Malaysia: Welcome to my hometown

Continuing the travels in Malaysia, I went back to many places both familiar and new!

Thanks to the LRT line being built nearby to my house in Subang, I was only a 40 minute train ride from KL city centre. I saw the iconic twin towers while exploring the Suria KLCC mall at its base and the pretty gardens outside.

Thankfully the weather in Malaysia during the week’s stay was lovely and not too hot. Aside from a day or two, there was actually quite a lot of rain in the early morning or afternoon to cool down the temperature.

Another thing I missed a lot was Japanese food! As a kid, I often frequented both Sushi King and Sakae Sushi but used to restrict myself to spending a maximum of RM12 in comparison to some of my friends who had the liberty of ordering whatever they desired of the menu.

So when I saw Sushi King in KLCC, I decided that since I came a long way, and I’ll be starting work soon, that it was okay to splurge a little on this holiday and order what I actually wanted (RM30 pp.).

It was actually the start of the SEA (South East Asian) Games in Malaysia so there were hundreds of dolls of the official mascot for the games in front of Pavilion. 

His name is “Rimau” which is a derivative of the “harimau” which means tiger in Malay.

I had much more time to wander around the city centre as I actually booked a hotel for one night at Izumi Hotel in KL to eliminate the rush of getting back home. So I was able to experience the nightlife and treated myself to a lovely dinner.

Amanda, Charlotte, and Justina joined me later at the rooftop for drinks overlooking the KL Skyline,

On my second day in KL, I took a taxi to the Batu Caves, which is a Hindu temple within a limestone cave.

Famous for its giant statue of Lord Murugan outside, it is highly frequented by both locals and tourists.

And monkeys.

Lots of monkeys (probably one of the more exciting parts of the visit).

I also treated myself to a buffet dinner at the Amosphere 360 restaurant at the top of the KL Tower (RM86.50 pp).

I paid a little extra (RM25) to get a window seat but it really was lovely to get a full view of KL while enjoying delicious food while being serenaded by live music.

Another place where I spent a lot of my time during secondary school was Sunway Pyramid. I went there for ice skating, movies, arcade games, shopping, and time-killing a lot as a teenager. 

So it was really interesting to do it all over again and reminisce! 

One thing I rarely got to do was visit Sunway Lagoon! So since they were having an offer for ‘Terrific Thursdays’ (RM170 for 2), I spent the entire day riding rollercoasters, waterslides, and more.

Presenting our favourite – the Vuvuzuela.

I then met up with my relatives for a delicious dinner.

And of course, every time we met up with somebody, it always involved food!

Ikan bakar and kangkung belacan (grilled stingray and spicy stir-fried water spinach)

wantan mee with char siew (noodles with boiled dumplings and barbecued pork slices)

My brother and I flew over to Kuala Terengganu from the Subang Airport with Malindo Air for RM138.

Sam’s classmate owned one of the resorts there so we got to stay right by the lovely beach.

It was a full package including the ferry from Kuala Terengganu, accommodation, four meals a day, and three snorkeling trips (RM406 pp.). 

It was my very first time snorkeling so the mask took a little bit of time to get used to. After inhaling a few gulps of lovely salt water…I finally grasped the idea of breathing only through my mouth. 

For an extra RM40 we went snorkeling with turtles as well while feeding them squid!

Along the beach at night there was lovely live performances where we could just kick back, relax, sip on a can of beer on a deck chair and enjoy the night.

After taking the ferry back to Kuala Terengganu, we had a few hours to kill before flying back to Subang. So we just chilled on the beach in ultra hot weather and loads of sun cream!