Kuala Lumpur 

I decided that first time visits to new places are for the touristy things. That may sound obvious, but I’ve grown weary of tourist traps over the years. When you research a place, and find that article after article all list the same ten activities to do and sights to see, you know that those places are going to be swarming with tourists. Unless you know someone in a particular place, those touristy things are really your only starting point, so I sucked it up and decided to be a tourist for the day. 

First stop, the Petronas Twin Towers. 

The train system in Kuala Lumpur was a cinch to figure out. If you do your research first, it can look a little daunting, with two different train systems, a light rail, and a monorail all interwoven together. I simply inputted where I wanted to go into Google Maps and chose the public transport option, and it told me exactly which line of which train to get on , and which stops to change at. This process was made even easier with the purchase of a Touch ’n Go card from a ticket agent. This was a fare card that could be reloaded with any amount, and worked with every system. It was even accepted as a form of payment at a few convenience stores and attractions (although I never loaded mine with enough money to pay for more than train fare).  

The KLCC Lightrail station dropped me off pretty much across the street from the Petronas Twin Towers. There they were, two ultra-modern and dazzlingly shiny towers, glistening in the sunlight like something out of the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz. 

I gazed upwards, mouth agape, and realized I had come at the wrong time of day. The sun was directly behind them, blinding me as I tried to admire the view. Locals selling gimmicks approached me a moment later, this one offering to take my picture atop a human pyramid with the towers as a backdrop; that one offering clip-on camera lenses for smart phones. I politely waved them all away. The better view must be from the other side due to the sun’s current angle in the sky, so I set about finding my way around the massive structures. 

Fun fact: at 1,483 feet, the Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest in the world at the time of their construction, which was completed in 1996. They kept that status until 2006, when they were surpassed by Taipei 101. Even though they are no longer the tallest buildings in the world, they do remain the tallest twin towers in the world. 

I wandered past a Tiffany & Co. and some other high end retail shops, and finally emerged at the seam of the tower’s backside and a lovely park. A Chinese couple were taking photos of each other, and I offered to take one of them together, which they were grateful enough for to offer a photo in return. Not satisfied with the quality of my old iPhone 6, the gentleman swapped over to his new iPhone 11 Pro Max and airdropped them to me instead. I appreciated the extra gesture. 

The park offered a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. A bridge provided more dazzling views of the towers. A pond had a silver sculpture of a whale which made me smile. Various different species of tress were all labeled with QR codes so that you might look up what they were. These palm fronds with colorful stalks were quite eye-catching, but I completely forgot about the QR codes to see what they were. 

I had booked an Airbnb with a small infinity pool on the roof, and went back for a while to relax, but sadly the handful of lounge chairs were already occupied. Instead I relaxed in the room and researched a few of the temples I wanted to visit. The research led me to a face-palm moment. They all had dress codes of shoulders and knees covered. In my haste to pack, I had thrown all of my grungy beach clothes into my bag. The one dress I had initially packed that did cover knees and shoulders, I had put back on the hanger to save space, thinking, what reason will I have to dress up?

The temples, dummy; the temples are the reason to wear something besides beachwear. And one does not visit Southeast Asia without visiting more temples than they ever planned on. I had t-shirts and the pants I had worn on the plane, but zero desire to hike around in the 90 degree heat wearing basically skinny jeans. 

So I returned to the Top Ten Things to Do in Kuala Lumpur, to the one activity that I had skipped over because I positively loathe it: shopping. 

Apparently the place to shop was Bukit Bitang. Bukit Bitang is where KL becomes reminiscent of Singapore. The train spat me out inside the guts of a massive shopping mall. That mall had endless levels both above and below ground. It also had underpasses leading to other malls, and those malls had underpasses leading to other malls. I was basically in my own personal version of hell, except I tried to enjoy observing any differences in the shopping culture. I did notice that numerous pop-ups were scattered amongst the shops, solely for the purpose of taking photos. Some were merely branded signs, colorful and cute enough to warrant a photo. Some were entire real estate spaces, filled with props for that cute Insta shot. 

Some of the high end malls were glamorous and offered enough natural light to tame my disgust. The lower end malls were like casinos, providing zero amount of natural light for a very unpleasant experience. 

After a good amount of wandering and getting lost, I had to leave. I did not come to KL to shop. 

I did come for street food, and Jalan Alor, the famous street food spot of the city was only a short walk away. 

As I stepped onto the lantern-lit street full of stalls and plastic tables, and wave of relief washed over me. Southeast Asian street food is one of the most exciting experiences life has to offer. The aromas of dozens of different dishes waiting to be discovered, the sight of chefs cooking up their specialties in such a blur you don’t know what just happened, the sounds of satisfied slurping and hawkers shouting out their offerings, trying to be heard above their competitors… It’s delightful chaos. 

The street was fairly empty when I arrived. The the guide books must have all recommended about that time to show up though, because I could see the hoard of people coming from the end of the street. 

I wandered up and down for a good while, taking it all in. This spot was obviously for tourists. Like on Bangkok’s Khao San Road, disabled and disfigured people begging for a penny, were being paraded around with recordings of tin-can music that were supposed to make us believe they were the ones singing. The guide books never tell you about them. No one wants to hear about the uncomfortable things. One man had nipples where his arms should have been. A girl in a wheelchair had her shins bent at 90 degree angles out to the sides from her knees. A man crawling on the ground looked like his entire head had been on fire, and barely had a face left. Travel isn’t all glam Instagram shots and delicious food. There’s sadness in the world too, even in the best of places. No one ever talks about those things though. Easier just to look the other way, like I did. 

I learned a long time ago not to hand out money to beggars on the street. If you do, a dozen more suddenly appear out of the woodworks and are all tugging on your arms, overwhelming and outnumbering you. It’s sad to look the other way, but oftentimes necessary. 

A colorful display of dim sum finally caught my eye, and the lady kindly pointed out which ones were meat free. One was a sort of processed fish ball, and one was a vegetable roll. The price was 6 ringgit for four pieces. $1.50 for four bites of food seemed a little steep for street food, but what did I know, it was my first day here. 

A colorful fruit stand lured me in a little while later, and I paid another 7 ringgit for a small carton of dragonfruit and mango. Less than $2 would still be a steal back home, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was paying tourist prices. 

Most of the restaurant offerings were from every other corner of Asia: Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese… I had a hard time finding the local cuisine, but then again, unfamiliar with Malaysian food, I had no idea what I was actually looking for. Clearly I had more research to do, and another time when I had a bigger appetite. 

On my way back to the train, I spotted an H&M store and ran in to grab a cheap, temple-appropriate dress, then returned to the apartment to call it an early night. Jet lag was working in my favor. Yes I was tired now, but I wanted to get an early start to the temples the next day. 

Check back soon to read about my experience at the colorful, Batu Caves!