Exploring Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur and Penang

Malaysia was our first official stop of our voyage, and it was beyond any expectation. I truly had never even dreamed of visiting Malaysia and it ended up being one of my favorite countries we visited in the semester. We docked in Penang, and I was lucky enough to be able to fly to Kuala Lumpur, the capital, and stay for a few days as well. Malaysia was a place full of culture that I believe is a must visit in the continent of Asia. Fun Fact: Many Asian cruises port in Penang as well.

TRANSPORTATION:

One thing I forgot to mention in my Thailand post was how to get around outside of the traditional taxi. Most Asian countries utilize an app called Grab that is just like Uber. These countries actually do not have Uber at all. Grab is super cheap and safe, so we used it the whole time. One thing to note is that you often pay in cash regardless of using the app because then the driver doesn’t get fees taken out. Just make sure you have cash anywhere you go.

EAT:

Food Halls – I 100% recommend finding a food hall anywhere in Malaysia. The left image is the food hall Red Garden and I am unable to find the name of the right image. Food halls are the best in Malaysia because they cover such a variety of Asian foods with great prices. We often got several dishes to share among us to try as much as possible. Honestly, I suggest just searching food courts near me and reading reviews.

7/11 – These convenience stores are EVERYWHERE. I definitely think you need to stop in one for a slushie and a snack at least once. Also, I think it’s so fun to just look at the kind of snacks that are the same as the US and what new things you can find.

Holy Guacamole (Love Lane – Penang) – I LOVE Mexican food, and I was already missing it after a week on the ship. We found this restaurant and it was AWESOME. They had great margaritas and fun meals as well as good music. It was so much fun and I would recommend if you plan to travel for a while. Just a good meal to push off the initial homesickness.

STAY:

I recommend an AirBnB for your stay in Kuala Lumpur for sure. We found lots of great and inexpensive options, so it all depends on how many people are going to be staying with you. We made sure ours was walking distance to a few things as well as on a main road easy for Grab drivers to find us. Security was also really important, so we found one that had a downstairs lobby staff 24/7. I had a few friends stay in a hotel in Penang, but we just stayed on the ship for free (I recommend).

DO:

Escape Penang – One thing to know about me is that I am both a responsible adult that wants to invest and save while also being a kid that loves amusement parks and sugar. So, when I tell you this was one of the highlights of my year, I am being very serious. Malaysia has an amusement park called Escape Penang with the world’s longest water coaster and the world’s longest zip coaster. This water coaster and the rest of the water park were so much freaking fun. We spent hours here (ladies, bring a one-piece for function and modesty) and it was truly one of my favorite days. There was also a dry portion of the park with a human slingshot and the zip coaster (you are on a zipline but sitting in a metal chair with a tiny rope strapping you in), but I personally liked the water side much more.

Penang Hill – While in Penang, we also took the “train” up to the top of Penang Hill. You do have to buy a ticket for a specific time so keep that in mind, but it’s round-trip so you can return at any time. At the top were a few restaurants, an overlook (beautiful could have stared forever), a Hindu temple, and then several walking trails to more lookouts. We took a trail up higher to get a less crowded, more bird’s eye view of the city. It was so worth it. Obviously, if you have other things you want to do, you don’t need to spend as much time here, but Malaysia was our first country so we took everything slower and really soaked it in. We also found a nature reserve where we purchased tickets to get in and see the wildlife. There were lots of monkeys, butterflies, and stunning greenery everywhere we looked. Definitely not a must, but it was so much fun!

Batu Caves – The Batu Caves are a small system of caves that have been transformed into a Hindu temple. There are these colorful steps you see in the picture that lead to the temple space in the cave. There are definitely tourist traps and annoying vendors everywhere, but it was such an important part of Malaysian culture in Kuala Lumpur. I booked a tour for us which was so worth the money. Our guide drove us around to the caves, a hot spring, and a batik studio (a hand-painted fabric used for clothes) as well as lunch. He was so talkative and gave us so much history and information about Malaysia.

Petronas Towers – SO random, but we learned about these in my high school Humanities class, and I truly thought I would never get to see them in person. I did in fact tear up at the sight of them. Just one of those “pinch me” moments where I was SO grateful to have this opportunity. Right next to these towers is a stunning mall with all your normal stores as well as an entire section of luxury stores that made for some fun window shopping.

Malls – Malls are a HUGE part of the Asian culture and they serve as a sort of community center in a way. Not only did we wander through the mall in Kuala Lumpur, but we also visited one of the malls in Penang. We spent forever in H&M and Forever 21 grabbing things we forgot to pack that we didn’t realize we’d need. I also grabbed a pillow because the pillow on the ship had one single cotton wad in it and I wasn’t sleeping.

WHEN I GO BACK:

If I had had more time in Malaysia and more knowledge of the country, I definitely would have planned my time a bit better to be honest. I loved my time there, and I was able to have a mix of culture, architecture, fun food and drink, kiddie fun, and shopping. However, I really would love to go back to see the Borneo region, an orangutan sanctuary and rainforested island, and Lang-Kawi, a stunning beach island with beautiful boat cruises and tours off the coast.

That’s all for Malaysia! See you Monday!