Why I Didn’t Like KL? My Two Days In Kuala Lumpur Itinerary

How often does it happen that you get to plan a weeklong trip in less than three days? If you are thinking that whose life is even that impromptu then let me spill the beans for you that – MINE IS!

One fine evening I received a message which says I have to visit Malaysia in the next three days and it only took me a little more than 48hrs to apply for the e-visa, get the visa, booked my tickets, and eventually pack my bags to board an early morning flight to Kuala Lumpur. As I didn’t get any time to prepare for my two days in Kuala Lumpur followed by some leisure time on the islands, I was pretty clueless about what to expect from the country.

After landing in Kuala Lumpur by the evening, all I knew to do in the city was to see the Petronas Twin Towers and that’s pretty much it! With zero pre-planning, I happily spend 80 ringgits (USD 20) to book a commute from the airport to my hotel.

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Being on the roads of KL, just in the very first few minutes, my mind started juggle between rain, natural beauty, traffic or diversity – there was so much to love and not-to-love in Kuala Lumpur. There are of course a lot of things to do in the cultural capital of South East Asia, but I am only going to share what all I did in two days in Kuala Lumpur and all the reasons why it didn’t strike any chords in my heart…

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Things To Do In Kuala Lumpur – Day 1

As I landed in KL late in the evening, so I spent the rest of the night munching on some chicken nuggets, actually quite a lot of chicken nuggets before calling it a night. Feel free to judge my choice of first food in Malaysia.

My first official day in KL started with an overcast morning which turned into a thunderstorm within a blink of the eyes! It is pretty common to expect rain anytime in a tropical country, but thunderstorms just not match my idea of starting a sightseeing day, hence I was bitterly disappointed!

Suria KLCC Mall & Petronas Twin Towers

Not any two days in Kuala Lumpur trip is complete without a visit to Suria KLCC Mall – the largest mall in the city. When it is raining cats and dogs outside, a visit to the mall seems like the best and the only thing to do and that is exactly what I did. The mall is pretty huge with many international brands retail shops, basically what every other mall looks like. However, what makes Suria KLCC different from other malls are the beautiful candle-shaped Petronas Twin Towers, which are a part of the mall building. There is a lovely garden-like place right at the backside of the mall offering some great photo ops with the Towers.

Batu Caves

Another must-do thing to do in Kuala Lumpur is to visit the Batu Caves. The cave is reached by climbing a super steep flight of 272 steps. When the rain Gods in KL finally calmed a bit down, I started my journey towards the Batu Cave, which was a group tour I booked on Klook.

I booked my tour through GetYourGuide which is a great platform to book cheap tours in South East Asia. It offers some great discount deals and skip-the-queue passes to almost all the tourist attractions and activities. Book your tour to Batu Caves on GYG here.

Reaching the Batu Caves I started climbing the colorful rainbow stairs that lead to the caves. It is a pretty easy climb, minus all the notorious monkeys who will make your life hell and scare the shit out of you! Keep any food items away from the sight of the monkey thieves as I had my banana snatched by them right at the moment when I bought it from a small food stall inside the cave! Batu Caves have several small Hindu temples inside and wall carvings of Hindu Gods inside of the caves. Mysteriously, there is water flowing from the rocks at the top in the cave, so you’re basically being drenched even inside of the caves. There is no escape from rain it seems, in KL.

Helipad Lounge Bar

As I visited Kuala Lumpur with zero planning whatsoever, I had no idea about the Helipad Lounge Bar and the serious views that place has to offer. However, just a quick Google search on best places to view the sunset in Kuala Lumpur, I came across the Helipad Lounge bar, which became one of the highlights of my short two days in Kuala Lumpur. A chic café cum bar with access to a helipad that offers open-air panoramic views of the city – Helipad Lounge Bar is undoubtedly the best place to see the sunset in KL. To access the helipad area, you just need to buy a drink, which is indirectly kind of an entrance fee. Anyhow, my drink tasted good and the views from the helipad were gorgeous, so I didn’t mind paying for the drink.

Night Life

I am not a party person at all so I didn’t go to any parties during my 2 days in Kuala Lumpur, however, the city has quite a happening party scene. The main urban and touristy street of Jalan Ampang, near to the Petronas Twin Towers has many five star hotels with pubs and clubs, which are open all through the night. If you are someone who loves to party, then I am pretty sure Kuala Lumpur’s nightlife will not disappoint you at all.  

Things To Do In Kuala Lumpur – Day 2

Genting Highlands

Remember how at the beginning of this post, I told you there is so much to love and not-to-love about KL? Well, that ‘love part’ for me came from visiting the misty and beautiful Genting Highlands located in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Genting Highlands is a hill station built amidst an old rain forest, which now has a luxury resort, a huge mall, one of the biggest casinos in Malaysia and a recently renovated cool theme park. Ah, so much to industrialize natural beauty! Anyway, to take a break from the chaos and polluted air of KL, a visit to Genting Highlands is quite worth it. Apart from the incredible views of the lush green forest before the man-made boring stuff starts – the cable car ride to the top of the mountain is pretty amazing.

I booked my Genting Highlands tour also with GYG. They offer hotel pick-up and drop-off services for all the tours booked through them. It is a 3-4hrs tour inclusive of the cable car fee. Book your tour to the Genting Highlands in KL here

Tropical Rainforest Park

One of the coolest things I found about KL during my teeny weeny two days in Kuala Lumpur was an actual tropical rainforest right in the heart of the city. Immediately after coming back to my hotel from the Genting Highlands, I headed out to the park as I don’t want to miss it before I leave the city. It is quite a huge park and the receptionist at my hotel recommended me to visit there for an evening stroll. There are many walking trails passing through the lush green trees and the whole vibe of the place is very soothing and relaxing. Of course, there are tons of good photo ops as well, something I never miss on while traveling.

Petaling Street

Street markets are very popular across Malaysia. Bukit Bintang and Petaling Street in China Town are two of the most famous street markets in KL. I was affirmative of visiting any one of the street markets in the city as the final activity of my two days in Kuala Lumpur. After a jam-packed day of visiting the Genting Highlands followed by a stroll at the Tropical Rainforest Park, I visited Petaling Street around 9 PM in the night. I walked my way to the market, which was quite intimidating as for a long stretch on the way I didn’t see any humans except a few men wandering around the streets. Once I reached the market, it was all vibrant and happening. I found most of the prices in the shops to be more of a tourist trap as of course no local shops from there. After a couple of cat-calling experiences in the supremely tight and crowded alleys, I decided it was only safe to return back to the hotel.

Note: You can also add a short visit to the Observation Deck at the KL Tower. I skipped it as I already had a panoramic city view at the Helipad Lounge Bar. KL Tower Observation Deck visit can also be booked through GYG and you can easily skip the ticket line!

Book These Kuala Lumpur Tours Before They Sell Out!

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Why Kuala Lumpur Failed To Please Me?

After spending my two days in Kuala Lumpur, I was still looking for more reasons to fall in love with the city. Of course, I am aware of the fact that two days is very little time to explore a city like KL and pass judgement on it as I barely scratched the surface. However, even during that small time, I didn’t happen to find it any fascinating. It is just another metropolitan South East Asian city, which is loud, crazy and it always rains there! Also, for some strange reason, all the locals I interacted with in KL turned out to be quite cold and rude. My experience with the locals in Langkawi was entirely different…

Apart from the very small part of the city, the Jalan Ampang area, which is the main tourist hub and has all the luxury hotels, lavish restaurants and bars, the rest of the city I saw had nothing great to offer. Beautiful natural sites like the Genting Highlands are over-commercialized by the government, while scammers and sort-of-rude locals make the things worse. For someone visiting SEA for the first-time might find KL fascinating, otherwise, it is just another metropolitan city.

I am not someone who likes to compare cites but if I have to define KL in one sentence, it would be ‘A not-so-glamorous version of Dubai’.

Anyhow, this was just my perspective and yours could be completely opposite to mine. For me, KL was a tad bit disappointing but the moment I boarded the flight for Langkawi, I knew I was already in for a treat! I will be shortly posting about my amazing time on the Langkawi Island so stay tuned to that.

Feel like skipping KL altogether? The consider seeing the Street Art in Penang– The Second Largest City In Malaysia, check this two-week Sabah Itinerary to get up and close with nature or have a look at the Best Things To Do In Melaka to taste some yummiest street food!

Best Places To Stay In Kuala Lumpur

As already mentioned, Jalan Ampang is the place to be if you want to stay at a walking distance to all the main tourist attractions in Kuala Lumpur. I stay at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel, right in the heart of the KL’s tourist hub. Budget options to stay in Kuala Lumpur include Le Apple Boutique Hotel KLCC and Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur apt for couples and families.

Compare prices and read reviews of hotels in Kuala Lumpur

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