Goodbye, Thailand! – Hello, Malaysia! – Goodbye, Malaysia! – Hello, Cambodia!

The last few days have been a whirlwind of travels and new adventures as we said goodbye to our Thai island oasis and set out to explore the busy metropolis of Kuala Lumpur (or KL), Malaysia.

Although exhausted from our travels, we ventured out our first night to get a glimpse of the city from the observation deck of the Menara Kuala Lumpur aka KL Tower.  As a combined ticket we also got to check out the Tower’s XD Theatre which was a fun simulation of a roller coaster 🙂 Afterwards we headed to Jalan Alor which is the street in KL well known for its delicious local and Asian-fusion street food.

Our first full day in KL was spent exploring the city by foot.  We spent most of the day at the Bird Park – the largest walk-in free-flight aviary in the world!  We made a short pit stop at the Orchid Gardens before heading over to the famous Petronas Towers for sun-down.  Our busy day ended, once again, on Jalan Alor to enjoy some tasty Asian dishes.

Our final day in KL, we decided to do a Malaysian Heritage group tour (called “Eat, Pray, Love”) so we could go off the beaten track and learn a bit more about Malaysia’s history.  We learned just how multicultural Kuala Lumpur is as it was first founded by a Chinese man and colonized for its vast tin-mining.  Along with the Chinese, several other nationalities contributed to the city’s development including British, Indian, and Middle Eastern settlers.  The 4 hour tour consisted of an Indian breakfast stop, visit to the Central Market, Sin Sze Si Ya Temple (ancient Chinese temple), a fruit stall to taste native Malaysian fruits, Sri Mahamariamman (ancient Indian Hindu temple), a Chinese ‘fresh’ market for some traditional Chinese cuisine, a walk through China Town and past Masjid Jamek (KL’s first Muslim mosque), and the tour finished off at a true ‘hole-in-the-wall’ Indian restaurant where we were taught how to eat a saucy rice dish using only our hands (no utensils allowed!).  After the tour we headed to Berjaya Times Square Mall which houses its very own theme park – equipped with a roller coaster!  We tuckered ourselves out with a few hours of roller coasters, rides, and bumper cars so we could get a solid sleep before our 3:30 am wake up call this morning!

Alas, we have arrived safely to our lovely accommodations in Siem Reap, Cambodia! We’ve spent the day resting up and planning our exciting trip to visit the ancient world wonder, Angkor Wat!

We had to wake up before sunrise on Tuesday to catch our ferry to the main land, Surat Thani – as a reward we got to see the sun rising from behind the Thai islands as we sailed by…

Fortunately our hotel concierge directed us to Jalan Alor (Street) where we could find local Malaysian/Asian Fusion dishes. Jalan Alor is a very busy street lined with tables, chairs, food stalls, and other vendors. Every night this street was bustling and its no wonder why because the food we had here was soooo delicious! Pictured here is pineapple spare ribs, stir fried vegetables with garlic, and steamed rice.

Teh Tarik or ‘pulled tea’ is named for this Indian method of mixing the condensed milk in with the tea.

Kaya Roti – an Indian delicacy made Malaysian style with kaya butter (made from coconut milk). Served with a spicy chilli sauce and a sweet tasting dal (a soupy Indian curry made with yellow bean and potato).

The oldest Chinese temple in KL founded by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy, the man who first colonized KL.

This interesting-looking and tasty fruit is native to Malaysia.

Sri Mahamariamman Temple is the oldest and richest Hindu temple in KL, founded in 1873.

This may be unappetizing to the eye but this is one tasty beverage made from coconut milk, shaved ice, brown sugar syrup, and containing worm-like floaties made from tapioca and coloured green with pandan leaves.

The last stop on our tour was a “hole-in-the-wall” type Indian eatery where spoons and forks are forbidden. We were taught how to get messy and eat our saucy rice with our hands!

Amanda & Adam