We had done a good deal of Googling before we landed in KL about what to do there in 2 days. Most places talked about going up to the Batu caves, but we knew that wasn’t going to happen for us. There’s a total of 272 steps to climb to go up to the caves, did you know? There’s no way I would’ve done it, though Kay, I’m sure, would love that.

The Genting highlands and Cameron highlands didn’t have great reviews either from real travellers. And the heat was a good enough reason to not even try.

So we landed at our Airbnb at Bukit Bintang very early in the morning, around 5 am. The bed was nice and comfy, and even with the raging party scene outside at Changkat, we hit the sack. We woke up late-ish, and the first thing we did was head out to Jalan Alor for brunch. It is a busy food street, but there are barely any stalls selling local food. What you have instead a line of stalls on both sides of the street selling a mix of Chinese and Thai food, with a smattering of some local dishes.

After an amazing lunch of salted egg yolk squid and rice, we headed out to the Muzium Negara, or the National Museum. The collections here are displayed across four galleries: Early History, Malay Kingdoms, Colonial Era and Malaysia Today.

The Early History gallery thrills with its collection of various burial pots and ancient weaponry, and if a little morbid, a number of skeletons arranged the way they were buried in prehistoric times. Then you head into the Malay Kingdoms section through an ornate and beautifully preserved wooden doorway to exhibits displaying items used by Malay monarchies as well as a mural of the local hero Hang Tuah.

Next is the Colonial Era section where you’d see how the British and the Portuguese influenced life in Malaysia, and finally, you head into the Malaysia Today section where the country’s journey to independence is painstakingly recreated. At the lobby area of the museum was a section on modern art installations.

From here, we headed on to the Perdana Botanical Gardens, but once we got there past many, many steps and an overbridge, we found that it had closed for the day. So we got back to the Airbnb for another round of Jalan Alor. This time, the street was far more alive than in the afternoon, with more stalls, way more people and lots of itinerant hawkers.

Next morning, we headed out again to the Perdana Botanical Gardens, but this time, we went specifically to the Bird Park. And even for people who aren’t really big fans, this place is amazing. Most exhibits are free-flight, and there are places where peacocks walk straight up to you. And quite honestly, some of the birds we had only heard about or read about or saw on TV, so seeing them here was quite nice. There was a place where you could pose with huge macaws and grey parrots and be photographed.

It started raining quite heavily while we were there, so we spent a while at this little ice cream shop in the park. For a person who’s not terribly comfortable around birds, it was a little scary for me because the storks kept coming ridiculously close to us. But thank god for the rain because it instantly cooled down the temperature.

From here, we went to the China Town of Kuala Lumpur, close to Petaling street. For all of you interested in looking fancy on your Instagram profile, China Town has a million little stores selling perfect replicas of designer handbags, everything from a Coach to Louis Vuitton and Cecil. Honestly speaking, now I am getting major doubts about some people I see on Instagram with Chanel bags!

Obviously, the food here was very Chinese, and the beef stir fry we had with some Tiger beer wasn’t that great. So it was back to Jalan Alor for us for yet another dinner of salted egg yolk squids and mango glutinous rice. We stopped by Changkat too for a quick beer before calling it a night.

You’re probably wondering why I haven’t mentioned Petronas Towers at all in our KL stay. That’s because we didn’t go there in the first two days. Tickets for the viewing deck were all sold out but if you are looking to go up to the deck, I’d advise you to choose your slot and get your ticket here: https://www.petronastwintowers.com.my/en/tickets

But what I liked about KL, in spite of the heat, is that it felt like a living city. There were high rises as well as narrow, cramped looking row houses that have seen better days. And it felt a lot less cosmetic than Singapore, and even less impersonal than London. Maybe if they had better weather, we’d walk around the city or even explore its attractions like those theme parks. But then I guess we are at that space where it’s important to be comfortable than sapped of all energy. What about you? Would you explore a city despite bad weather?