Friday, January 11
Seriously pleasant journey SFO-PVG-KUL (total flight time about 21 hours with only 1.5 hour layover in Shanghai), slept on both flights, arrived 2am, 1 hour taxi to Sarang Vacation Apartments, Terry so sweet & helpful at check in, tried to sleep, can’t sleep, opt for 7am swim, sunrise over KL, burka bathing suits, cold shower, quick cash run, stubbed my toe (so hard!) at the bank, fruit market juice drink $2.50, dead rat outside Swiss Hotel, paid Terry & figured out how to turn on hot water, hit the pavement for KLCC Park & Petronas Towers, super malls, Japanese tourists celebrity moment, amazing street food market, $2 lunch (noodle soup w dried fish & Bangladeshi tofu peanut dish), bad idea to wear flip flops, midday nap, finished Crazy Rich Girlfriend, obsessed with Killing Eve, motivated to find wine shop, bottle of chard & 2 Tiger beers for $27, quick stop at my favorite fruit market for mango chicken rice dinner and more fruit, more Killing Eve with delicious dinner & a beer, journal, mint tea, half ambien
Saturday, January 12
Up & out to beat the heat! Walk to KL’s version of Central Park, run into a marathon, hibiscus & orchid gardens, KL Bird Park, first one in and have the park to myself at first, lots of peacocks, crazy bird noises, nice shaded relief from the heat, short walk to National Museum of Malaysia ($1.22 entry), sparkling new subway system ($0.34 ride), two wines and duck & tea leaf salad at The Diver (shark building), dip in the pool, figured out VPN, finished Killing Eve, still finishing my mango chicken & rice, little wine in my room, sooooo tired (powered through with no nap!), lights out at 8:45
Sunday, January 13
Lazier start, picked backed up The Private Lives of the Tudors and read a few hours, Terry’s rec (Vistana Corner) for Indian tea with milk & banana roti, casually strolled through the streets of Bukit Bantang scoping out food stalls, found crazy tourist shopping area, fell in love with Isetan (The Japan Store), almost bought dress, 2 glasses of wine and some more reading at Havana Bar HH, insane afternoon thunderstorm & downpour, caught in rain & drenched, back to Vistana Corner for dinner because it’s close and I’m soaked, reading, movie, bed
Monday, January 14
One more visit to Just Fruits market for a scrumptious blueberry smoothie, walk to KL Tower and arrive a sweaty mess as it’s almost 90 degrees before 11am, $12 to the observation deck of KL Tower for amazing view of KL and surrounding areas (had no idea how far the tall buildings spread out beyond just the city itself), happened back upon the great street food market I ate lunch at on Friday (had an amazing noodle dish for $0.50, fried octopus balls, and beef meatball soup), wandered back to the shopping district to buy the Isetan dress (so cruise appropriate) and an awesome jumpsuit, stumbled on Sarong Cafe on my walk home & had an amazing fried rice with chicken and vegetables dish made by the nice guys who own the apartment I’m staying in, back home to pack up, Hulu, fried rice leftovers, finish my bottle of Chard, hot shower and early bed (anxiety about KUL airport– confusing terminals!)
Final Thoughts: I LOVED Kuala Lumpur. As my first international trip alone, it was amazing. I was never bored. I was never scared. I never felt alone (thanks, Hulu). The whole experience was a first for me and it was amazing. I left with a confidence and excitement for solo travel that I didn’t expect. I felt like 4 full days was a great amount of time to get a feel for the city and also have a decent amount of down time to just relax, acclimate to the very different time zone, and not feel the pressure to be “going and doing” every single second of the day. I will forever have such fond memories of my time here and how it really set the tone for my experience as a solo traveler.
Where's Lindsey? 