Thyra Travels: Maybe I have Malaria: Malaysia 2019

Be right back, crying because I have officially left Kuala Lumpur – my new favorite big city in Asia. I was only in Malaysia for two weeks and I would jump at the chance to return in the future. So much left unseen….and uneaten!

Kuala Lumpur:

I spent the first part of my trip and then the end in Kuala Lumpur. I had two places on my “to see” list. The Petronas towers and Batu caves. I ended up seeing both and was left with a pretty meh impression. The towers are interesting but…are towers. The cave is very pretty with the rainbow colors but even early in the day was PACKED with tourists. I did see a woman get attacked by a monkey. This will be the third time I have explicitly told someone to stop messing with monkeys and they have subsequently gotten attacked on this trip. I am not trying to be rude, I have first hand experience with this! Read on to hear about the attack I witnessed in the national park.

So why do I love this city so much? It is amazing to hang in – good malls (cheap stores!), fabulous public transport, amazing and cheap food, and safe to walk around! I spent probably five full days doing not much besides strolling around, window shopping, drinking coffee, and reading my book. It was the best. People were super nice and I loved the hostel I stayed at in Chinatown. I frequented the same noodle place for lunch and went to the same mall almost every evening. I got a haircut in said mall, ate ice cream while people watching, and got trapped in not one but two afternoon thunderstorms. I got so comfortable in my preferred neighborhoods I was asked for directions by TWO different groups of tourists. Wahoo! A true sign of fitting in to a community.

Cameron Highlands:

I went to the highlands early on during my time in the country (I wanted to end with almost a full week in KL since I loved it so much). Picturesque, cool, and very tranquil, this is a perfect getaway from the heat of KL. A short bus ride away and it was ten degrees cooler! I stayed in a very small, family-run hostel where the woman cooked the bread fresh every morning. Bonus! I spent one day there touring the famous tea plantations, hiking through the fields. The other day I explored the small town, did my laundry at a laundromat, and wrote for the blog.

Taman Negara:

The last place I wanted to go before returning to KL was Taman Negara, the oldest rainforest in the world. It was so beautiful! I stayed in a hostel overlooking the park and even had the room to myself one day. I only stayed a few nights but spent one full day hiking in the forest. The canopy walkway was closed (opens end of March) which was disappointing but hiking to viewpoints was still worthwhile. I also saw a girl get attacked by a monkey (the one I mentioned earlier). When I was hiking I saw the path ahead was covered with a monkey group, with lots of babies. These two women had their phones and cameras suuuuper close to these monkeys taking snapshots. I warned them: first, don’t mess with animals when the babies are around but also monkeys are freaking vicious, especially if you get too close or point cameras at them. The girls glared at me, evidently thinking I was trying to act better than them, a common reaction when I warn people about monkeys. Whatever, your funeral. Not a minute later I saw a mama monkey jump on one of the girls and smack the camera out of her hands. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya…

Writing all this in Singapore before I make my way to Jakarta to meet my brother. This is the first time I have seen a computer I can type on since Thailand. Wow, I appreciate my phone, but writing with a real keyboard makes all the difference.

T