Side (food) trip in Kuala Lumpur

Gateway Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is our favorite gateway to neighboring Southeast Asian countries, especially those in Indochinese Peninsula. This time, we were bound for land-locked Laos.

This meant we had to stay one night in KL, something the family always looked forward to, for a number of reasons. Food and familiarity, are just two of them.

Upon our arrival in Malaysia’s capital, my fraternity brother Marlowe Aragon fetched us at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, and brought us at our hotel in Little India.

“Tito” Marlowe (a.k.a. James Bond 007) met us at the KLIA2, then gave us a cool night tour of the city

At a tandoori place with good, spicy food and warm staff in Little India

At the magnificent Petronas Towers at night. Thanks Tito Marlowe for the pic!

After a heavy dinner at a tandoori place nearby, he gave us a quick tour in the city with a mesmerizing close up view of the Petronas Towers at night.

Marlowe, a consultant who shuttles by car between Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, then dropped us at the hotel . He told us to just give him a buzz when we arrive in Bangkok a week from now as he might be there (he was).

We always look forward to having breakfast in Kuala Lumpur, and so the following day we had one at a roti and tea place just outside the hotel in Little India. We took our time on the sidewalk to relish our food.

We then went around Kuala Lumpur, hopping on a Go KL City Bus that offered free rides to check out the Islamic Arts Museum, which is considered the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

We also passed by the Muzium Negara and National Space Agency compound along the way.

Free ride on board the Go KL City Bus on our way to check out Muzium Negara

The Islamic Arts Museum, though, was on a league of its own as it housed an impressive and extensive collection of artifacts from the region, such as sacred thrones and books, as well as traditional armor and weaponry including those from the Southern Philippines, and detailed scale models of mosques from around the world.

The Islamic Arts Museum hosts the largest collection of Islamic art in Southeast Asia

There was a fun activity center for children at the Islamic Arts Museum, but our kids actually enjoyed the main museum that we stayed there longer than expected. We even went back after having lunch at a hawker area just right across the museum.

We returned to the hotel on foot through the labyrinthine streets of the KL Sentral area. We had dinner at another hawker place that served Chinese-style dishes like chicken rice and roast pork rice just on the edge of Little India.

Dinner at a hawker place just outside of Little India

Getting to bed early was in order as we would be leaving for Vientiane tomorrow morning. The bus at the KL Sentral Station was slated to leave at 5 a.m. It did. On the dot.

Our Kuala Lumpur Itinerary

Day 1
Gateway: Malaysia

Cebu to Kuala Lumpur
3:05 p.m. to 6:55 p.m. (AirAsia)

KLIA2 to KL Sentral
7:10 p.m. to 9 p.m.
(Private car)

KL city tour
Check out Petronas Towers at night

Overnight Kuala Lumpur
Easy Hotel KL Sentral (Agoda)
110, Jalan Tun Sambanthan

Day 2
Kuala Lumpur Stop

Explore Kuala Lumpur
Hop on Go KL City Bus
Walk along KL’s tourism belt
Visit Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Overnight Kuala Lumpur
Easy Hotel KL Sentral

Day 3
Bye, KL, for now

Kuala Lumpur to Vientiane
7:25 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. (AirAsia)

(Check out the full 14-day itinerary here)