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Travel

in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Travel

Still Alive!

September 29, 2014
Proof of life. Haha! Our sweaty/tired faces say hello after a long walk under the midmorning-afternoon sun last Sunday – the only day we actually got to ourselves for sight seeing. ;)

Proof of life. Haha! Our sweaty/tired faces say hello during a short water break. This was right after a long walk under the midmorning-noon sun last Sunday – the only day we actually got to ourselves for sight seeing. 😉 My husband could hardly smile after all that heat. Haha! But we’re extreme sight seers so the KK heat was something we were willing to endure! 😉

But the slow internet here in Kota Kinabalu is practically killing me – both the 3g and the wifi at the hotel we are staying in. So here’s just a quickie update on how we’ve been doing:

Days here in KK have been very busy. I thought I will get bored so I packed a ton of movies to watch plus loaded my Kobo with e-books, and even brought some material for a piece I was supposed to write ages ago. But alas, I ended up being so busy, helping out in the consular mission by assisting some of the applicants in filling up their forms and preparing travel documents for deportees. There are a couple of hundred thousands of Filipinos in Sabah who are undocumented and the Embassy has been doing its best to help them out.

The consular mission ran from Monday till Saturday (we’re still there at the venue until Oct 3rd) and we only had Sunday as our ‘break’. So we spent it walking  around the city, checking out the Sunday market, and visiting the Sabah & Islamic Museum as well as the Heritage Village before finally feasting on some Filipino food which we totally missed.

I’ll post something more useful (a.k.a a proper travel entry) soon enough. As soon as I get some decent internet – a connection that doesn’t use up a whole hour just to upload one photo. I’m practically crawling my way into posting this. But we’ll be back in KL by the end of this week so I promise to make up for lost time. Geez, I have so much stuff to review.

More later and hugs from KK!

Carol

in Asia, Expat Life, KL Food, Kuala Lumpur, Travel

Foodie Adventures: Chinese food haven at Jalan Alor

August 18, 2014

Malaysia is basically Asian food heaven. With the country being a melting pot of Malay, Chinese, and Indian culture, it’s quite hard to imagine Malaysia not having good food.

We all know the history between Singapore and Malaysia and I’m pretty sure a bit of the rivalry between these two countries also extends to their food which is very very similar. However, one observation that can really differentiate one’s cuisine from the other is this: Malaysian food is definitely spicier than Singaporean. If you’re used to Singaporean laksa which is already spicy, you better brace yourself for Malaysian laksa because it will definitely leave your mouth burning. I have a friend who will testify to this as well.

A couple of weeks back, the husband and I decided to walk all the way to Jalan Alor – a street known for its authentic Chinese street-restaurants – for dinner. The food was so good, we found ourselves back in Jalan Alor only two days after that, friends in tow.

Ok, first things first: Where in KL is Jalan Alor?

Jalan Alor is located in the Bukit Bintang area. You can take the Monorail and just hop off at the Bukit Bintang station. From there, it’s only a short walk. As for my husband and I, we would always pass through Pavilion Mall (our building is located a couple of minutes walk from the mall’s back entrance while it’s front opens up to Bukit Bintang). For a map to Jalan Alor, click here.

From the mall’s main entrance, you will see this:

Just go straight down the main road which is behind that fountain. But wait, there’s Sephora! It’s best if my husband and I would make a quick stop over, yes?

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in Asia, Expat Life, KL Where to Go, Kuala Lumpur, Travel

KL Adventures: Islamic architecture in Putrajaya

August 15, 2014

Putrajaya on a holiday.

The husband and I are suckers for beautiful architecture – be it modern or more on the classical side. I’ve fallen in love with several European and Asian cities because of their skylines and the feeling I get when I walk around the city, surrounded by stunning buildings. They just add so much character (some even add to the city’s history) to a certain place.

So it’s no wonder that I enjoyed our short afternoon trip to Putrajaya, Malaysia’s seat of government, a couple of weeks back. We went with 3 of Alvin’s colleagues who were nice enough to drive us around.

It’s quite easy to get to Putrajaya from Kuala Lumpur – you can take the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Transit (don’t take the express train as it won’t stop at Putrajaya station and will go straight to the airport!) or you can take a Rapid KL bus marked ‘E1’. It will pick up passengers in the Pasar Seni and KL Sentral train stations. However, once you actually get to Putrajaya, it’s quite hard to navigate without your own car. So some tourists opt to hire a taxi within the city and agree on a fixed price with the driver who will also act as your tour guide.

Fast facts:

  • Though Putrajaya is now the seat of government, Kuala Lumpur remains to be Malaysia’s national capital and the seat of the King.
  • Malaysia only shifted their seat of government in the late 90s to avoid congestion in the capital.
  • Almost all of the ministries are now in Putrajaya except for the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Works which are still in KL.
  • A 650-hectare, man-mad lake is found in the middle of the city. The Malaysian government has said before that the main reason (aside from the obvious aesthetics and recreation opportunities it can bring) the lake was made was to act as a “natural cooling system” for the city. And man, do they need it. Putrajaya is way more hot and humid than KL. I couldn’t stand not having a roof over my head for 2 minutes. I cannot possibly imagine how hot it would be without that lake.

Okay, enough yapping. Let me show you the breathtaking view from the elevated Putrajaya International Convention Centre:

I feel like I was looking at a real-life post card. Though I had to cut the sight seeing from here. PICC is on top of a hill and MUCH closer to the sun. I had to get back into the car right away.

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