Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The next weekend, it was travel time for me again. Singapore is too expensive to stay in for longer than a few days. So I hopped onto a bus and drove to Kuala Lumpur, a 6-hour-long ride. After crossing the border to Malaysia, I fell asleep and had a pretty deep nap, and I woke up when the bus had already entered Kuala Lumpur. This ride was the smoothest long-haul bus ride in my travel history. The seats were very comfortable and wide. I booked an executive class bus, because they were pretty cheap anyway.
After I spent 2.5 months at the beginning of the year in Kuala Lumpur, I’m back. I like the city and feel very comfortable. I booked an apartment for a month in the same building where I stayed last time. The facility was great, the distance to the co-working was perfect, and restaurants and coffee shops were plenty around. So I got into productive work mode directly. Everything was familiar. Work, accommodation, the surroundings and even some friends living there full or part-time. My digital nomad friend, Piotrek, whom I stayed with in Thailand, chose Kuala Lumpur as his base for a while now and was still sticking around. So I was happy to hang out with him again and do some fun stuff like going to the escape room and failing to escape in time.
Since Kuala Lumpur is an essential hub in Southeast Asia, and Air Asia has its official hub, flights to and from Kuala Lumpur are cheap and frequent. Therefore, some of my Indonesian friends visited for a couple of days. I’m always happy to host people and explore with them, even if it’s not my home city. The street food market Jalan Alor is always on the list, or one of the rooftop bars. Kuala Lumpur has a crazy skyline with many tall buildings. The KLCC area, with the Petronas Twin Tower in it, was the highest building in the world for a long time and is not even the highest building in Kuala Lumpur anymore. Apartments in the centre reach up to the 60th floor.
Malakka, Malaysia
One good friend from Indonesia, travelling around neighbouring countries, also crossed to Malaysia. We met in Malakka for a weekend trip to explore. The name is familiar to the Strait of Malacca, a critical route for worldwide trade by sea. The city has a lot of history and lies in the South of Malaysia, between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Just after I arrived by bus, an Uber picked me up and dropped me off at the centre. The driver was super friendly and also a tourist guide. So, since we had some time to talk while stuck in traffic, he explained many things about the city, which is one of the most interesting Uber rides so far. I also love that almost everyone in Malaysia speaks English, especially in the cities. This makes travelling so much more effortless.
When I arrived at the mall in Malakka, I met up with my friend from Indonesia. Together, we headed to our accommodation. We found a lovely apartment with a private jacuzzi and an impressive city view. Perfect for a weekend trip to discover and enjoy. Sadly, the weather wasn’t really with us, and it was overall pretty rainy. Nevertheless, we packed our rain jackets and umbrellas and went exploring the next day. We walked through the old town, watched old buildings and fortresses built by the Portuguese, walked along the river, and got coffee/Thai tea. In the afternoon, the weather improved, and we could walk without getting wet. For the sunset, we went to the “floating mosque,” a mosque built on pillars in the ocean. It was quite an interesting view.
