Howdy friends and family,

This week we visit a surprise country for which we had no expectations: Malaysia.

Why Malaysia?

Because Perry felt we could use a bit of class in our lives at a hotel that offered good value for our hard-earned points. Perry was correct and we found ourselves in Kuala Lumpur.

Not to be confused with Koalas… There are no koalas in Kuala Lumpur.

But Kuala Lumpur turned out to be much more than a points-funded stopover on our way somewhere else. We think we easily could have spent 2+ weeks in Malaysia!

​

---

​

Pete’s Travel Diary

Kuala Lumpur

We spent a brief week in Malaysia, staying at a very nice Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Perry perpetually picks pecks of points, so how many pecks of points did Perry pick for this redemption?

The Four Points was just 7,000 points per night, and for every four nights you book, the fifth night is free. So we stayed a total of five nights for just 28,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

That’s insanely cheap for a four-star hotel given that you can hardly stay at any Marriott Hotel in the USA for much less than 30,000 points per night. If you’re sitting on a miscellaneous balance of Marriott points, we highly recommend taking them here.

Our room was gorgeous and featured a floor-to-ceiling view of the city. The bed was comfy as could be, the shower was amazing, and we were greeted with a box of house-made chocolates. It was everything we could have asked for plus some.

At the hotel restaurant, we had a very delicious (though not cheap) burger - probably the best we’d had in Asia. There are not a lot of burgers in Asia as it happens, and coincidentally, you can fit more people in a grocery store aisle here than in the USA.

You could also fit more Koalas as well… If Kuala Lumpur had koalas.

I am not upset that there are no Kuala Lumpur Koalas… Just disappointed.

Much of Kuala Lumpur is more modern than most places we have already been to and considerably cleaner, possibly due to its proximity to and relationship with Singapore. There is also a significant culture shift as Malaysia is predominantly Islamic with inclusive populations of people practicing Buddhism and Hinduism. I found that the folks in Malaysia were perfectly kind and decent, much like everywhere else we have traveled to.

Malaysia does have some more conservative rules, like not publicly blasting Lady Gaga’s music for others to hear or publicly lewd behavior. However, we did hear Toxic by Brittney Spears on a taxi’s radio. They must not have seen the original music video.

The city of Kuala Lumpur is full of delicious food. Our hotel was located in historic Chinatown, where there is a small Chinese pastry shop called Bun Choon. The pastries are delicious and quite rich. They dish out hundreds of egg tarts daily, among their many other fascinating and tasty treats. We tried the egg tarts and a red bean-filled wedding pastry. Our favorite hole-in-the-wall Malaysian food place was just one block further down, where we sampled the classic Nasi Lemak.

Petronas Towers and the Menara

Where some strive to climb the tallest mountains, folks with too much money settle for building the tallest buildings. The Petronas twin towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 until 2005.

Daredevils found a good use for these structures and in 1999, Felix Baumgartner set the world record for base jumping off of the Petronas Towers. Felix, bored of not falling down, later would set the record again by jumping from a perfectly good space-balloon, sponsored by Red Bull. I’d say he needs a different hobby but falling is pretty down-to-earth.

After the Petronas towers, we continued our tour of Kuala Lumpur’s tallest landmarks by wandering over to the Menara Kuala Lumpur. It’s the 7th tallest tower in the world and has an accessible view deck, much like the Space Needle, where you can gaze upon all of the formerly tallest buildings in the world.

Batu Caves

The Hindu temple at Batu Caves sports a colossal golden statue of a Hindu deity called Murugan as well as a steep flight of stairs. If the sight of the statue doesn't take your breath away, the 272 steps leading to the cave temple above likely will. The Batu Cave temple is a common pilgrimage for various Hindu faiths.

Be prepared to encounter macaque monkeys along the way and keep a close eye on your belongings. Perry and I adopted a practice of literally watching one another’s backs when monkeys are involved. Even then, these wicked little primates will snag objects from your backpack in the blink of an eye. They are known for their adorable mischief, unpredictable aggression, and packing rabies to boot. When one monkey attempted to sneak up on Perry but was caught in the act, it bared its teeth angrily at us for being foiled.

More Mischief: The actual cost of a train to Batu Caves

The Monkeys aren't the only ones playing tricks on this adventure. The KTM Komuter train system is also out to take advantage of travelers.

The best way to get to Batu Caves from the city center is by using the Komuter train (essentially a light rail train system linking the outer suburbs with downtown). Online, the listed price of a ticket is RM2.60 one-way, or roughly $0.55 one-way per person.

What’s not clear online is that the Komuter train system has discontinued single-use tickets. Your only option is to pay for a Komuter train reloadable card, which costs RM10 and has a minimum reload of RM5. This brought our total cost per person to RM20, or RM40 total, close to $10 for the day. We expected to spend less than half that amount.

This obvious mismatch of expectations (not to mention the more complicated purchase process) led to us feeling super irritated, but I’ll note that the price still seems fair for the distance traveled. We hope this helps other travelers budget appropriately.

Kuala Lumpur Markets: Petaling Street and Central Market

When I visit friends in new places or new cities they always ask, “What do you want to see?” My response has always been, "Show me something weird." In Kuala Lumpur, that would have to be Petaling Street (not peddling street, as I had thought), a covered, historical street market that is quite the contrast to the skyscrapers popping up around it.

The street market is the place to go for everything from street food to clothes, perfume, suitcases, some jewelry, and other accessories. It has something for everyone, including those who like to window shop for antiques and oddities.

If you are a fan of Durian fruit, there are several stands. Durian is an infamous fruit due to its notorious smell. To Perry it smells like raw sewage; to me, it smells like a convincing gas leak. To other presumably more refined palates, it is a desirable floral and fruity flavor. We try to move quickly away from Durian and its bizarre scent.

The Central Market, on the opposite end of the spectrum of shopping, houses a hawker-style food court with some decent options for lunch, as well as a near-endless maze of odds-and-ends shops selling some convincing antique military helmets and swords from colonization, antique cameras, collectible action figures, collectible coins, fossils/gemstones/jewelry, insects and butterflies, art and paintings, and many tinsmiths and pewtersmithing shops selling cups, statues, and other metal objects.

Ipoh

We wanted to see more of Malaysia outside of Kuala Lumpur. While there are a number of full-day guided tours you can take into the Malaysian countryside (like this one to the Cameron Highlands, known for its tea plantations), we decided to do a DIY-trip to the nearby town of Ipoh. We booked round-trip tickets online through Malaysia’s railroad operator, KTM, for 152 MYR ($34), departing on the first train in the morning and returning the same evening. The train was about 2.5 hours one-way.

Ipoh White Coffee

Once we landed in Ipoh, we started with a cup of Ipoh white coffee, created in this town. White coffee is roasted with palm oil and margarine and served with condensed milk. We both loved it. Ipoh is best known for its white coffee and frost beer, which we aimed to try later in the day. For the coffee lovers, we suggest checking out Old Town White Coffee - they claim to be the original and their coffee speaks for itself.

Visitor’s Center Museum

After the coffee shop, we discovered that Ipoh has a top-notch visitor’s center with a free museum about the town. The employees were helpful and kind. On the wall are posted the 18 different Geosites of Kinta Valley National Geopark, which we wish we had been aware of prior to visiting Ipoh! There are plenty of caves and adventures for those who make the time.

Lunch and Concubine Lane

Ipoh is also renowned for what the locals refer to as “Concubine Lane” which, legend has it, is where the rich local men and colonial administrators housed their mistresses. It’s currently home to small shops and restaurants.

From Concubine Lane, we then visited Market Street, decorated with Chinese lanterns and murals. The street was empty; we aren't sure if the shops were closed due to the holiday or if this was normal.

​

We ate a Chinese lunch just around the corner.

Perak Tong Cave Temple

In Ipoh, one can find everything from ancient archeological sites to impressive cave systems. We ourselves visited Perak Tong Cave which is a sizable cave with a Bhuddist temple inside of it. The temple was of primarily Chinese influence and boasted an impressive series of staircases and landings to better view the surrounding city.

The cave is nice and cool in the heat. The views are excellent. It is recommended to visit during the day before the afternoon rain showers.

We could have easily spent a few days in Ipoh exploring the various cave systems and archaeological sites. I will confess to enjoying Perak Tong Cave in Ipoh better than the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur. Those stairs at Batu… woof. Perak Tong, on the other hand, boasts some impressive stairs but they are at least optional.

The Perak Tong temple came to be after a monk had spent his life meditating in the cave, starting in the 1890s. Upon the monk’s passing, other monks began building the temple within the limestone cave. The folks who maintain the temple are courteous and have a dog who, while expressing no interest in the guests, appeared to be a very good boy who likes his space.

Frost Beer

We did not get the opportunity to try the famous Frost beer as it was a day or two before Malaysia’s independence day and the bars with frost beer were closed. We instead enjoyed a defrosted but still very cold beer at Sinhalese Bar and a chat with the kindly bartender who was serving the old-timers of the area. It’s a small and quiet pub which takes pride in its support of helping the local schools. All in all, my kind of place.

Getting Home

We ended our day with a snack and some tea at STG Ipoh Old Town.

Just before we were about to leave and head to the train station, a torrential downpour hit. We ran through the rain and arrived at the train in a sorry, soggy state. Our umbrellas and raincoats did not stop our shoes from turning into puddles.

Despite the damp ending, we still enjoyed the view of the Malaysian countryside and its palm plantations on the way home. It was a great way to get out of the city for a (very long) day.

​

​

---

​

Itinerary

Hotel

​Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown (28,000 points for 5 nights; cash rates are around $75/night)

Food

Kuala Lumpur:

• ​Bun Choon​
• ​Central Market Food Court​
• ​Hamza Cafe - our favorite cheap Malaysian food.
• ​Bubble Bee Cafe - huge bubble waffles with ice cream and other coffee shop food

Ipoh:

• ​Old Town White Coffee​
• The place we ate lunch isn't on Google Maps, but it was in the same block as this​
• ​Sinhalese Bar​
• ​STG Ipoh Old Town​

Transportation

Getting here: We flew from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia. The USA State Department has a "Do Not Travel" warning for the four southernmost Thailand provinces bordering Malaysia, so we didn't even bother to research ground transportation options.

The Phuket Airport had one of the nicest Priority Pass lounges we have been in, with a full complimentary buffet and alcohol. The best part, though, was the woman giving Thai chair massages in exchange for tips.

In Kuala Lumpur:

• Taxis: Grab works well here. We used Grab to get back and forth to the airport (it was cheaper than a traditional taxi or the train for two people) and from downtown Ipoh to Perak Tong.
• Light Rail Train/Monorail: Kuala Lumpur has a great public transportation system within the city. Google Maps offers accurate public transportation directions using these trains. The trains themselves work the same way as the trains in Bangkok: you can buy tickets from an automated kiosk (exact change only) or manned ticket booth, and you’re issued an RFID token to scan when you enter/exit the station. You need to know your destination station in order to buy a ticket. We used the LRT to get to the Petronas Towers.
• Komuter Train: This train linking Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs is what we used to get to the Batu Caves. You can buy your reloadable card in the train station from an attendant. Trains to Batu Caves, the end of the line, ran about once every 60-90 minutes.
• Intercity Trains: To travel between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, you can view schedules and buy tickets online here. You’ll then print your tickets (our hotel receptionist was happy to help us) and scan the QR code at the turnstile inside the station.

Important Kuala Lumpur airport note: Kuala Lumpur’s airport has two distinct terminals that are not within walking distance of each other. Check your flight information and make sure your Grab takes you to the right place! We had to pay about $4 to take the train to our correct terminal.

Currency

• Malaysia uses the Malaysian Ringgit.
• Credit cards were widely accepted, but cash was required for smaller local restaurants.
• We used the ATMs at the airport upon arrival and a CIMB ATM in Ipoh. Both worked well.

​

---

​

Perry’s Travel Tip of the Week

Our Favorite Portable Batteries

I am afraid of my cellphone running out of battery and finding myself lost in a foreign country. But you know what’s even worse than that? Finding out that you forgot to charge the portable battery you carried around all day to try and avoid this situation.

I love the Anker PowerCore Fusion (I’m using the original, but there’s a newer model) because it plugs directly into the wall and doubles as my regular phone charger. When I unplug my phone, the battery-charger combo stays plugged into the wall and automatically recharges itself.

It also has two USB outlets, which is handy when both of us need to charge our phones and our budget hotel only has one outlet.

Pete carries a battery that includes a small solar panel, handy for when you aren’t near an outlet but are near the sun. His model is no longer available at REI but it is available here, and this is a similar one on Amazon.​

​

---

​

If you enjoyed this newsletter, we’d love it if you would share us with your friends.

​
​

All our love,

Pete and Perry

​
​