30 Things To Do In Kuala Lumpur

Erin — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 23:28:34 +0000

Kuala Lumpur is a great city to visit. I absolutely love it there and think everyone should visit at least once in their lives. There is a lot of history in KL and quite a lot of unique things to see, though it’s not always easy to figure out what those things are. When we first moved to KL and were looking for things to do, the most common things found were KL Tower, Petronas Tower and Batu Caves. While these things are fun and worth doing, there is sooooooooooooooooo much more to do there. So, to help you have a full experience of the neat things in Kuala Lumpur, I’ve compiled a list of things to do in six different categories. Whether you are visiting for a week or two or there for a quick weekend layover, here are some interesting things to spend your time on. WILDLIFE & OUTDOORS BUKIT LAGONG RESERVE RAINFOREST AND CANOPY WALK This place is was started as a plant research center back in 1992 and is now a famous preserve that spans 3,775 acres. There are easy paths to wander around with four jungle treks for those looking for more of a challenge. In the forest are rivers, waterfalls, the remnants of an old Orang Asli settlement as well as a plethora of trees, bamboo, plants and wildlife. You can walk, jog, picnic, bicycle, bird-watch and visit an insect house and herbal botanic garden. If heights don’t bother you, there is also a canopy walk that takes you 98 feet above the forest floor. For preservation reasons, only 250 people are allowed on the canopy per day, 200 advance tickets and 50 walk-in. To reserve your canopy tickets, email FRIM One Step Centre at frim_enquiry@frim.gov.my. As a side note, Malaysia gets pretty hazy at certain times during the year, which results in the reserve closing. Please check here for the daily API readings (posted at 7am) before heading to the reserve. If the API readings are above 150 for Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur, the reserve will be closed. HOURS – 9:30am-1:30pm, closed Monday and Friday – advanced booking required PRICE – RM10 Adults, RM1 Children. There are also camera fees for professional equipment. LOCATION – The reserve is located NW of Batu Caves in Northern KL. If you want to take a taxi, I’d recommend going to KL Sentral and purchasing a taxi coupon. This ensures that the driver cannot overcharge you. If you want to hail a taxi, be sure the drive turns the meter on. You can also take the KTM Komuter from KL Sentral to Kepong Sentaral Station. Kepong Sentral Station is AFTER Kepong Station. From there you can get a taxi for about RM 7. Just be sure the driver uses the meter. KUALA GANDAH ELEPHANT SANCTUARY We really enjoyed our trip to Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary. This place is an elephant rescue where elephants who are injured in the wild or are damaging farmlands can stay until they’ve either healed or a new home can be found for them. They have a video where you can learn more about what they do, an exhibit about elephants and the history of elephants in Malaysia along with beautiful grounds to wander around. Oh, and a small restaurant where you can get ice cream, snacks and drinks. As for the actual elephants on site, you cannot ride them, but you can feed them and watch them play in the water before the handlers do a small demonstration (maybe about 5-7 min). Then you can feed them again. Be sure to bring a snack for the elephants as the provided fruit gets snatched up quickly. I would allow at least half a day for this destination. HOURS – 9:00am-4:45pm PRICE – Donation LOCATION – The sanctuary is located by Lanchang, Pahang, and is about a 2 hour drive. To get there, drive on the Karak Highway towards the east coast and exit at Lanchang. There are signs that will show you which way to go. These are the GPS coordinates if you’d like to use those: 3˚ 35’34.4”N and 102˚ 08’37.7”E. You also can reach the center by train if you stop at Bandar Jengka or Termeloh and take a taxi from there. if you choose the train and taxi route, add an extra hour each way to your travel time. LAKE GARDENS PARK This park is also known as Taman Tasik Perdana or Perdana Botanical Garden. I really love Lake Gardens Park and went there several times while living nearby. There is a beautiful lake with walking trains, bike paths, covered pavilions to sit under, picnic tables, benches, pavilions in trees, meticulously sculptured gardens, several play areas with large toys for kids and there are several animal exhibits, though those cost to get in. BUT, you can still see the deer through the fence and can feed them if they come near. There is also a cafe, public restrooms (pay to use), bike rentals (RM3 for 30 min) and a trolley tour of the park (RM2 for adults, RM1 for children). Duration of your visit depends on what all you want to do. For a quick tour, 1-2 hours. For a leisurely visit, 3-4 hours. HOURS – 7:00am-8:00pm PRICE – Free for the park, entrance fees for extraneous attractions. LOCATION – 10-minute walk from KL Sentral, minutes from the Bird Park and the National Museum, right next door to Tun Abdul Razak Memorial House. Taxi is the best way to get there if you don’t want to walk from KL Sentral. KL BIRD PARK While a bit on the pricier side, this is a nice place to visit. There is a lot of wildlife around the park along with lovely landscaping and beautiful plants. There are a number of bird feeding demonstrations throughout the day along with a full-on bird show. We didn’t get to see the bird show, but I’ve heard it is quite entertaining. If you want to get up close and personal with some of the birds, you can purchase a ticket to get a photograph with birds perched on your shoulders and head. And for the learning part, there is an indoor informational section that teaches about the different bird species and the area. Plan to spend 1-2 hours. HOURS – 9:00am-6:00pm PRICE – RM48/25 Adults, RM38/12 Children (lower prices are for those with a MyKad ID card) LOCATION – 15-minute walk from KL Sentral, minutes from the Lake Gardens Park and the National Museum, just up the street from Tun Abdul Razak Memorial House. Taxi is the best way to get there if you don’t want to walk from KL Sentral. CHILLING FALLS We had a lot of fun at Chiling Falls. The hike isn’t too strenuous, but the water does get waist-deep on a 6′ adult and can be a little fast at times, so if you’re not steady on your feet, you may just want to hike the first little bit. If you’re ready for a muddy hike through lots of foliage and crossing rivers, you won’t be disappointed. This hike is beautiful and very worth it. The pool under the lower waterfall is deep enough to swim in and there are monkeys that hang out there sometimes. Wear sturdy shoes, bring bug spray and a small backpack with water and snacks. The drive is about 1.5 hours each way and the hike takes about 3 hours roundtrip (excluding stops), so plan on this taking at least 6 hours. HOURS – 8:00am-6:00pm, Friday-Sunday PRICE – RM1 per person LOCATION – This hike is located inside the Sungai Chiling Fish Sanctuary. If you go to Kuala Kubu Bharu (do NOT go to Kuala Kubu Baru) and then continue on to Fraser’s Hill (Bukit Fraser), you will pass Selangor Dam and reservoir. Shortly after passing Selangor Dam you will cross a small steel bridge. There is a parking area on your left just after the bridge and the entrance to the park is on the right side of the road. Back to Top MUSEUMS ISLAMIC ARTS CENTER The Islamic Arts Center is pretty great. It is currently the largest Islamic museum in SE Asia and houses over 7,000 artifacts. They have a revolving exhibition in one section and a static exhibition in the rest of the complex. The revolving exhibit when we were there was about the history of Malaysia’s independence from Great Britain. The static exhibits showcase ancient Islamic seals, miniature replicas of Islamic buildings from around the world, beautiful Arabic manuscripts, wall carvings, mosaics, metalwork, qur’ans, prayer books, room replicas from the ancient Ottoman empire, portraits, ancient trinkets, swords, jewelry, armor, glassware, chess boards and clothing. There are so many amazing things to look at there. And there’s a cafe as well as a gift shop, so you can rest a bit before buying something to bring home to remind you of your visit. 🙂 The time you spend depends on whether you want to go for the experience or to learn about the culture. If you just want to make a cursory tour of the place, plan about 1.5-2. If you want to REALLY look at the stuff and read about it, I’d plan maybe 3-4 hours. HOURS – 10:00am-6:00pm PRICE – RM14 for adults, children 6 & under are free LOCATION – The Islamic Arts Museum is about a two-minute walk from the National Mosque, about 10 minutes from Lake Garden Park and about 5 minutes from the Bird Park. To get there, you can take a taxi from anywhere or you can take the KTM Kmuter to the Kuala Lumpur stop and then either walk or take a taxi. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the station. TUN ABDUL RAZAK HOUSE They completely remodeled this place while we were there and I have to say that it looks really nice. All the rooms are set up with authentic period furniture with interactive touch screens that give quite a bit of information. There are also signboards with pictures and additional information. It’s really quite well put-together and is worth a short visit. Plan to spend about 30-45 minutes there. HOURS – Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun: 10:00am-5.30pm, Fri: 10:00am – 12:00pm, 3:00pm – 5.30pm, Closed on Mondays PRICE – Free LOCATION – Adjacent to Lake Garden Park. 1-2 minutes from the Bird Park. To get there, you can take a taxi from anywhere or you can take the KTM Komuter to the Kuala Lumpur stop and then either walk or take a taxi. It’s about a 5-10 minute walk from the station. NATIONAL MUSEUM This museum is pretty fun. It has a lot of neat cultural items and an entire building dedicated to replicas of ancient houses, tools, weapons and daily use items. The museum is a decent size and has exhibits dedicated to early Malaysian civilizations, the development of the Malay kingdoms, what life was like during the Colonial era and important events since Malaysia became independent in 1957 along with an outdoor exhibit of various modes of transportation from throughout Malaysia’s history. There is a gift shop and a cafeteria on-site. Plan to spend 1-2 hours here. HOURS – 9:00am-6:00pm PRICE – RM5 Adults, RM2 Children 6-10, Free Children under 6 LOCATION – Short walk from KL Sentral. To get there you can walk over a freeway overpass (not as dangerous as it sounds, I did it several times) or you can take a taxi or RapidKL bus No.115 (RM2 per day). This is also a stop on the Hop-On Hop-Off Tour, so you can get there that way as well. KUALA LUMPUR CITY GALLERY This place is pretty neat. It may be small, but it’s worth a quick stop if you’re in the area. There is a small exhibit on the history of the city as well as information about important historic places around town. There are some really old maps of the city, scale-model buildings, a seasonal exhibit corner and a scale-model light-up city that has a short demo reel along with some other really interesting things. The demo reel with the light-up city lasts about 2 minutes and...

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Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Erin — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 01:00:06 +0000

While I was out wandering around Merdeka Square one day, I glanced across a small side road and happened to see this cute little church hidden behind a fence covered in ivy. Since it is somewhat unusual to see Christian churches in Malaysia and the year on it marks this one as quite old, I just had to go over and investigate. This church is so quaint. I love it! Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin is an Anglican church that was commissioned in 1893 when the original building became too small to hold the growing congregation. The original chapel, named St. Mary’s Church, was built in 1887, made of wood and only held 95 people. It was located on the top of a hill called Bukit Aman, which was a quite a bit out of the way. Once the chapel from 1887 became too small to hold the growing congregation it was decided that the new church would be built in the center of town, next to Merdeka Square. Several designs were put forth for the new building, but none of them struck the fancy of the committee and a government architect was finally called in to design the new church. A.C. Norman suggested an Early English Gothic Style design satisfied the committee. I think it turned out fabulous. Construction began on the church on February 3, 1894 and was completed on February 9, 1895. A ceremony was held on February 3, 1894, to lay the foundation stone for St. Mary’s Cathedral. The stone was laid by Sir W.H. Treacher, a British resident of Selangor, and the ceremony was presided over by Bishop G.F. Hose. Another ceremony was held on February 9, 1895, to consecrate the church, presided over again by Bishop G.F. Hose. The completion of this church marked the first brick church built in the Malay Peninsula. Going inside the church felt like walking into the past. The whole church is just absolutely beautiful. The inside is pretty close to what I imagined for the inside of a gothic chapel. I was expecting it to be a bit more dark and dreary, but the whitewashed walls brightened things up a bit. Aren’t these chandeliers just amazing? I also love the vaulted ceiling. The pews and ceiling are made from merbau and seriah wood. The aspe is designed beautifully. I love the wrought-iron gating and the stained glass. Isn’t this just beautiful? I read a sign at the chapel that said the stained glass panels were removed during WWII to protect them from the bombing, but they couldn’t be located after the war, so new panels had to be commissioned. I think they turned out quite lovely. Part of me wonders if the old panels will just show up someday, all covered in dust in someone’s basement. The church stayed mostly the same (aside from minor repairs and such) up until 1958 when the nave was extended to admit a larger congregation. This addition is called the Jubilee Hall. Between 1968-1969, a two-story annex was built to allow for an upper room, administrative rooms and an office for the Vicar. They also replaced the previous residential building, a wooden house in stilts, with another add-on to the church that included utility rooms, a kitchen and living quarters. Even with all of the changes around the church, it’s really fascinating that all of the memorial placards and items around the church have stayed and are in pristine condition. On September 8, 1983, the church officially changed it’s name during the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin. The new and current name of the church is Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin. During 2006 and 2007, additional rooms were added to the church. These included new offices, a library and an apartment. This church is absolutely beautiful and totally worth a visit. It’s a small church and doesn’t take up too much time. To get to the church, you can take the LRT to Masjid Jamek and then walk a few streets over to Merdeka Square and across a little side road to the church. Or you can take a taxi there.

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Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin - Traveling Thru History

30 Things To Do In Kuala Lumpur

Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin