, I do not discount the possibility that you can also enjoy it alone. I highly recommend not missing this place if you happen to travel to Malaysia. Thumbs up!
Are you planning to explore the beautiful country of Malaysia? Here’s a Borneo Malaysia travel guide for you, which exactly traces the Borneo Episode of the travel show Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown.
Malaysia is one of the beautiful countries in Southeast Asia that I would recommend to explore outside the capital city Kuala Lumpur. Don’t get me wrong, Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful city, but Malaysia is way more than that. At the Malaysian outskirts, you have a lot of beaches, mountains, tea plantations, theme parks, you name it!
Malaysia is composed to two main land masses: the peninsular Malaysia which is attached to mainland Asia, is where the capital city of Kuala Lumpur is located. At the southernmost tip of this part, you will find Singapore. The other part of Malaysia is located in Borneo Island, where Malaysia shares with Brunei and Indonesia. This part is where you can find the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Anthony Bourdain had a layover at Kuala Lumpur before going to his main destination, Borneo. This Parts Unknown episode is a sequel of his prior visit to the island around ten years ago for another travel series. The theme of his episode focuses more on his trip down memory lane and a reflection of how much he grew as a person since his last trip to Borneo.
TRAVELING TO MALAYSIA: My Experience
One of my first trips around Southeast Asia started with a short trip to Kuala Lumpur with some friends from college. I can write about my Malaysia trip in a separate blog, but I must say that I enjoyed the multicultural gastronomic scene in Malaysia just as how Anthony Bourdain enjoyed restaurant-hopping in Kuala Lumpur for this particular Parts Unknown episode. Just like Bourdain, we had a night market dinner experience at the iconic Jalan Alor and ate some local food.
I am looking forward to explore more of Borneo in my next trips to Malaysia, if given a chance. In the meantime, I am saving every item of this itinerary for later. And I insist, you should, too!
You might find these articles interesting as well:
5. Have an Alcohol-Free Karaoke Session at Kuching Waterfront
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE: Brooke Dockyard at Kuching Waterfront
Anthony Bourdain having an alcohol-free afternoon at a karaoke bar
Locals in Sarawak dancing in a karaoke bar at Kuching
6. Have a Mini-Cruise at Skrang River
Anthony Bourdain on his way to visit Entalau
7. Stop for Lunch and Eat Bamboo Chicken by the River
Bamboo Chicken being cooked
Bamboo Chicken after cooking
SEE ALSO
8. Celebrate Gawai (Harvest Festival) with the Locals
Anthony Boudain being welcomed at Entalau for the Gawai
8.1. Visit a Longhouse at Entalau and get to know the Iban community.
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE: Entalau
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE: A Longhouse in Entalau
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE: Inside a Longhouse in Entalau
8.2. Shoot a pig for Gawai
Anthony Bourdain shooting a pig for Gawai
Anthony Bourdain shooting a pig for Gawai
8.3. Drink Tuak, Langkau, and more booze until you pass out.
Locals having unlimited booze to celebrate Gawai
Locals passing out after drinking so much during Gawai celebration
8.4. Party, go to sleep, wake up, and repeat in the next three days.
Anthony Bourdain drinking different kinds of booze in Gawai
Anthony Bourdain passing out after drinking during Gawai
9. Get inked with a traditional Iban tattoo.
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE: Getting a traditional Iban tattoo
Anthony Bourdain gets inked with a traditional Iban tattoo
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE: An Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Itinerary
There you have it! We all know that Anthony Bourdain’s main preference when traveling is to try the local food and talking to locals about life in the destinations they are in. Of course, you are always welcome to add and weed out some of the items here to have a more customized travel itinerary. In my opinion, though, I believe the things done by Anthony Bourdain during his travels are worthy of trying out. So, I wish you happy travels and wait for your photos on Instagram? Travel safely!
Southeast Asia region is a very popular travel destination, and a lot of travel bloggers have written so much about it. It is popular not only to budget travelers and backpackers (because man, they always say this is the cheapest region to travel to), but also to digital nomads, photographers, and travel bloggers themselves as well.
While everyone has been talking about Southeast Asia travel on blogs, vlogs, and Instagram, I honestly believe there is no other nice way to get insider tips about traveling in the region than from Southeast Asia travel bloggers themselves. Most of them are born and raised in this region of the world and they surely know a lot about their countries of origin than anybody else.
Now, without further ado, I have collected a list of 19 Southeast Asia travel bloggers whom you can stalk on Instagram and learn tips by reading their blogs:
Nu Myat is a Doctor by profession and also a travel blogger. Based in Myanmar, she is the Chief Editor of Chic Magazine and My Journey Magazine. She has been to 50 countries so far.
Santel Phin is an IT guy by profession and a self-proclaimed cinephile. His blog is a good reference when traveling around Cambodia where he provides free travel guides.
David Hogan, Jr. has been travel blogging since 2007, the year where the first batch of travel bloggers emerged. He is also a bird watcher and scuba diver.
Vkeong is a Programmer by profession and owns two dogs and a cat. He was also an ex-durian seller based in Malaysia and he mostly posts and blogs about food.
Keith Jerkin’s blog focuses on luxury travel and he is the CEO of iambassador. He is currently based in Amsterdam where he posts stunning photos on his Instagram feed. I also specifically like his interest in architecture and history.
For more travel articles about Malaysia, click on the banner below:
Sherlyn is a Lecturer of Southeast Asian Studies based in Manila and her Instagram feed is full of vibrant and colorful photos from her travels around Southeast Asia and beyond. She writes about Instagram-worthy spots, museums, and restaurant reviews.
This blog can serve as your ultimate guide to traveling around Indonesia where they post articles about different tourist desinations in the archipelago.
Suan and Adam are Indonesian and Australian travel couple who blogs about their experiences from the 72 countries they have traveled to so far. They are also authors of 5 books and they offer private tours to tourists.
Julia and Marius are award-winning travel bloggers in Indonesia where they won awards at InfluenceAsia 2017 and RCTISocMed Awards 2016. They also post vlogs on their YouTube channel.
Mel has been eating her way around the wold and the photos she posts of food with tourist spots as backgrounds really captured the inspiration of a lot of wanderlusts.
Jaclynn Seah’s travel blog is always there to remind us that there is more to life than working, which is taking some time off to travel. She is currently based in Singapore.
For more travel articles about Indonesia, click on the banner below:
Keith Yuen has been solo traveling to 105 countries (and counting!) and has been featured in so many media channels such as Mediacorp TV, Radio, Newspaper, European Union, and China Central TV, among others.
TravelerFolio has been posting a lot of travel photos and tips mostly from his home country, Singapore.
For more travel articles about Singapore, click on the banner below:
Southeast Asia Travel Bloggers: Any Recommendations?
There you have it! There is no better way travel stories in Southeast Asia could be told than by Southeast Asian travel bloggers themselves. i hope they were able to inspire you to see more of the Southeast Asia region and the whole world as well. Happy travels!
If you want to be included in the list, don’t hesitate to send me a DM at instagram.com/wheressherlyn. 🙂
Southeast Asia is a very popular travel destination to travelers all over the world from all walks of life. Traveling around the region can be a little intimidating because of geographical challenges and language barriers. Moreover, despite being a popular travel destination, a lot of important information are still not available to travelers. I myself as a Southeast Asian citizen still find it hard to gather information about the places I’m going to as I plan my travels around Southeast Asia. Hence, a hardbound or electronic Southeast Asia travel book guide that you can buy online like at Amazon.com can serve as a big help because not all information are available over the internet.
SOUTHEAST ASIA TRAVEL BOOK GUIDES: THE LIST
For the benefit of my readers and followers (I know most of you are based or frequently traveling around Southeast Asian region), I’ve compiled these list of books on Southeast Asia travel guide that you can purchase in Amazon.com. I’ve provided the links below the books for your convenience, and I actually purchased some of these books that’s why I recommend them.
1. Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring (Travel Guide)
We know for a fact that Lonely Planet produce the best travel guides about a lot of places! With “Southeast Asia”, they meant ALL Southeast Asian countries. I personally own a copy of this book and the information they provide is very comprehensive.
A very popular Southeast Asian route is the mainland or Indochina sub-region. Lonely Planet came up with this guide specific to exploring this part of the region. This guide provides insider tips that you can never find anywhere else.
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
3. Insight Guides Southeast Asia (Travel Guide)
Insight Guides provide us a lot of stunning photographs on their travel guides, so prepared to be inspired by a lot of stunning photographs all over Southeast Asian region with this guide. The cover photo which was taken in Bali, Indonesia is elegant!
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
4. Southeast Asia: An Introductory History
Milton Osborne made a version of Southeast Asian history that can be appreciated even by non-history buffs. Given the good reviews I read about this book, I can’t help but also purchase a copy of it. No regrets, I also was able to use it in the University whenever I handle courses on Southeast Asia. Awesome!
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
5. The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget (Travel Guide)
This particular Rough Guide was able to provide tips on how to explore more of Southeast Asia with the lowest budget possible. This is going to be helpful to anyone planning their trips to Southeast Asia.
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
6. Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia
As a Lecturer of International Relations and Southeast Asian Studies, I find this book very interesting in terms of painting a picture on how Southeast Asian stats interact. Considering that we are a region with no Great Powers, we were able to thrive and make it as one of the best regions in the world and a primary economic hub. Even if you’re not into Southeast Asian history and politics, reading this book might make you appreciate why some Southeast Asian capital cities are progressive, or why some Southeast Asian countries remain to be the poorest ones internationally.
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
7. Southeast Asia: A Very Short Introduction
If you do not have the luxury of time to learn everything there is about Southeast Asian history, or if you simply want to have an overview of the region’s history, James Rush has summarized everything for you.
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
8. A Traveller’s History of Southeast Asia
This version of Southeast Asian history is specifically designed for travelers to the region coming from different backgrounds. While I am not sure why the authors did not include the Philippines and Myanmar, it’s still a fairly good Southeast Asia travel book guide.
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
9. Southeast Asia – Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam: A Solo Girl’s Travel Guide
Alexa West is one of the female travel bloggers that I really look up to. While I am not (yet) prepared to ditch my University Lecturing job to travel the world, I just express my admiration to women like her and be inspired to do the same in the future. I also want to write my own travel guides like her Southeast Asia travel book guide!
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
10. Southeast Asia Phrasebook and Dictionary
Whenever traveling around Southeast Asia, it does not hurt to learn a few words or phrases that can be useful when communicating to locals. Not every country in the region has English as their second language, and this Southeast Asia travel book language guide handpicked the most frequently used words in conversing with locals whenever traveling around the region.
Click the banner below for travel tips in:
There you have it! 🙂 I am wishing all of you a smooth trip around Southeast Asia with the help of these Southeast Asia travel book recommendations from Amazon. If you want to suggest some ideas on what I could write as a travel guide around the region, you may always send me an email at sherlynmaehernandez@gmail.com. Happy travels! 🙂
As I was going around Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur, I cam across a group of museums that are next to each other. As I was also beating the Malaysian heat at the same time, the museum enthusiast in me did not hesitate to check out these museums (which are free entrance, btw) and one of them is Music Museum Malaysia or Muzium Muzic. Below are some photos I took inside the museum which highlight the musical heritage and influences of the different federal states of Malaysia. Enjoy!
Music Museum Malaysia: Photo Gallery
I found out about the sad closing down of Music Museum Malaysia through the article from The Star Malaysia entitled The Day the Music Died.
It was a little sad for the museum enthusiasts community to know a museum is closing down because there will be a lot of missed opportunities to educate travelers and other people about the history of Malay musical heritage and influences. However, I am hoping I could see all the installations in other museums around Malaysia. Fingers crossed!
For more travel articles about Malaysia, click the banner below:
You heard it right, a Kuala Lumpur trip just made me frustrated about traveling in group. I just want to travel solo.
I just feel like I had to write this down, because traveling with the wrong people can change your perception about traveling, a lot.
With “the wrong people”, I meant people who have different preferences than you when it comes to making choices when traveling, whether it’s which places to visit, what time to go out and go back to the hotel, where to eat, and all those basic trip-related decisions.
It sucks when to find out that your companions are not going into historical places and museums, and would rather go shopping and staying at the hotel most of the time. It sucks to find out that your companions are not into planning the days, at all. More importantly, it sucks that I have to find out these details when I’m already with them, on a trip.
My (not-so-colorful) College Life
After a Kuala Lumpur trip, I just want to travel solo. But first, a little background of my college life.
I did not have the best college life that I wish to have. College has a lot to offer to a typical teenager – opportunities to learn more about yourself and the things you are passionate about with extra-curricular activities, opportunities to meet friends which could possibly be the most reliable people in your life, and an endless set of opportunities that you will never get hold of once you leave the University halls and officially transition into adult life.
But I was not your typical kind of student. I spent most of my college life inside the library, if I am outside the classroom. For one thing, I have a lot of limitations — having just enough allowance for the week (studying college in Manila is hella expensive, to tell you the truth, and I have to be cooperative with the people making ends meet just to send me to an excellent and expensive university).
Another thing, from my first day in college to the last class I attended, I was keeping the mindset that whatever I do in this university could determine what kind of future I will have. And I want the best version of future for myself and my family. I have a long list of ambitions, and being a little laidback will just not help. So, I hustled and strove to always get 4.0s in most of my classes, thinking excellent grades could land me to the best careers out there (but I was wrong, actually. Details to follow in another post.)
Given this, I did not have much social life back then. While most of my classmates would hangout somewhere in-between or after classes, I would go to the library and read. As far as I can remember, I only experienced one “Happy Thursday” in my entire college life. “Happy Thursday” is when students in my university would drink, party, or have dinner on a Thursday night because the university does not hold classes on Fridays. Other than that, I think I would occasionally go on random mall trip with my few friends to watch movies or eat.
I know, I know, sounds like a sad, boring college life. Half of me regretted not being able to enjoy it, but half of me is thanking myself for investing that hard for my future. In my last year of college, that’s when I promised myself to try to socialize with my batchmates and actually make friends with people (hashtag introvert, all caps!!). It wasn’t easy! Until eventually I found myself regularly hanging out with some batchmates, who weren’t the best group of people, but they became the most reliable people in my life that time.
Like most college friendships which tend to grow apart after graduating, we dealt with different life changes and our individual daily activities became more and more unfamiliar, therefore catching up and relating with each and everyone became harder. Sure, we still maintained that Facebook Messenger group chat, but it has became so random that no one would no longer talk about something because we were occupied with new chapters of our life — law school, marriage, moving to another country, getting new jobs, among others.
One day, one of my friends alerted the group chat that there is a seat sale promotion happening with a budget airline, and thought we should book a flight to Kuala Lumpur together, because one of our friends moved to Kuala Lumpur for work. Everyone was excited about the idea, including me, so we expressed our interest and he did the booking. The trip was all set.
And then. like most group trips, one by one, people started backing out, which was not a surprise to me. I myself was starting to lose interest about the trip, too. I was just holding to the excitement of seeing Kuala Lumpur for the first time and not caring about who I am gonna be with on that trip. So I did not back out, and there were four of us who pushed through with the trip, plus our friends who’s based in Kuala Lumpur.
The departure day to Kuala Lumpur felt like college all over again. The time waiting time before boarding and the 3-ish hour plane ride was not enough to catch up with several years amount of stories. We exchanged stories about our jobs, new relationships, past relationships, previous trips, and even reminisced about those crazy days from college. I was suddenly excited to be with this group of people in the next couple of days.
We happened to have rented a very nice accommodation with a beautiful view of Petronas Towers which made me more excited. Prior to the trip, I actually bought a travel guidebook and read about the nice places to visit in the city. On our arrival night, we had a street food trip just near our place and had a good time. However I suddenly remembered we do not have any plans for the trip aside from meeting our Kuala Lumpur-based friend.
Our Very Spontaneous Kuala Lumpur Trip
In an ideal world where I would travel solo and maximize my stay in another city, I would wake up very early to catch the sunrise somewhere or by my hotel window, would plan my day in a more detailed manner to weed out unrealistic and not-so-doable items, or maybe prepare and eat breakfast in a local breakfast place or something. Then I would proceed with my day, check out museums, walk around, take street photos, go to the local market, visit the usual tourist spots, and try to eat somewhere local.
But of course, it was all fantasy, because I just can’t tell these people that this is the kind of day I want for that day. It’s 10AM and they’re still sleeping. I don’t even know our plans. I don’t want to boss around them nd tell this and that. I’m starting to feel frustrated. Then I took the courage to suggest that we visit museums that afternoon. Since the group has literally no plans, they went with the idea.
We visited Merdeka Square, walked around, went museum-hopping. It was nice that I was able to visit a few museums and art galleries in Kuala Lumpur, until I got annoyed with my companions.
If you’re new in this blog, you might not be aware how much I love visiting museums and how I want to learn things about the place I was visiting. Therefore, I absorb as many information as I could, and therefore I move very slooooow from one exhibit/gallery to another.
Whenever the group was about to proceed to another exhibit/gallery, even if I was busy reading and taking photos, they would call me to go with them. “Sher, let’s go.” They did this to me a couple of times.
I don’t know about you, but it was frustrating.
We proceeded to have dinner at Jalan Alor where we met our Kuala Lumpur-based friend. It was a fun night, to be fair. We ate some local dishes and exchanged stories. My friend was able to talk about his life in Kuala Lumpur, his interactions with people, and how is Kuala Lumpur compared to Manila. It was a fun-filled night which took away my frustrations with the group.
Until my friend randomly asked me, “So Sher, ano, okay ka na sa museums? Nagawa mo na yung dapat mong gawin?” (“So Sher, are you already good with the museums? Have you done what you have to do already?”) It’s as if they only went with me to “get this over and done with”. I was furious but I did not say a word. I just nodded and smiled.
They were rude. I don’t want to be with them anymore.
After a Kuala Lumpur trip, I just want to travel solo.
The next day, I was not informed that we will be visiting Sunway Lagoon (or maybe I was, but I did not get the memo or something?). Sunway Lagoon is like your Splash Island plus Star City water theme park. I don’t know how to compare it with anything because I’m not a fan of these things. The idea of swimming in a big public pool is something I am not game about, and forgive my fuzziness. (But I believe parks like these are best enjoyed with friends.It may be weird if I would go there alone.)
I did not have the proper attire, so I planned to swim in a shirt and denim shorts. To cut the long story short, I was not permitted to enter in almost all attractions because I am not wearing the right attire. I just walked around and took some photos. I paid an Entrance Fee for almost nothing.
After the day, we hung out at the rooftop pool of our place and the Kuala Lumpur skyline was so beautiful. A lot of people tell me they were not impressed with Kuala Lumpur because it looks just like Makati or BGC in Manila, but I think they haven’t seen the city in a way that a cultural seeker would do it. It was, again, a fun night, to be fair. But what happens when the sun is up has always been awful.
Since I think they have already done what they came to Kuala Lumpur for (have fun with the group and meet our friend there), I tried suggesting we go to Batu Caves. They gave me hanging and uncertain answers and suggested we decide one more time the next day.
I was reading about Batu Caves from the travel guide I bought and felt more excited about visiting it the next day. The next day, I overheard their conversation while I was preparing inside my room.
One of my friends asked, “Ano bang makikita sa Batu Caves?” (“What are we going to see in Batu Caves?”)
One of them answered, “Wala, ‘yung malaking Buddha lang. Tsaka nasa labas na ng KL ‘yun. Sigurado kayo dadayuhin pa natin ‘yun?” (“Nothing, there’s just one giant Buddha statue there. Plus, it’s outside KL already. Are you sure we’re gonna go all the way there for it?”)
After a Kuala Lumpur trip, I just want to travel solo.
I don’t really know how to feel. I gave up. Plus, we’re flying back the next day, so I would just let them decide with what to do and where to go. I could just go back to KL on my own and explore the places I failed to explore on this trip.
Oh, and on our last day, the group went shopping. They shopped for clothes and expensive shoes. I’m not a fan of shopping, I’m not a fan of material capitalist bastards, so I don’t really patronize brands that much. We went mall-hopping. We ate in Western fast food restaurants. We did exactly what we could have done in Greenbelt or Glorietta, in Kuala Lumpur.
I was frustrated because I am not sure if I will have the chance to visit the same place again, so as much as possible, I always make it a point to maximize the trip. I just want to clarify that I don’t have anything against my friends. They were still the people whom I relied to the best back in college, they’re still my best people. I just don’t think we’re fit to be travel buddies. Sure, I could go shopping with them, I could go on a food trip with them, I could talk to them and exchange stories in a coffee shop.
However, I’m not sure if they’re the people I could drag to a museum to, or so see temples, or go see historical sites. Most of the time, I am up with these kinds of activities but if they aren’t, I think I’m better off traveling alone. No, I’m not unfriending them, like how I unfriend long distance friends like the one I talked about during my trip to Surabaya.
Traveling solo is something I have been doing for many years now. At first, some would find it weird, but eventually it became a thing that most people have already tried at least once in their lives. I will just talk about it in another post, but in the meantime, after this trip, I lost an appetite about traveling with anyone. I am more at peace with traveling solo. How about you?
Ater a Kuala Lumpur trip, I just want to travel solo. Your thoughts?
I’ve seen you’ve reached this far. After all, what’s travel without some drama, anyway?
I had the chance to visit Kuala Lumpur with some friends from college, and what we loved the most is the variety of food that we could try there! While we were there, I requested one afternoon to visit some museums and art galleries in Kuala Lumpur, because it is mandatory for me to learn something about any place I would visit.
Among so many art galleries in Kuala Lumpur, we were only able to visit two of them: Galeri Petronas and Kuala Lumpur City Gallery. For your reference (and my future reference as well when I go back to KL), I have compiled a list of art galleries in Kuala Lumpur all history and art lovers can visit when in this beautiful city.
But before that, you might wanna also visit other articles I have written about Malaysia:
So without further ado, here is the list of art galleries in Kuala Lumpur that you can visit, with important information such as address, telephone number, operating hours, and links to their social media accounts:
1. GALERI PETRONAS
ART GALLERIES IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Galeri Petronas
ART GALLERIES IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Galeri Petronas
This museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is located at the third floor of Suria KLCC Mall, Galeri Petronas showcases several contemporary artworks.
ART GALLERIES IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: KL City Gallery
ART GALLERIES IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: KL City Gallery
Located at the Merdeka Square, KL City Gallery showcases a lot of information about the history of Kuala Lumpur. The building is formerly used as a public printing office then a public library. The lower floor exhibits a scale model of Merdeka Square entitled “Old Kuala Lumpur” and the upper floor exhibits a scale model of the modern Kuala Lumpur entitled “The Spectacular City Model Show”. A photo opportunity outside the museum with the giant “I heart KL” sign is a must.
KUALA LUMPUR CITY GALLERY Dataran Merdeka, 27, Jalan Raja, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Monday-Sunday, 9:30AM-6PM +60 3-2698 3333
