We arrived in Malaysia on the 10th of August, and have been enjoying getting to know a new country. We’ve been really busy in the first week, so we thought we’d fill you in now. Keep reading to find out what we’ve been up to!

Towards the end of our trip we plan to share a tips and advice blog, as well as commenting on differences we’ve noticed between countries. But we did think it would be interesting to comment a little on that now, so here are some differences we’ve picked up on between Bali and Malaysia so far:

📍 Money – in Bali, everything is done in thousands. For example: you would pay 28,000 for a meal instead of 28. In Malaysia, they don’t have this system so it’s more like what we are used to, and easier to work out.

📍 Room tax – some places in Malaysia will ask you to pay an extra tax fee when you arrive. It’s normally just 3 RM per night per room.

📍Entry requirements – they actually changed for Malaysia on the 1st of August, so we were not required to show anything regarding our Covid vaccine status at customs. Nor did we have to prove we were leaving the country as you are given a 90 day free visa.

📍 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Our hotel in Kuala Lumpur was fairly central, and most of the tourist spots were easy to walk to. On our first day we decided we just wanted to explore without sticking to a map route, so we headed towards Chinatown and just went from there. First thing we noticed was that it felt 10 times hotter than Bali. It was also nice to be in a busier and more built up area, after the remote places we’d been visiting in Bali.

Chinatown was bustling with stalls and tourists from all over the world, and there were some amazing smells coming off the food carts.

After Chinatown we walked to the Historic Triangle, then on to the River of Life.

Along the river we found the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. This building is where the Union Jack was lowered in 1957 to mark the end of colonisation, and the start of an independent society. Whilst we didn’t go into the building, but we did explore the surrounding gardens.

We finished off our sightseeing by going to the Petronas Twin Towers. Despite being able to see them all over KL, to stand in front of them was very impressive. They are incredibly tall – 452 metres to be exact – but also quite beautiful. We went back a few days later in order to see them lit up at night.

We took a trip out of the city centre for our second day in KL. When we originally planned our trip for 2020, the Batu Caves were on our list of top places we wanted to visit (my parents had also visited when they travelled Malaysia). Fun fact: one of our first cats was named Batu.

There are around 270 steps to reach the cave set into the limestone hill, and a huge golden statue of Lord Murugan stands at the base of the stairs.

One of the most beautiful parts was the array of colour throughout, not just on the stairs, but also the temples and statues inside the Caves. We stayed to watch and listen to prayers inside the Temple, before heading back down.

The next stop was very brief at a Hot Spring. We were not allowed to swim in the Spring as the temperature was scorching – like a kettle that has just boiled. We tried to dip a foot in, but couldn’t handle that! The water is heated by the Earth and after the first Spring was discovered, they found smaller ones and it then became a tourist attraction.

Lastly, we went to Kan Ching Rainforest to swim in a waterfall. It was beautiful, however it was full of kids playing so we waited a while before we got in. Instead we decided to watch the monkeys who were playing, swimming and drinking from the water, and help people out when their bags became a target.

We finished our time in KL by spending the afternoon at the Perdana Botanical Garden. It’s a huge park in the middle of the city and is free to visit. Apart from the odd skyscraper peeking through the trees, you could easily forget you were in the middle of a bustling city.

📍 Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

At first we weren’t sure how we would get to the Highlands. With Malaysia being slightly more expensive than Bali we didn’t want to take a taxi, so our options were train or bus. After doing some research we found a blog online that provided advice on the journey we wanted to make.

The train would be quicker, but the bus was £7 a ticket, so this is the option we chose. The bus was extremely comfortable, and definitely good value for money. There was heavy rainfall when we arrived, and it was cold, but very beautiful. It reminded us of driving through villages in the Swiss mountains from our drives down to Italy, due to the sharp turns in the road and little villages that seem to pop up from nowhere.

We walked around Brinchang and whilst we did, we stopped at a few tourist places we found recommended online.

First stop was Big Red Strawberry Farm, which is free to visit. Unfortunately it is not the right season to pick your own, but we did pick up a small punnet to try later. It’s basically a giant greenhouse with rows upon rows of strawberries growing, and whilst the smell was amazing, we were glad we didn’t have to pay. Just underneath was Cactus Valley, so we walked through marvelling at the weird and wonderful cacti. We didn’t pay as we went through from the strawberry farm, but spotted a kiosk when we left. We quickly ran on…

Further up the hill was the Time Tunnel Museum, which was advertised online as “a step back through time”. It was a very random museum; it didn’t really make a lot of sense. It started off with Malaysia and S.E Asia in the Second World War then some history of Malaysia in general. You then walked past a koi fish pond, and the rest of the museum was an assortment of items including old bottles, magazines, records, toys, posters and many more.

Whilst it was a little bit strange, it was enjoyable and gave us a good giggle.

The following day we moved further up the hill to be closer to some other tourist attractions we wanted to visit. After a nightmare with the hotel receptionist (who was very reluctant to help us order a taxi), we walked back into Brinchang and found a taxi rank. Once we checked in at the next place, we found out that the nearest ATM was where we had just come from. Despite only being 10 minutes in the car, it would be a 50 minute walk back down the hill.

Needing cash to pay for taxis as the app we have been using isn’t accessible in this area, we headed back down on foot. The weather is much cooler in the Highlands, so it was actually quite nice to take in the views at our own pace. The first ATM kept rejecting our bank cards – instead of a 4 digit pin code, it was asking for 6 digits. After asking people in a petrol station and food shop, we were eventually able to find another ATM and withdraw what we needed.

Later in the afternoon we paid a visit to the Cameron Highland Butterfly Farm. Whilst there were many, the black ones with a neon green accent were the most memorable.

On our last day in the Highlands, we visited a tea plantation as they came highly recommended online. BOH Tea Estate was the closest one to where we were staying, so we chose to go there. Here are some facts about BOH:

● The estate was discovered by J.A.Russell in 1929.

● A tea plucker can harvest 200kg of leaves every day.

● With the geography and climate of the Cameron Highlands, tea bushes can live up to a 100 years.

After walking around for a short while, we went for a cup of tea at the centre. They also had scones on offer, and we couldn’t resist having one with our tea. We also brought two boxes to enjoy during our trip.

The scenery was remarkable and the colour of the tea leaves was striking. We walked the 45 minutes back so that we could enjoy the views some more.

The cool temperature and tropical storms have been a welcome break from the heat, but we’re ready for some sun again. We are moving to Taiping in the morning, and have a long day of travelling ahead of us.

We are heading to Taiping in hope of finding the hospital my dad was born in (though we have read it’s on a military base, so we probably will only see it from a distance). After the passing of my grandad this year, it seems more poignant to visit than before.

After Taiping, we plan to go on to Penang for a few days, and then will be making our way down Malaysia to go to Malacca (spelt Melaka in Malay).

Thank you for reading our first installment on our adventures in Malaysia! We look forward to sharing the next part with you soon. Lots of love,

Caitlin and Luke